by Alan Jozwiak
When you think about popular franchises like Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, and Star Wars, what race do you typically think the fans of those franchises would be? The answer tends to default to “white.”
However, in Know Theatre’s world premiere of the J. Corey Buckner play Blerds, challenges that answer in a great play, featuring Black cosplay fans and all things nerdish.
The Plot of Blerds
Blerds (a word which is a conflation of “Black Nerds”) tells the story of three 13 to 14 years olds–DJ (Dominique Owen) and the brother-sister duo of Kiera (Kenny Rayborn) and Brandon (Malik Smith). All three are smart capable students who love ALL things nerdish (role-playing games, Pokemon, and, of course, Star Wars) and decide to cut school to go on a quest to see their hero Samuel L. Jackson (a.k.a., Jedi knight Mace Windu) at a Star Wars convention, appropriately named the Millennium Fal-Con.
Like Bilbo Baggins’s quest to journey to Mordor to destroy the One Ring (a la, The Lord of the Rings), these three brave students battle the terrors of the DC subway system (which can be terrifying on account of the steepness and extreme depth of the entrance-exit tunnels), confronting their own personal struggles and difficulties, and meddlesome Con personnel which are trying to keep them away from winning their boon, an audience with Jackson himself. Along the way, they meet up with The Stranger (Phillip Latham) and try to avoid their parents, DJ’s Cosby-esque dad Derek (Deondra Kamau Means) and Tonya (Meredith Frankie Crutcher), a parent to Kiera and Brandon.
Strong Direction
Director Derek Snow does a fine job assembling a strong cast to highlight the humanity and dynamic relationships among the characters. While the characters in this play could be portrayed in a stereotypical manner, Snow pushes beyond stereotypes to get at what makes these characters tick. I felt this comes across strongly with the portrayal of Phillip Lathan as Samuel L. Jackson himself. Lathan’s depiction of Jackson is not a caricature, but more of a distillation of Jackson’s traits, characteristics, and charisma.
Solid Performances
Likewise, Snow’s other choices for the roles are strong actors, who can portray likeable and sympathetic characters. For the three teenage leads, each actor plays their part to perfection. Owen portrays DJ as a typical 13 (soon to be 14) year old who is full of excitement and love of adventure, but not mature enough to know the ways of the world. I must admit not liking the character in the beginning of the show for his view of dismissing comics books (I am a huge comics fan myself, so how dare he dislike comics!).
However, Owen more than makes up for this character defect as the show progresses with a strong performance of a likeable, but flawed, teenager who has lots of energy and heart. I also love at the end of the play Owen dons a Wakanda-inspired Spider-Man outfit and also embraces the true faith of comic books. Great costuming.
Equally strong are Kenny Rayborn and Malik Smith as DJ’s friends Kiera and Brandon. Both Rayborn and Smith are recent CCM Acting graduates and I’ve seen them in CCM Acting productions, as well as in other productions around town. This material is aligns perfectly with their talents and each actor shines strongly in their roles.
Costumes are Great, Too!
I also like these characters’ costuming when they get to the Fal-Con, especially Smith’s take on Morpheus from The Matrix. Kudos for costume designer Noelle Wedig-Johnston for getting compelling Con-appropriate costuming.
The rest of the cast is also strong, but there is one standout among the adult characters in this play. Deondra Kamau Means as DJ’s very nerdy father, who is super cool in my book for his love of comic books and comic book culture. Means strikes a nice balance between a bumbling sit-com dad (he is hilarious running around the Fal-Con high on edibles which he accidentally took in excess) and a caring father who is concerned enough for his child that he is willing to run to DJ’s rescue. It is a strong compelling performance.
Overall
Blerds expresses the wonderful range of experiences that fall outside of stereotypical depictions of the Black experience espoused by mass media. It “blurs” the lines between what some may expect and understand about black culture. AKA EVERYONE can be a fan and a nerd.
My only complaint about the show is that it ends sooner than it should. The running time is slightly over an hour, so there is time enough to flesh out more fully some of the storylines within the latter half of the show.
Overall, Blerds is a show that will appeal to Blerds, nerds, non-nerds, and practically anyone else. This show is funny and human. There are enough nerdish Easter eggs within the script to keep the die-hards satisfied. I hope this show is a big hit for Know Theatre. Get your tickets today.
Tickets to Blerds
Blerds runs from April 4 to 19 at Know Theatre Cincinnati with shows running Wednesday through Sunday. Night Click here for tickets.
Monday April 14 is Industry Night — a special Monday presentation of Blerds at 7:30 pm. From 6:30 to 7:30, the League of Cincinnati Theatres’ leadership will provide free snacks. You can hear more about LCT plans and mingle with your theatre friends.
