The Playwright Behind ‘Fat Ham,’ James Ijames, Is Back Off-Broadway, With ‘Good Bones’

In “Fat Ham,” the uproarious, Pulitzer Prize-winning takeoff on “Hamlet” that marked playwright James Ijames’s Broadway debut last year, the protagonist, a sensitive but wisecracking young man, was haunted by the ghost of his father, who after cruelly demeaning him demanded that his son avenge his murder. In Mr. Ijames’s new play, “Good Bones,” now in production off-Broadway at the Public Theater, where “Ham” also had its New York premiere, the ghosts are less aggressive. For starters, we don’t see them; they reveal themselves mostly through sounds and actions that only gradually become less subtle: peals of laughter, a door that opens on its own. This is fitting, as “Bones” is a relatively quiet, straightforward work, with none of the outsized characters, provocative humor, or flamboyant twists that made “Ham” so distinctive, hilarious, and ultimately touching. As a piece of social commentary, though, Mr. Ijames’s new play is just as ambitious, and arguably even more urgent, in its fashion. The new play unfolds in an urban townhouse, in a neighborhood that we will soon learn is undergoing a slow and painful process of gentrification. The first scene is staged behind a plastic curtain, through which we spot furniture covered and arranged by set designer Maruti Evans to suggest ongoing renovation. Khris Davis and Mamoudou Athie in ‘Good Bones’ Joan MarcusWe’re introduced to one of the homeowners, Aisha, an elegant, educated woman who grew up in the neighborhood before this process began in earnest, and is now abetting it as an advocate for a new sports arena that’s become a point of contention for some locals. They include Earl, the contractor that Aisha and her husband, Travis, have hired to spruce up their place. Travis was born into wealth, and he and Aisha have spent time at Seattle, Los Angeles, and Colorado before returning to her hometown. Earl takes a shine to them at first, and relates to what he perceives as Aisha’s aspirational nature, even encouraging her to buy fancier doorknobs. “You two seem like good people,” he tells them. “Glad we still got some flavor around here.”Tensions emerge, naturally, when Earl discovers Aisha’s line of work, and they boil over when another disclosure, concerning Travis, occurs at what is supposed to be a conciliatory dinner party. Like other developments in the play, we see this one coming from miles away — just as we know the ghosts represent those who have given the community its roots and, as Earl would put it, flavor.If “Bones” is lacking in suspense, Mr. Ijames’s piquant wit pokes through, and it’s enhanced by the crisp, knowing direction of Saheem Ali, also the playwright’s collaborator on “Ham.” Khris Davis is the cast’s comedic standout, imbuing Earl with an easy warmth and razor-sharp timing; as Aisha, Susan Kelechi Watson credibly captures both the earthy local girl who wins Earl’s affection and the hyper-driven professional woman who is still haunted by the past.At one point, Aisha confronts Earl about the difficult and dangerous conditions they both experienced growing up. “I lived in fear every day of my life,” she insists. He retorts, “You’re still living in fear!” Earl’s younger sister, Carmen, an Ivy League student who clearly shares Aisha’s drive, turns up as a sort of moderating voice, and Téa Guarino gives the role a wholesome charm. But perhaps no character reinforces the central conflict in “Good Bones” more obviously than Travis, a man who at first blush seems to defer to women — his mother as well as his wife. Played by a graceful Mamoudou Athie, he nonetheless has his own ambitions, and they include getting a new restaurant off the ground, where the menu will include chicken bristle with caviar and oxtail on cornbread toast.Earl asks if the fledgling establishment is a “soul food spot”; Travis describes it thusly: “We take the standards and make them sing.” As Mr. Ijames reminds us, such goals can be trickier than they would seem.

The Playwright Behind ‘Fat Ham,’ James Ijames, Is Back Off-Broadway, With ‘Good Bones’

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