A Must See!!! Through The Night @ Crossroads Theatre
Questions:
Do you look to be inspired?
Do you look to be uplifted?
Do great performances touch and move you in ways you can’t describe?
If you answered yes…I URGE you to visit the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, tonight…or any night through February 21st.
Why?:
“Through The Night, A Soul Aria” written and performed by Daniel Beaty.
Directed by Charles Randolph Wright.
So…my normal witty, clever, sarcastic, and overall masterful prose (that you regularly enjoy with this award winning blog) is put to the side today to focus on quite simply put, one of the most powerful and moving plays I’ve seen in quite a while. This play provided a backdrop to what turned out to be a very special and memorable weekend.
This is a one-man play where Daniel Beaty portrays 6 male characters ranging in age from 10-60ish. Eric, Tuan, Dray, Isaac, Mr. Rogers, and “Bishop”. Beaty bounces from each character at a feverish pace right from the beginning introducing to us their vibrant personalities and distinct backgrounds. It soon becomes evident that each character’s life is intertwined with each other’s. The underlying message begins to appear and then builds throughout while Beaty masterfully turns dialogue into spoken arias, sermons, spirituals, comedy, and poetry…all which bring chills, tears, laughs, and emotional applauses from the audience. One word…captivating. Each character was so real…so powerful…so alive…and all coming from one man, which was so amazing, that I lack the words to describe it. The set is simple. It forces you to become entrapped in Beaty’s storytelling. An entire world appears right in front of your eyes that does not physically exist…but exists within your imagination. When an artist of any kind can take you on such a journey, this is where you touch on something special, something magical…from the artist themselves…and from within yourself.
So I tell you, go…just go…and you WILL be uplifted…you WILL be inspired…and you WILL be moved in ways you can’t describe.
Thank you Marshall. Thank you Daniel. Thank you Karen.











