Deeply meaningful and musical, Steppenwolf’s 'Choir Boy' hits all the right notes

Steppenwolf Theatre is no stranger to bold stories that cut to the heart of social woes, and their production of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy is no exception. A play tackling the contradictions within masculinity, homophobia, and racism, Choir Boy’s synopsis reads as follows:

“Pharus Young is now a senior at the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, an institution committed to building 'strong, ethical Black men,' where he endeavors to be the best leader of the school’s prestigious choir in its fifty-year history.”

McCraney’s play is beautiful, gut-wrenching, and poignant. Pharus, being a young gay Black man who must hide who he is in order to live up to suffocating expectations, is admirable, sympathetic, and relatable to so many who have yet to have their stories told onstage. Unrelenting passion and craft is evident from all aspects of this production, and this coming-of-age story serves as a vital reminder that Black stories need to be celebrated and uplifted in the entertainment industry at large.

Director Kent Gash delicately and bravely handles the intimacy and brute force of McCraney’s play, and the audience feels the crackling, unkempt energy of hormonally charged youth. As such, the peaks of joy are matched only by the depths of despair. The juxtaposition of extremes, emotionally and philosophically, is paramount to Pharus’s journey into manhood.

These highest of highs and lowest of lows are accentuated by lighting designer Jason Lynch, whose scrutinizing and specific use of color and contrast makes Choir Boy sparkle. Scenic designer Arnel Sancianco crafts a lofty, imposing temple of a school, complete with running water, a classic challenge of stagecraft that is deftly managed.

Music director Jermaine Hill shapes a blend of beautiful voices in a set of challenging and exposing circumstances. As all music in the play is sung a cappella, the choir must congregate in pitchless silence, and solo as such in kind. These arrangements bellow and roar in a wall of sound under Hill’s supervision. 

Choreographer Bryon Easley leans into the aggression, competition, and pride of these boys. Intense and rhythmic movement stirs the soul and fills the theater with as much of a beat as it does applause. Easley’s movement is athletic, precise, and most of all, show-stopping. 

Each member of this cast brings a thoughtful depth to their roles, and each of them provide masterclass performances in their own right. Jos N. Banks shines as the ambitious Pharus. A challenging role of daunting complexity, Banks fearlessly confronts the pride, shame, and confusion of a young man in turmoil. 

Sheldon D. Brown endears and dazzles as AJ, Pharus’ roommate and staunchest supporter. Brown’s warmth and candor is magnetic, and his baritone is velvety smooth perfection. 

Richard David plays shy minister-to-be David with remarkable subtlety and precision. Samuel B. Jackson alights as the humorous, impressionable Junior, and never fails to draw a smile from the audience. Gilbert Domally is intense and indomitable as Bobby, Pharus’ rival and the choir’s loose cannon. 

La Shawn Banks embodies the complicated and crushing expectation of authority as Headmaster Marrow, and William Dick’s Mr. Pendleton is an aptly ignorant (if sympathetic) foil to Banks’s headmaster. 

The intimate world of McCraney’s Choir Boy is an authentic microcosm of American society at large: a society that expects far too much of those who are already given too little. A play of such substance and scope is refreshing, remarkable, and necessary. Under the stewardship of skilled actors and craftsmen, this production shines as an example of the work that this industry sorely needs more of.

Choir Boy runs through July 24th at Steppenwolf’s Downstairs Theater, 1650 N Halsted St. For tickets or more information, please click here.

Photo by Michael Brosilow.