This incendiary play is as timely as today’s headlines, so imagine my surprise when I learned that it is actually a revival, originally produced here in Los Angeles in 2015! The production introduces a new theatre company headed by Markieth Ka’Von to the arts community, with only the director, Levy Lee Simon, returning to the show.
Playwright Javon Johnson has fashioned a compelling generational totem that examines the conditions – both social and familial – that propel some toward a downward spiral, while others head toward redemption. If that’s too opaque, it’s because I want to withhold a plot synopsis in favor of your discovery as circumstances play out.
Suffice it to say that two youngsters, played by Joseph Russell Proctor and Cody Sechrist, meet when they are locked up in jail as a result of their acts of gun violence. You might think such circumstances come as the result of radically different home-lives, but the families, despite their racial differences, are both middle class. Young Procter’s parents (played by Jah Shams and and Marie Francoise -Theodore) are both professionals, while young Sechrist’s father (Brian DeMarco) is a cop and his mother (Andrea M. Anderson) is a stay-at-home Mom.
Playwright Johnson sympathetically unpacks their similarities despite their differences in a series of scenes, interspersed with their youngster’s growing friendship, as well as some creative “raps,” performed by both Proctor and Sechrist. In fact, the structure of the play is so loose that it inspired me to suppose that the young men’s story, interspersed with rap, would be a wonderful play in itself, then countered with another complete play explicating the parents’ stories as an explanation, (and with more rap, of course).
As with any young company, the Mark Theatre provides the bare bones needed for this innovative play. The settings ( Herb Newsome), describing not one but three spaces, are huddled together and partially differentiated by lighting (by Lauren Kennedi & Millan Jacquilyn). Costumes help to carry the message, while the variety of props (all by Markietha Ka’Von) enhance the realism of each space. As you can tell, the possibilities in this production are endless, but the message is as true today as in 2015. The inequities we live with, not to mention the gun violence, need attention, and it’s needed now!
Breathe, continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3 pm, through November 2nd, 2025, at The Mark Theatre, 5144 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. All Tickets, $35. Reservations: online at www.marktheatre.com
