This article first appeared in Triangle Arts and Entertainment on January 31, 2022.

Stick fly is perhaps Lydia R. Diamond’s most well-known play among New York audiences, thanks to its 2011-12 Broadway Season produced by singer-songwriter Alicia Keys. But how does this play about an affluent African American family on Martha’s Vineyard stand up 10 years later, during a pandemic, and in the state of North Carolina? Quite well, going by Playmaker’s Repertory Company’s current production.

Though director and 21-season company member Katherine Hunter-Williams described the play as a story about “class, feminism, interacial relationships, colorism, and betrayal”, she wanted to “dig into” the humor and universal family dynamics - a goal that depends at least as much on the cast as the director.

The play opens on a young, African American woman removing white sheets from the furniture at center stage, singing and dancing to music playing on her earphones but audible to the audience. This is Cheryl, maid and long-time friend of the family who owns the house; and actress Omolade Wey makes it clear from the get-go that we are going to like her. The lights then illuminate a beautifully set stage with all the common rooms and amenities of a family’s summer vacation home in Martha’s Vineyard, with details as exacting as bags from Stop and Shop, the largest grocery chain in New England and likely the only one in Martha’s Vineyard.

Kent (Anthony August), the younger son of the wealthy and successful LeVay family, soon arrives with his fiancee Taylor (Ahdream Smith), after which Kent’s older brother Flip (Khalil Lesaldo) and their father (Oscar Best) appear. When Flip’s self-described WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) girlfriend Kimber (Tori Jewell) arrives, the scene is set for Diamond’s comedic exploration of “family, legacy and generational conflict.”

Lesaldo’s natural dialogue delivery and portrayal of Flip’s slippery character is immediately believable and appreciated. Nonetheless, the women are the standouts - not only because Diamond wrote them this way, but because Wey and Smith play them with passion and authenticity. Though she flubbed several lines, Smith’s harmonious portrayal of Taylor’s convictions and forthrightness in light of her personal insecurities is entertaining and refreshing. Wey brings out the young maid Cheryl more slowly, consistent with how she’s written, such that Wey’s mastery of the role and the depth of the character, herself, are more evident each time she appears.

The play is dominated by dialogue; and, given the static setting and the intimacy of the characters, it could be easy to imagine yourself on an unpleasant, somewhat boring vacation with family that loves to bicker and argue - not exactly the experience theatre-goers are looking for. At times it seems things might veer in this direction, but thankfully these moments are ameliorated with well-delivered passion or comic relief, generally delivered by the female characters. Nonetheless, fewer and shorter scene transitions would reduce the performance from 2.5 hours, which is a long time to demand an audience’s attention, particularly for a performance dominated by discussion.

Director Hunter-Williams’ stated that for her, at its heart, Stick Fly is about a family reclaiming “the fierce love they have for each other, even after big secrets are uncovered, and how we all need to hold on to the fact that we can all be transformed and healed.” However, the second half of the play - the only real “action” - presents more as quick and tidy closure than as believable transformation and healing. Fortunately, this is overshadowed by Ahdream Smith’s precise delivery of the last line of the play, which brings us to the foundation of human combativeness and defensiveness, regardless of race, class or gender: the desire to be accepted.

Playmaker’s Stick Fly is both thought-provoking and entertaining - not an easy combination. If you aren’t spent from listening to the actors’ conversations during the play, it’s sure to make for meaningful discussion afterwards.