Broke-ology February 18, 2010

Written by Nathan Louis Jackson
Directed by Kyle Hatley
In this emotionally powerful new work, playwright Nathan Jackson — trained at Juilliard but true to his Kansas City, Kansas roots — has turned to his hometown as the setting for this absorbing family drama. Meet the King family, an African-American family living in a lower middle class neighborhood in KCK. The King family is used to being broke, but when their father is diagnosed with a serious illness, sons Ennis and Malcolm must clearly decide where their loyalties lie. Malcolm is the first in his family to attend college, a testament to his mother, who died when the boys were young but not before passing on her ambitions for them to have a better life. Ennis, who stayed behind, has become a scholar of “broke-ology,” the study of being broke and staying alive. Now, with his father sick and his brother urging him to stay, Malcolm struggles to decide whether it is best to stay or go. This powerful new play by a brilliant young writer brings new perspectives on the struggles of the next generation in our city.
“thematically rich, structurally deft, and emotionally complex.” – The Boston Globe

Official Website: http://www.kcrep.org/our_season/2009-2010/Broke-ology.php