review: pass over @ NOAAM

Pass Over
Review by Momo Doll

The scene has been set and it is a street in the ghetto, but also a plantation… but also, Egypt, a country built on slavery. In the NOLA Project's 'Pass Over',  Antoinette-Chinonye Nwandu creates an up close and personal view of the struggle of what it means to be a Black man in a modern city. It also examines how the impact of the horrors of the plantation continue to drive racial tensions to trauma of biblical proportions. This emotional ride takes the audience through peaks of laughter and valleys of sorrow while weaving a tale of hope, helplessness, and the intense harm caused by ignorance and inaction.

The story follows longtime friends Moses (Martin “Bats” Bradford, pictured) and Kitch (DC Paul), two young men with wells of trauma, dreaming about passing over into the promised land of the American dream. The audience gets a feeling of closeness and participation in the dreaming of these young men through the open-air setting of the play, which allows the actors to improvisationally use the sounds of New Orleans to remind the audience that this play could, and likely is, happening every day in our city with our very real community members. Moses and Kitch are a beautiful display of the comradery of young men who have bonded through years of shared survival in a way that grows friendship into unconditional love and brotherhood.
 
The arrival of a stranger who is clearly where he should not be and interactions with law enforcement, both characters played by Keith Claverie, highlight the impact that years of surviving just to stay alive has interpersonal communication and responses to everyday behavior.

The audience is drawn in to the discomfort of the interracial dynamic between the characters with life experience on opposite ends of the societal spectrum.  The interaction between the three man is a brilliant explanation of the deep impact of words and how the ignorance of privileged entitlement often poses a bigger threat to the dreams and advancement of the oppressed than open hatred. 

This play is an experience and a lesson in cultural differences between people living in the same city, the connection of history to the present, and deep love between friends. As an added bonus, there is also an abundance of pop culture references throughout the play that give moments of comedic relief during the turmoil of the 80 minutes of emotional investment in the lives of two men just dreaming of a life worth living. Take a friend down to the New Orleans  African American Museum and see this amazing performance.  You won’t regret it, and if you take “that” friend who is awkward in diverse groupings, then you could also be helping a friend learn. 

Pass Over plays at NOAAM through November 9th 
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH NOLA PROJECT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, TENAJ WALLACE
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