SpeakEasy & Front Porch Hold First #BLACKOUTBOSTON Performance

On Tuesday, October 15, The Front Porch Arts Collective, Boston's newest professional Black theatre company, teamed up with SpeakEasy Stage to host a special #BlackOutBoston takeover performance of the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of CHOIR BOY.

Inspired by the recent BlackOut event for Jeremy O. Harris' Slave Play, in which Black individuals filled an entire 800 seat Broadway house for the Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 performance, Front Porch gathered Black-identified artists, activists, intellectuals, creatives, and students for a chance to experience CHOIR BOY with a primarily Black audience.

The first-of-its-kind event completely sold out the 209-seat Roberts Studio Theatre at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts in the city's South End.

"Our goal was to offer Black audiences the chance to experience what their white counterparts enjoy on a regular basis, and that is the chance to be the majority in a theatre audience," said CHOIR BOY director and Front Porch Co-Founder Maurice Emmanuel Parent. "We also wanted to offer attendees the nourishing experience of seeing oneself mirrored both on-stage and off."

"Having so many audience members with personal connections to the culture made the script sing in new ways," said Parent, when asked about the experience of seeing the show with a mostly Black audience. "It was a huge success. I can't wait to recreate this for future shows."

Early response from those attending this special performance have been overwhelmingly positive.

On Facebook, Elizabeth Addison of Boston wrote: "For the first time in my entire theatre going life I saw a play with an audience of all people of color (with a few white exceptions). I go to theatre an average of two times a week. I have never totally felt at home, always aware that I was other. Over time, I learned how to behave like a good audience member, keeping my responses to what I was seeing on the inside. I wanted them to see I belonged there too. Tonight, I was able to fully let that go as others in the audience responded in ways that felt natural to them. Natural to me. Ways that I learned to suppress. I needed this. I really needed this. I am grateful."

And in a voicemail to Mr. Parent, Juanita Rodriguez of Malden, MA commented, "It was amazing. Just the sense of community - it was so lovely, so beautiful. I just wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you."

Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Moonlight, and nominated for four 2019 Tony Awards, CHOIR BOY is set at an elite all-Black boys prep school, and focuses on the challenges faced by a young gay man as he fights to lead his school's prestigious gospel choir. The show intricately weaves gospel, blues, and R&B and Step choreography into the narrative to highlight the play's themes of identity, loyalty, and friendship.

The Porch has not yet set plans for the next #BlackOutBoston performance.

CHOIR BOY runs through Saturday, Oct. 19th at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont in the South End. For tickets or more information, the public can call the Boston Theatre Scene box-office at 617-933-9600 or visit SpeakEasyStage.com.