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We Were There: Invisible Thread Opening Night
There is something beautiful happening at Second Stage Theatre. Having been to the same theatre to see Whorl Inside A Loop, I was pleasantly surprised to see how they made the space fit into the setting for Invisible Thread. Red soil covered the entire deck creating a mountain, looking just like the mountain the cast stood upon in the “Beautiful” music video they released after their trip to Uganda. The set was a character in its own right and I want to give all the props to scenic designer Tom Pye and projection designer Peter Nigrini for making it come alive. I won’t spoil it, but there are various times in the show where I’m in constant awe of how technology has advanced and how theater has managed to embrace it, rather than run away from it. The combination of the two work extremely well for this show.
The show follows the life of a 20-something year old New York City Black man, Griffin, who volunteers for an aid project in Uganda, faces challenges, and has his life changed. Instrumental in this change are the Ugandan students he ends up teaching, his New York church, and his Jewish white boyfriend. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t think I could accurately write how this show truly made me feel as an audience member, but I felt a lot. Even though I’m not a 20 something Black gay man going to Uganda to change the world, I can relate to the themes of aspiring for something bigger than myself and being pushed and broken down in ways unimaginable but finding the courage and strength to keep going because I have to.
Griffin Matthews excels at playing Griffin in the show not only because it’s based on his own experience, but also because the entire cast makes me feel, makes me believe, the story happening in front of me. THAT’S good theatre, my friends. I laughed uncontrollably (“If you’re African-American, then I’m African-African” Ugandan Jacob says to Griffin), I cried uncontrollably (the entire second act I was tearing up, especially during the curtain call), and I clapped along and got my life (two words: Melody Betts).
The music and dance are another character in itself. Heavily influenced by African culture and blending the world of pop and contemporary gospel, whenever the ensemble made their way on stage I knew to lean forward in my seat a little more so I could watch as each person fit in perfectly. Each of them captivated me with every riff, crescendo, every pointed toe, every jump and leap. With every bang on the tambourine, I was sold. The songs that stuck out to me and started the floodgates of tears most were, as expected, “Beautiful,” performed by Griffin Matthews, Kristolyn Lloyd, Tyrone Davis, Jr., Nicolette Robinson and Jamar Williams, and “Invisible Thread” which is revisited in the show multiple times.
Overall, the show completely exceeded my expectations. I knew it would be great but I didn’t expect to be Hamilton-level obsessed. Did I mention I’m seeing it AGAIN on Saturday with friends? This is a show I’d recommend to any and everyone. On the night I was in attendance, one of their Ugandan students, Patrick, flew halfway across the world to be there. THAT was beautiful. We all watched as he ran up onstage and was welcomed with open arms. THAT is the power of theatre. The ability to create something so inspiring and powerful to be seen by thousands of people to hopefully encourage and bring something out of them. It’s the reason after a long week of working with my own students in Brooklyn, I find peace in making my way to Harlem or Downtown Brooklyn or the heart of Broadway to sit down in those (sometimes) plush seats and be captivated by art. To remember why I’m here, why I do what I do, what motivates me. Invisible Thread reminds me that there’s a small invisible thread wrapped around my heart and around the minds of the 260 kids I see daily. That’s the reason I can’t break free –and, frankly, why I never will.
Invisible Thread stars Griffin Matthews, Jeremy Pope (Choir Boy), Melody Betts (“Chicago PD”); Rodrick Covington (Central Avenue Breakdown); Kevin Curtis (A Chorus Line National Tour); Tyrone Davis, Jr. (Shrek National Tour); Nkrumah Gatling (Hair); Latrisa Harper (The ColorPurple); Jason Herbert (Fela!); Aisha Jackson (Beautiful); Kristolyn Lloyd (Heathers The Musical); Michael Lluwoye (Fable); Corey Mach (Hands on a Hardbody); Tiffany Mann (Lincoln Center’s Sweeney Todd); Jamard Richardson (The Book of Mormon); Nicolette Robinson (Brooklynite); Adeola Role (Lily’s Revenge); Conor Ryan (Cinderella) and Jamar Williams (Broken Window Theory).
Invisible Thread is playing at 2econd Stage Theatre at the Tony Kiser Theatre (305 W 43rd St) until December 27th. Tickets can be purchased here, by calling the box office at 212-246-4422, or in person.
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