The Royale’s five-person cast shines in this inventively staged production at the Dairy Arts Center
Talk about theatre that packs a punch! Butterfly Effect Theatre Colorado (BETC) fulfills its mission to create entertaining and emotionally stirring theater with The Royale — a gripping, action-packed sports drama that explores the value of representation and the cost of success.
The 2015 play by playwright Marco Ramirez vividly portrays the world of sports as a boxer in 1905 who refuses to let institutional racism hold him back. The plot revolves around Jay “The Sport” Jackson (Lavour Addison), who aspires to be the undisputed heavyweight champion. Though he asks his promoter, Max (Augie Truhn), to set up the fight, the white boxer’s representative demands 90% of the fight’s revenue. Max tells Jay that this is an insult and urges him not to take the deal.
Yet, after talking to his older mentor, Wynton (Cris Davenport), and his new boxing friend, Fish (Cameron Davis), Jay accepts the deal because the visibility of a white boxer fighting a Black boxer for the first time could change history. Before the fight, Jay is visited by his sister, Nina (Alicia “Lisa” Young), who forces him to consider who he’s fighting for his community or himself? The play uses boxing as a lens to explore the expectations that are placed on the individuals who are the “first” in spaces — and the complicated price of legacy.
The play’s direction by Jada Suzanne Dixon is next-level. Ramirez’s script employs quick, rhythmic language, and Dixon uses this to her advantage by having actors clap or breathe to mark important phrases, fight scenes or emotions. The Dairy Arts Center’s Carsen Theater is the perfect venue for this play, and Dixon utilizes the intimacy of the space to her advantage. Dixon plays with the voyeuristic nature of theatre by instructing the performers to address the audience as the spectators Jay fears are always watching him. Whether you like it or not, you are involved in the play’s complicated actions.
The audience is placed inside a boxing ring by scenic designer Tina Anderson, who has built a partial boxing ring and hung a punching bag from the ceiling. Dixon is greatly assisted in transforming the space into various settings and moods by the work of lighting designer Emily Maddox and sound designer CeCe Smith. Maddox’s lighting color scheme of blue and orange works well for this piece. Smith’s soundscapes and ambient noises are captivating without being intrusive. The pair’s design work was particularly impressive during the fight and crowd scenes. Dixon uses a shadow-boxing staging technique, adding lighting and audio cues to highlight the punches delivered by each boxer. Maddox and Smith’s synchronization of the technical aspects during these scenes was impressive.
Addison is a towering presence. The training that he put into playing Jay paid off; you believe he is the world’s greatest boxer. (Read my Boulder Weekly story for more on the rehearsal process.) Addison’s scene on the punching bag near the end of the play was powerful to witness and Ramirez’s quick dialogue is expertly delivered by Addison. By the end of Act Two, Addison has you convinced that if he can just win this fight, maybe things will be all right.
Davis and Davenport both deliver strong supporting performances as Fish and Wynton, respectively. Davis is the young boxer Jay takes under his wing to help him with training. Addison and Davis have a nice rapport, and the pair’s opening fight scene is the kind of in-person, human-created spectacle that only theatre can produce. Davenport’s reactions are powerful throughout the play, and his monologue to Jay about his involvement in a violent sport for the amusement of white people is emotionally devastating.
Truhn plays Max, Jay’s white promoter, and all the white voices (such as the press and audience members) in the boxing world. He creates distinct voices for each of these roles without relying on stereotypes. The scene in which Dixon directs Truhn to question Jay from every angle of the room was well thought out and executed. Truhn portrays Max as a promoter who cares about Jay but keeps his cards close to his chest; though his legacy is tied to Jay’s career, he does not have to face the same struggle that he does while reaping all of the benefits of his success.
Although Jay spends the majority of the play without a serious challenger to his power (Fish, Wynton and Max are all there to support his ascension to the top), when Young enters the scene as his sister, Nina, the entire energy of the play shifts. Young commands the stage from the moment she begins speaking, forcing Jay to consider the white backlash to his success and what that means for the rest of the Black community. Young’s character is a force to be reckoned with, reminding us everything is far more complicated than simply winning the fight and making things better.
What happens after the fight? Though we see a dramatization that answers this question for these characters right away, the show’s scripted conclusion was less satisfying than the questions posed by the play. The Royale’s small cast consistently delivers an exhilarating and complex story about the sacrifices required to win and who is left out of Jay’s ascension to the top.
Leave A Comment