Washington Post - Highly Recommended
"...But McCraney has chosen to tell a story on multiple levels. And with the give-and-take between Pharus and AJ periodically giving the tale an affecting intimacy, this "Choir Boy" sings a stirring tune."
DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended
"...At the heart of Tarel Alvin McCraney's Choir Boy, the new play at Studio Theatre, is the question of what it means to be a man. Actually, it's less of a question than a command. Set in the fictional Charles R. Drew School for Boys, a prestigious African American Prep School, Choir Boy is the story of five students who struggle to negotiate what it means to be a man in a world filled with ambiguities and shifting standards. Director Kent Gash builds a fascinating world dense with thorny intersections of race, class, and sexuality that are sometimes funny, sometimes uncomfortable. It is ultimately a play about forgiveness, and to this end there are moments that are extremely moving."
MetroWeekly - Highly Recommended
"...By play's end, the bullied choir boy isn't entirely victorious - and certainly not unscathed - in overcoming anti-gay adversity. And there's just something satisfyingly realistic, particularly as seen through gay eyes, about the way Pharus's experiences of being bullied, disrespected, misunderstood or rejected are shown to have subtly colored his life, and presumably will continue to do so. At the same time, they leave a theatergoer with few doubts about Pharus's faith to carry on or his ability to look ahead, to make a future brighter than his past - to forgive his trespassers, if not forget what they did."
Talkin Broadway - Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney has the gift of making unique situations easily accessible to his audiences. Few people have firsthand experience with life in a prestigious prep school for young African-American men, but his play Choir Boy, now at Washington's Studio Theatre, clearly lays out the issues of class and sexuality, of tradition and building the future-and it's riveting."
Washington Blade - Recommended
"...McCraney is best known for his acclaimed, autobiographical trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays”: “The Brothers Size,” “In the Red and Brown Water” and “Marcus: Or the Secret of Sweet,” all of which have been performed at Studio. While “Choir Boy” continues the playwright’s fusion of street slang and lyrical prose, it’s more accessible than the trilogy. And though not biographical, this account of gay youth figuring out how to be a whole and self-accepting gay man is told with undeniable insight."
MD Theatre Guide - Highly Recommended
"...I applaud director Kent Gash for making a wise decision in casting a solid ensemble of actor/singers for the production and Darius Smith assembles a strong, tight blend of soulful harmonized voices, producing a sweet, rich, and dynamic fusion of lively spiritual gospel, pop, and bluesy sounds. Smith knows exactly how to bring out an authentic a cappella rendition of New Edition's, "Can You Stand the Rain," with the group as their bona fide vibes are expressed through beat-boxing, stomping and clapping. Marty Austin Lamar has a spine-chilling solo moment showcasing his deep, vibrant, powerful sound."
DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended
It is a risky thing to make this claim in the first month of the year. But if you see one show at Studio Theatre in 2015, let it be Choir Boy. Tarrell Alvin McCraney, the wunderkind playwright who studied under August Wilson, is no stranger to Studio’s stage. The plays of his Brother/Sister Trilogy enjoyed lengthy runs at Studio in the years between 2007 and 2011.
Magic Time - Highly Recommended
"...Director Kent Gash has ably staged McCraney's work-the musical numbers (I'll say it again:) are not to be missed-but the acting style adopted for the intervening scenes takes a little getting used to. It's very "play to the balcony" Broadway, brisk and vaudeville-broad, almost sit-comy. Concision of pace is a plus in musical theater but the consequence here is that the actorly in-the-momentness one might expect (given the extraordinarily emotional depth of McCraney's character arcs) seems in sparse supply. This limitation is to be expected, perhaps, when the engine driving a show is its crowd-pleasing musical numbers (and please the crowd they do-the predominantly white audience I was with applauded rapturously after every stirring number). Yet there's an absence where the underlying soul aches in McCraney's stories are not more palpably present."
