Antonio’s Music / I Was Dreaming of a Son is a robust and transferring play presently being staged on the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Written by Dael Orlandersmith and Antonio Edwards Suarez, the play explores themes of id, household, and the seek for that means in life. The play directed by Mark Clements presents the easy fluidity of Suarez as he shares the story of his life expertise with race, abuse and fatherhood.
At its core, Antonio’s Music is a narrative a couple of man who’s struggling to reconcile his previous along with his current. The play takes place over the course of a single day, as Antonio displays on his life and the alternatives he has made. By means of a sequence of monologues and interactions with different characters, we find out about Antonio’s upbringing within the South Bronx, New York, his relationship along with his mother and father, and his struggles to seek out his place on the earth.
One of the vital compelling elements of Antonio’s Music is the way in which wherein it blends completely different genres and kinds of efficiency. At occasions, the play looks like a spoken-word poetry slam, with Suarez delivering rapid-fire verses which can be each mesmerizing and emotionally charged. At different occasions, the play takes on a extra conventional dramatic type, with Suarez embodying completely different characters and bringing their tales to life.
Suarez delivers a tour-de-force efficiency that’s each nuanced and deeply affecting. He brings a uncooked vulnerability to the function of Antonio, conveying the character’s ache and confusion with a heartbreaking authenticity. On the identical time, he fees the play with a way of hope and resilience, exhibiting us that even within the midst of battle and uncertainty, it’s doable to seek out that means and objective in life.
Antonio’s Music / I Was Dreaming of a Son is an enthralling, heartbreaking and heartwarming story with emotionally nuanced tales of affection, household and self-realization.
Total, Antonio’s Music / I Was Dreaming of a Son is a must-see play that’s positive to resonate with audiences of all backgrounds and experiences. With its highly effective performances, progressive staging, and poignant storytelling, it’s an unforgettable theatrical expertise that can stick with you lengthy after you allow the theater.
Antonio’s Music / I Was Dreaming of a Son is working till Might 28, 2023, on the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.
