Pegasus Theatre’s play, Dontell, Who Kissed the Sea, benefits from the poetic language of playwright Nathan Alan Davis and the production’s water theme. The work is directed by Ilesa Duncan, who created the fine production of Native Son that recently ran at Lifeline Theatre. Duncan moves her cast of seven through the many moods of Dontrell’s ambition and his family’s concerns, punctuated by screaming, love and prayer, always with a background of water. (The essential projections are by Eme Ospina-Lopez.)
The play is set in the present day in Baltimore on a bare stage with dreamy elements of magical realism and a bluesy sonic background. (Scenic design is by Wynn Lee with lighting by Brenden Marble. Original music and sound design by Christopher Kriz.)
As the action begins, Dontrell Jones III (Blake Dupree) is on stage, surrounded by the six characters who will support him on his hero’s quest. Each in turn provides something that will be important to Dontrell: a mini-cassette recorder, sturdy shoes, water, a snack. When not performing, the six actors sit just off-stage right and left.
Dontrell Jones III is 18 years old; he wakes from a dream where he learns that his long-ago ancestor was a passenger in the dank, stinking belly of a slave ship during the Middle Passage. This grandfather (many greats) met and loved a woman on the ship. He then climbed to the deck and “with dawn approaching, the setting stars seem to cradle him … he springs into the deep.”
“How am I to answer this priceless vision? Should I believe what I already think I know? That it’s now my burden to pull him up to shore?”
Thus, Dontrell decides that it’s his destiny to venture to the deeps of the Atlantic Ocean to find his ancient grandfather—or his grandfather’s fate. Dontrell, who doesn’t know how to swim, meets lifeguard Erika (Emma Wineman) who will play a pivotal role in his quest. (Wineman’s cameo as Nemo during Dontrell’s visit to the aquarium is a comic highlight of the play.)
At a family celebration, Dontrell confronts his family’s hopes for him. His sister Danielle (Aundria TraNay) and cousin Shea (Aja Singletary) are there and so is Erika, now Dontrell’s swim coach. His friend Robby (Zay Williams) tells a story—one of those childhood legends—about a trip to the zoo when D and he were 4 and 5.
His mom (Maya Abram) wants Dontrell to start college and forget the dream. Mom and Dad (David Goodloe) portray parents with emotional nuance in their goals for their son. In Dad’s scene with Dontrell, he tries to get him to recognize the difference between the states of dream and awake. Dontrell asks him, “Don’t tell me you never had dreams … like I’m talkin’…” And Dad says, “That shit skips a generation.” But you know Dontrell will persist.
In an interview with the Cleveland Public Theatre, Davis said that he comes from an interracial family and he doesn’t know a lot about his family history. “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea is sort of me trying to make sense of who I am and where I came from—which I think is a pretty universal sort of longing. Wanting to know where you’re from, why you’re here, where you’re going.”
Director Duncan gets solid performances from the cast and the creative team’s efforts. Other credits go to Tanji Harper for choreography, Emma Brandenburger for costumes, and Paloma Locsin for props. Caitlyn Birmingham is stage manager.
Playwright Davis, a Rockford native, is a Juilliard playwriting graduate and director of the MFA playwriting program at Boston University. Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, received a Steinberg/ATCA citation in 2015. His other plays include Nat Turner in Jerusalem, which shines a light on the fight to end slavery; it will be staged by American Players Theatre in October. Davis’ quirky play about the future of theater, The Art of Bowing, was produced here in 2023 by Haven Chicago.
Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea, by Pegasus Theatre Chicago continues through August 18 at Chicago Dramatists, 798 N. Aberdeen St. Running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $15-$30 for performances Friday-Sunday.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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