Washington Post - Recommended
"...The show’s most engaging and meticulously limned characters include Chaz/Chastity, an elegant transgender person who likes to wear chunky earrings and impersonate Patti LaBelle; Stephen, a young father once so conflicted about his sexuality that he entertained thoughts of suicide; and Countess Vivian, a gracious New Orleans nonagenarian who slowly and carefully prepares sweet tea while recalling, in a slightly bemused tone, what it was like to grow up a “sissy” in the Seventh Ward."
Washington Examiner - Recommended
"... Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj establishes a good pace for the show. He has Johnson sing and dance as well as talk, spicing up the production with stirring renditions of familiar spirituals."
MetroWeekly - Recommended
"... Like many a compelling performer, Johnson is an interesting mix of the highly self-conscious (in a good way) and the totally abandoned. He might slowly make iced tea with the cogitative precision of an elderly man one minute and not long later,let fly with charm and athleticism on an urban dance floor. He builds his characters' recitations with care and delivers their cries and verdicts with accomplished rhythm and pacing. He is warmly inviting even as he gently challenges us to consider that which we would perhaps prefer not to."
Washington City Paper - Recommended
"...From North Carolina choir lofts to Georgia schoolyards to the New Orleans garden where the nonagenarian Countess Vivian holds court, the where shapes the who in these stories—and vice versa, as men push slyly at boundaries and barriers most Yankees (and even many Southern whites) might assume are set in stone. Easy, entertaining reflections about sassy little sissies with the balls to cut a bully give way to more complicated but no less engaging narratives addressing how black gay men carve out space within—or negotiate exits from—the churches that help bind their communities. (“Karma,” says one man who sat through Bishop Eddie Long’s sermons on the origins of queerness, “is a bitch.”)"
Washingtonian - Recommended
"...And when he steps outside himself into character (usually one that is more over-the-top than he is), Johnson has an infectious energy and is frequently hilarious, whether embodying a cross dresser doing his best Patti LaBelle impersonation or a college student recounting the numerous athletes he’s slept with. Johnson has an easy rapport with the audience, who laugh along as Johnson jokes and interacts with them. Sweet Tea may not be afraid to tackle heavy territory, but Johnson is most irresistible during the show’s lighter moments."
ShowBizRadio - Highly Recommended
"...Director Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj has pulled out all the creative stops for this special arrangement, limited engagement production. His creative team has crafted a veritable masterpiece for the stage. A porch setting in a small, blackbox theater takes the audience to a warm summer afternoon enjoying an iced tea and a comfortable chat with an old friend. Carefully selected props and costume pieces cue the audience to which of the thirteen characters Johnson portrays at any given moment. Lights capture and focus the viewer’s attention on the moment, like chasing a firefly on a summer night. Sound effects were minimal, but heightened the senses by adding depth and ambiance especially to transitions. Leaving the theater felt reminiscent to packing up after a joyful family reunion."
MD Theatre Guide - Recommended
"...Although some of the stories were interesting and at times captivating, Johnson did not seem to distinguish any of them from a person living outside of the South. Many of his characters could have been any gay Black man living in New York, Delaware, Colorado, California, Massachusetts, and a great deal of other states. I kept wondering how living in the South as a Black gay man was any different than living anywhere else. I pondered but never received an answer."
Alexandria Gazette - Recommended
"..."Sweet Tea" contains explicit adult language and situations that may be uncomfortable for some, but for most it is a funny, tender and compelling love story of an oft-ignored voice of society. Brilliantly acted, it will resonate with audiences long after Johnson takes his final bow."
DCTheatreScene - Recommended
the result is a well-plotted treasury of stories, admirable in the grace with which the periods of wild joy and charming silliness balance with moments of bitterness, betrayal, and sorrow. Perhaps not everyone prefers the same cup of tea, but when so generously offered, the only right thing to do is to accept, say thank you, and listen.
