What happens when four notable Black figures of the 60s get together in one hotel room, one fateful night in Miami? In order to find out, you’ll need to get yourself to the Rogue Machine Theatre production of Kemp Powers’ One Night in Miami, at Theatre Theater in Los Angeles, California.
One Night in Miami “imagines what might have transpired” on the fateful night of February 25th, 1964 after “a loudmouth, 22-year-old fighter named Cassius Clay was finally supposed to have his bragging stopped by fearsome heavyweight champ Sonny Liston.” As we now know, that didn’t happen and Clay went on to claim his victory over Liston. No celebration was planned since no one expected Clay to defeat Liston…no one except his three buddies, human rights activist Malcolm X, NFL champion Jim Brown, and recording artist Sam Cooke. “The foursome threw together a party in Malcolm’s tiny hotel room” in Miami’s rundown Black ghetto Overtown, and “on this night, the possibilities seemed endless.”
With the civil rights struggle “ready to boil over,” and an audience with the knowledge that in under a year two of these four friends would be dead, the play begins.
The show runs for 90 minutes with no intermission, and it never lets up and never disappoints. With beyond solid performances from the cast, a powerful script, wonderful direction, and an amazing set, it was an honor to witness One Night in Miami.
Kevin Daniels (Broadway’s ‘Magic/Bird’, ‘Modern Family’) was funny, intimidating, and utterly believable as Jim Brown. Jason E. Kelley’s (“Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘True Blood’) ‘Brother Kareem’ was the perfect mix of badass, menace, and jerk. Jah Shams’ (‘The Emperor’s Last Performance’) ‘Brother Jamaal’ brought a necessary balance of quirky, off-the-wall bouncing energy to the show. Jason Delane (Matrix Theatre production of ‘Stick Fly,’ ‘Drowning Crow’ [Chicago], ‘Criminal Minds’) as Malcolm, Matt Jones (‘Intimate Apparel,’ African-American Shakespeare Company production of ‘Twelfth Night’) as Cassius, and Ty Jones (Broadway/Off-Broadway in ‘ENRON,’ ‘The Blacks’ [OBIE Award]; ‘Julius Caesar’) as Sam were equally masterful and believable in their performances. Each actor participated in lending a quality to the show that embodied the tension of the era, the electricity-like buzz of the night, and the playful (and sometimes not so playful) relationship between the men.
Carl Cofield’s (Classical Theatre of Harlem, Manhattan Theatre Club, Arena Stage) direction was spot on; a great balance of honed comedic moments, palpable dramatic tension, and gut-wrenching foreshadowing (though that was mostly due to a brilliant script).
The chemistry in One Night in Miami was some of best I’ve seen on stage in a long time. Kudos to the casting director(s) responsible for putting together this cast. Not a weak link in the bunch.
As I hung around the theater to meet the cast and applaud them personally before heading home, I heard whispers of a POSSIBLE attempt at mounting a NY production of the show! So maybe we’ll see Cassius, Malcolm, Jim, Sam, Brother Kareem, and Brother Jamaal on The Great White Way at some point! The show is definitely worthy of a Broadway run.
The Rogue Machine Theatre production of One Night in Miami is NOW PLAYING (Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm) at Theatre Theatre (5041 W. Pico Blvd. Los Angeles, California 90019) through July 28th.
