WHITE GUY’S GUIDE, from p.26
an expository intro and poignant
coda to the piece.
The highly appealing, towheaded
Stewart does a fi ne job embodying
the tortured convict, wracked
with guilt not just over taking an
innocent life, but also about his
privilege. Most inmates are at
Rikers because, due to a disadvantaged
background, they can’t
afford bail. Roy was out on bail
within 24 hours and enjoyed two
years of freedom before serving
time. His sentence was only several
months, while most inmates
are shuffl ed around the system for
years.
The script does its best to come
to terms with the race issue and
Roy’s guilt.
“Even though you’re a minority
in here, you get to hold onto the
saving grace that you’re still a majority
out there. And that means...
you’re probably going to be out of
this hell hole in due course. And
that empty, unearned privilege is
what makes everyone rightfully
hate your guts just by looking at
you.”
Stewart also portrays the secondary
characters, though by design
they are one-dimensional.
There’s Shivon, his feisty heroinaddicted
transgender cellmate
with “great tits”; Saddam, his
drug-dealing buddy; Amir, leader
of the so-called Muslim Brotherhood;
and his pretty wife, who
ends up leaving him.
Throughout the proceedings
Roy offers a shrewd glossary lesson
for jailhouse neophytes, defi
ning lingo like “fl avors” (menthol
cigarettes), “fi sh” (new guy), “shiv”
(improvised stabbing weapon), and
“catch some money” (ejaculate). He
scrawls these key terms on a large
pad of paper as if giving a college
lecture.
Under the lucid direction of
Thomas G. Waites, this raw, insightful
drama moves at a brisk
clip, and I found myself riveted
on the edge of my seat. No need
for elaborate sets, just a couple of
chairs, an easel with a pad, an old
autographed photo of Roy and Ali,
and a golf club.
“I’m not supposed to be here,”
Roy laments over and over.
Once he accepts that, yeah, he
does belong there, he can begin to
heal.
In a recent interview Roy admits
he still has not fully healed.
Yet he’s comforted knowing that
his cautionary tale may prevent
others from making the same horrifi
c blunder. Grateful theatergoers
rush up to him after the play
vowing to never again drive after
drinking.
A WHITE MAN’S GUIDE TO RIKERS
ISLAND | The Producers Club,
358 W. 44th St. | Through Aug. 31:
Thu.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 3 p.m. |
$18-$25 at awhitemansguidetorikersisland.
com | Ninety mins.
I SPY A SPY, from p.26
plucky go-getter José, who fi nds
he has hidden talents as a sleuth.
He exudes a charming Lin-Manuel
Miranda unmistakable aura.
Emma Degerstedt paints a complex
inner life for Alina, as she
reluctantly navigates the rocky
transition from drab, stilted spy
to alluring starlet. As the Mafi osa
bent on extorting poor José, Nicole
Paloma Sarro fi nely shades an otherwise
stock character. Whenever
she is onstage, the production gets
a welcome jolt of electricity.
The musical numbers are a
mixed bag (Jackson wrote the lyrics,
Youn the music). There are too
many “I want” songs about hankering
for a new life in America,
and they blend together in their
sameness. One standout is an
emotionally rich, triumphant solo
ballad by Degerstedt, where Alina
defi antly bids farewell to living her
life for others. Kudos to music director
Dan Pardo and his skilled
band, which did not miss a beat.
To be fair, I confess my disappointment
with “I Spy A Spy” is
partly due to a sensitivity to its
topical, politically charged subject
matter. When a cartoonish “Ruskie
scumbag” sings lyrics like, “From
Bombay to Berlin, we can guarantee
a win, in a free and fair election,”
I don’t chuckle, I cringe.
I SPY A SPY | The Theatre at St.
Clement’s, 423 W. 46th St. | Through
Aug. 10: Tue. at 7 p.m., Wed.-Thu.
at 2 p.m. & 7 p.m.; Fri. at 8 p.m.,
Sat. at 2 p.m. & 8 p.m. | $79-$99
at ispyaspythemusical.com | Two
hrs., 30 mins., with intermission
Where culture
is king
MAJAH HYPE’S
ANNUAL LABOR DAY COMEDY SHOW
August 31
1027 FLATBUSH AVENUE
BROOKLYN NY 11226
TICKETS FROM
KINGSTHEATRE.COM
GayCityNews.com | August 1 - August 14, 2019 27
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