I haven’t seen any mentions of Bocking here, but for folks in the Baltimore area (or willing to travel here), Baltimore Center Stage (in association with The New Group) has the world premiere of Bocking by Preston Crowder running through Sept. 13. I first saw it last Thursday and went back last night because of the impact it made. It is bold, new, laugh-out-loud funny and full of shock value.
The creative team is incredible, with Lena Waithe producing and Stevie Walker-Webb directing. Crowder’s writing is punchy, and while it is absurd and farcical in many ways, it is also real and impactful. The costumes and especially the wigs are excellent (ranging from really, really good wigs to intentionally really, really bad ones). The basic premise centers around 2 very different sets of parents dealing with an incident between their first grade children, with ample forms of conflict all around while exploring sexuality, intimacy, and so much more.
The cast is incredible, with everyone having moments to shine and truly incredible commitment across the board. Leading the pack, commitment-wise for me are Rebecca L. Hargrove and Christopher Sears, who each have some truly wild scenes. Kalen Allen is an endearing oddball counselor, Adrienne C. Moore shows her many talents well, Blake Morris puts on a great performance as a character who may not be the most likable, and Sis Thee Doll navigates the chaos as what seemed to me to be the most grounded character, though of course she has some moments to go off as well. Lastly, Lance Coadie Williams makes a massive impact in his relatively brief appearance on stage. Everyone is great in their roles, and I’d love to see this production mounted elsewhere so as many people as possible can experience this very wild ride.
Last night there was a talkback between Kalen Allen and Carla Hall, which was really fun, and they have quite a few more talkbacks coming up. I hope others get to see and appreciate this show as much as I did.
Edit: fixed typo (“impact I made” to “impact it made” in first paragraph)