Kyle Abraham gives sensitive look at victims
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Abraham. In.Motion premiered "Live! The Realest MC" at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater.
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You might think that Kyle Abraham can't be Gepetto's son, not in the traditional sense. After all, he's a gay African-American choreographer. But when it comes to the human values underneath whatever skin (or wooden veneer) we happen to possess, it turns out that we tend to share a lot more than we would like to admit.
Pinocchio, as most of us know, probably from the vintage Disney cartoon, is an Italian puppet who yearns to be a real boy. As it turned out in a fascinating and sometimes painful world premiere at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, Mr. Abraham proved to be a puppet master of another sort in his reinvention of the classic tale.
Only now it's the cleverly-titled "Live! The Realest MC."
Mr. Abraham's MC didn't have a Gepetto, but he did have his bullies in this street-smart search by a real boy for his true identity. And "Live!" didn't unveil a traditional narrative during its hour-long time frame, but instead offered MC's emotionally charged trajectory.
It began with a scratching sound score, more like train or factory noise with an underlying heartbeat. Mr. Abraham was writhing on the floor, an embryonic figure in a sequined shirt.
He began to make his way upright -- hesitatingly, awkwardly -- a pigeon-toed, solitary figure taking in the world. Only his eyes seemed unorthodox, as if wooden or hooded. He was indeed a puppet with a dash of James Brown.
Three dancers entered, dressed in black track suits with glittery stripes down the sleeves and pants. Like the Pips, they provided a social surround, this one childish, where MC was perceived as shy and sensitive. The four paired off and held hands. MC had a boy next to him and was surprisingly glad about that. But the others looked askance at him in one of the breathtakingly intimate moments of the production, so simple but so effective..
First Published November 21, 2011 12:00 am
