''Stick Fly'' is a 2006 play written by

Lydia Diamond Lydia R. Diamond (born April 14, 1969 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American playwright and professor. Among her most popular plays are ''The Bluest Eye'' (2007), an adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel; ''Stick Fly'' (2008); ''Harriet Jacobs'' (2011 ...

. It opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

on December 8, 2011 and closed on February 26, 2012.

Synopsis

The show takes place at the LeVay Home, in

Edgartown Edgartown is a tourist destination on the island of Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States, for which it is the county seat. It was once a major whaling port, with historic houses that have been carefully preserved. Tod ...

, as it is a point of contention where the family resides. The family was the first black family on the island, and the show deals with race, class, and gender politics.

Productions

The play was premiered in March 2006 by the Congo Square Theatre Company in Chicago, directed by Chuck Smith. It was performed from March 26 to 14 June 14, 2009 by

The Matrix Theatre Company The Matrix Theatre Company is a theatre company located in Los Angeles, California. The Matrix was opened in 1977 by producer Joseph Stern. In 2018 it hosted The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals by Starkid Productions StarKid Productions, al ...

in Los Angeles, and from February 19 to March 21, 2010 by the

Huntington Theatre Company The Huntington Theatre Company is a professional theatre located in Boston, Massachusetts and the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, under the direction of Managing Director Michael Maso. It is notable for its longstanding artist ...

at the Boston Centre for the Arts, directed by

Kenny Leon Kenny Leon is an American director, producer, actor, and author, notable for his work on Broadway, on television, and in regional theater. In 2014, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''A Raisin in the Sun''. Career He gaine ...

. This production transferred to Broadway at the

Cort Theatre The James Earl Jones Theatre, originally the Cort Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 138 West 48th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It was built in ...

on December 8, 2011, directed by

, assistant director

Kamilah Forbes Kamilah Forbes is an American curator, producer, and director. She created and directed the Hip Hop Theater Festival from 2000 to 2016. She has held directing roles for television and theater productions such as ''Holler if Ya Hear Me'', ''The Wi ...

, set design

David Gallo David Gallo (born January 10, 1966) is an American production/scenic designer, media/ projection designer, and creative director for Broadway, international productions, television, and arena shows. Gallo won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design ...

, costume design Reggie Ray, lighting design

Beverly Emmons ''Beverly Emmons'' (b. December 12, 1943)
filmreference.com, accessed November 1, 2011 is an American lighting ...

, sound design Peter Fitzgerald, hair design Gregory Bazemore, and incidental music by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

. The cast included Rosie Benton (Kimber),

Dulé Hill Karim Dulé Hill (; born May 3, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series ''The West Wing'', for whi ...

(Spoon "Kent" LeVay),

Mekhi Phifer Mekhi Phifer (; born December 29, 1974) is an American actor. He portrayed Dr. Greg Pratt on NBC's long-running medical drama '' ER'' until 2008 and had a co-starring role opposite actor/rapper Eminem in the 2002 feature film '' 8 Mile''. He was ...

(Flip "Harold" LeVay),

Condola Rashād Condola Phylea Rashad (born December 11, 1986) is an American actress best known for her work in the theatre. She first broke out with a critically acclaimed performance in Lynn Nottage's off-Broadway play '' Ruined'' (2009), which won a Pulit ...

(Cheryl),

Ruben Santiago-Hudson Ruben Santiago-Hudson (born Ruben Santiago Jr., November 24, 1956) is an American actor, playwright, and director who has won national awards for his work in all three categories. He is best known for his role of Captain Roy Montgomery from 2009 ...

(Joe LeVay), and

Tracie Thoms Tracie Nicole Thoms is an Emmy-nominated American television, film, and stage actress and singer. She is known for her roles in ''Rent'', ''Cold Case'', '' The Devil Wears Prada'', ''Death Proof'', and the short-lived Fox television series ''Won ...

(Taylor). Understudies included

Jerome Preston Bates Jerome Preston Bates is an American theater, film and television actor, director and playwright. Bates was born in Augusta, Georgia. The family moved to the New York/New Jersey area when he was six but returned to Georgia when Bates began hig ...

(Joe), Don Guillory (Spoon/Flip), Gretchen Hall (Kimber), and Zakiya Young (Cheryl, Taylor). It was subsequently performed from October 24 to December 22, 2013, by

Arden Theatre Company (Philadelphia) The Arden Theatre Company is a full-service professional regional theatre located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, offering theatrical and educational productions and programs to artists, audiences, and students of the greater Philadelphia region. ...

, directed by Walter Dallas, across June and July 2015 at Windy City Playhouse, Chicago, directed by Chuck Smith (again), and from February 5 to March 15, 2020 at

Writers Theatre Writers Theatre is a non-profit theatre company founded in 1992 and located in Glencoe, Illinois. Michael W. Halberstam, the founder of the company, was artistic director from its inception until 2021. Kathryn M. Lipuma has been executive directo ...

, Glencoe, Illinois, directed by Ron OJ Parson. It was streamed online as a live reading from the actors' homes on August 1, 2020, by ''

Stars in the House ''Stars in the House'' is a daily live streamed web series created and hosted by Seth Rudetsky and his husband James Wesley to support The Actors Fund and its services. Created in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, ''Stars in ...

'', directed by Dell Howlett.

Reviews of Broadway production

Charles Isherwood Charles Isherwood (born 1964/65) is an American theater critic. Education Isherwood is a graduate of Stanford University. Career Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of ''Variety'', where he was pr ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote "this overstuffed but lively comedy-drama...also signifies a departure for Broadway in its depiction of generational conflict and sexual sparks among a well-to-do contemporary African-American family and friends. Pointed discussions of race and class erupt as often as testy personality clashes...The discovery of the evening is the quietly captivating Ms. Rashad".

Terry Teachout Terrance Alan Teachout (February 6, 1956 – January 13, 2022) was an American author, critic, biographer, playwright, stage director, and librettist. He was the drama critic of ''The Wall Street Journal'', the critic-at-large of ''Commentary'' ...

for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' said "One of the most exciting things that a playwright can do is to show you an unfamiliar way of life. A play that succeeds in doing so can be forgiven any number of theatrical sins. "Stick Fly," in which Lydia R. Diamond puts America's black upper class onstage, fills the bill on all counts. Yes, it's a mess, but a fascinating one, well directed by Kenny Leon and performed with total persuasiveness by his ensemble cast, and the best parts are so good that you'll be glad to forgive Ms. Diamond when she goes wrong."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

''Stick Fly'' at the Internet Broadway database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stick Fly 2006 plays African-American plays Broadway plays Plays about race and ethnicity Plays set in Massachusetts