Last quarter, UCSD students and faculty enlivened the Mandell Weiss Forum with their performance of “In the Red and Brown Water.” Young track star, Oya, named after the wind goddess, must choose whether to follow her dreams or care for her ailing mother. As she grapples with the consequences of her decision, her husband, Ogun, struggles with their relationship and Oya’s barrenness. But it is in “The Brothers Size” that the full scope of Ogun’s character is shown.
Tarell Alvin McCraney’s heralded “The Brothers Size” is a rhythmic exploration of the meaning of brotherhood and overcoming adversity. Oshoosi Size has just been released from prison and now seeks out the guidance of his older brother, law-abiding car shop owner Ogun Size. The brothers’ bond is rivaled by the enigmatic, possibly homosexual romantic connection between Oshoosi and one of his old prison mates, Elegba, whose return appears to threaten Oshoosi’s chance at a new life (or newfound sexuality). “The Brothers Size” is the second work in McCraney’s “Brothers/Sisters” trilogy, which chronicles the lives and struggles of young African-Americans living in the contemporary American South.
Actor Joshua Elijah Reese, playing Ogun Size for the fourth time in his career, provided telling insight into the jazz play. According to Reese, Ogun exemplifies hope and love to his younger brother Oshoosi. The old trick of having the protagonist torn between the “good” and “bad,” represented by the two characters, is an overused but surefire way of creating conflict. Whether “Brothers” employs this successfully, and if it breathes new life into the “devil-on-my-shoulder” dilemma, remains to be seen. Interestingly, the characters’ names are borrowed from West African mythology. Elegba shares his name with the Yoruba god of doors and passageways, Ogun is the god of iron and Oshoosi derives from the hunter god. Adding to the African theme, primal drumming and other music is used throughout the play.
The Guardian: How did you respond to the music, the drumming and the dancing?
Joshua Reese: It’s very cool, because I’ve never been part of a production that had live accompaniment. So that extra energy on the stage is interesting to play off of because it’s unfolding right before your eyes every night, and there are some moments that are going to happen that are unexpected. Not only [am I] sharing that moment with the other two actors, but also with the drummer, Jonathan Pratt — who is phenomenal, by the way. It’s just one of those things where we’re all listening to each other and we’re all feeding off of each other, and so that force on stage has been really unique.
G: So would you say this play is for a younger crowd, then?
JR: Yes [laughs]. It definitely has some language to it, that’s for sure. But once you are able to sift through the language, you see this wonderful love story between two young guys who have been placed in extraordinary situations way too early in life, and so I think that a younger crowd would definitely benefit a lot from it, in terms of 14 or 15 years old on up. I think that there are some really interesting questions raised in this show that can maybe affect their lives and [help them] see things that they maybe would not have looked at in a certain way before.
Ripe with humor and pulse-pounding drumming, the play intends to incite energy. Reese has experienced audiences that laugh along with every joke as well as ones that aren’t amused. However, plays that deal with modern issues of homosexuality, African-American youth and poverty project a universal theme within a progressive context. The vehicle may have become more modern, but the message of togetherness is timeless. Reese also asserts the play’s value to younger audiences.
G: So, the “Brothers/Sisters” plays borrow from West African mythology; how would you say that’s significant in a modern, Louisiana town setting?
JR: I would say it’s significant because the mythology builds with the gods and the goddesses, and the thing about playing a god is that it is very, very, very, very hard … The thing that one must do in order to be successful and for it to engage the audience is to approach it from the most human emotional standpoint, the most universal standpoint, and that is what all the gods present anyway … the story lies [in] that you have these gods, but they have ordinary character traits, ordinary human emotions and … you’ll see the gods blow through that in the show when we deal with the extraordinary circumstances that we go through. I think Ok [Okieriete Onaodowan] and Antwayn [Hooper, who plays Elegba] do beautiful work onstage, and it is easy to feed off of that, and that is what gives me the strength that Ogun, the warrior god, possesses — just being present with the other gods, just doing fantastic work onstage.
G: Speaking of how you work with the other actors, this play is very minimalistic in nature, as are the other “Brothers/Sisters” plays — so how do you approach that as an actor with only yourself to bring this out?
JR: [I] just rely on all the tools that I have been able to acquire as an actor, using my body as an instrument, whether it [is] physical or vocal or emoting on stage … [With] very little props, very little set, you have to be able to still tell a full and complex story, so you basically just rely on tools you have acquired from actually being out there, doing it and just listening. That’s the biggest tool that I utilize — just listening to what is happening, whether it is from the other actors onstage, whether it is from an audience member opening a piece of candy, answering a telephone call — hopefully, that doesn’t happen — but you have to just listen and be present in each moment onstage.
The deliberate minimalism that “The Brothers Size” exhibits appears to be even more engaging. Without elaborate scenery, the audience will have to imagine the car Ogun is working on and the doors the characters open just like the actors must, placing both parties in the same position of having to construct the story’s context, and thereby uniting them in the practice.
G: It sounds like there are a lot of elements to this play, and it sounds like it’s always moving and very dynamic.
JR: Yes, but even though that dynamic is there in terms of the intensity of the show, it is also very specific to a certain realm — a certain world, if you will — and from that specificity comes this universal story that everybody can relate to. There are some wonderfully touching moments. There are some humorous moments; it is all live, so I think that it is so unique, because there are very few shows that show three black men on stage trying to find ways to communicate with each other and love each other. There are very few shows that have such a cast and such a dynamic as that without any female characters; [“The Brothers Size” has] just three masculine guys, but you’re still getting such a wide range of emotion from the whole performance.
G: Would you recommend we playgoers see “In the Red and Brown Water” and “Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet,” the other plays in the “Brothers/Sisters” plays trilogy?
JR: I would definitely recommend it, but it is not “required.” These plays … are standalone pieces. They are great evenings of theater all within their own right. Much praise has been poured on McCraney and his plays, which focus on community and personal development among African-Americans and homosexuals, two groups that continue to be marginalized in the present day U.S. McCraney has transposed West African mythology into a modern context, proving that even though stories may pass through different voices, different gestures and different sounds, good storytelling is timeless.
Catch “The Brothers Size” at the Old Globe Theatre until Feb. 24.
