The Story
Before It Hits Home Dazzles Audiences in PBK’s Studio Theater
Before It Hits Home just completed a successful run at the College's studio theater in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall. The theater overflowed with audience members on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, winning a much-deserved standing ovation after each performance.
Before It Hits Home is part of the Theater Department’s Second Season, which supplements the regular season’s shows performed on the main stage. The next Second Season production is Bones, directed by Keegan Cassady ('10), and will run from April 15 to 17.
Before It Hits Home was directed by Jason Blackwell ('10), a senior at the College studying theater and marketing. In the director’s notes, Blackwell tells the audience that he chose this show because he wanted to direct a play about a black family. This play not only fits the bill but also raises issues that are not generally explored in black literature.
“Dealing with alternative sexualities, AIDS and a mother’s abandonment," Blackwell said, "Before It Hits Home brings to the forefront issues that are typically swept under the table in the black community.”
Though there now exist several plays written on the subject of AIDS, Cheryl L. West’s script of Before It Hits Home focuses more on the relationships between the family members, making the play seem far from trite. The family is portrayed as a stable, loving unit whose relationships are put to the test upon an instance of crisis.
In his curtain speech before the play began, Blackwell invited the audience into a new world with the words: “Welcome to the family.” This sentence takes on a new meaning over the course of the play, but at the time, it served as a welcome into a passionate and unique family which kept the audience captivated for two hours.
The cast, led by Logan Scott ('13) and Ashley Ward (J.D., '12), take the audience through an emotional journey and let no one off the ride until the house lights return to full brightness at the end of the second act. The audience is immediately swept into the story with moments of comedy, particularly through the character Angel, portrayed by Eden Stuart ('13), then taken into a world of passion and suffering, mixed with feelings of sadness and comfort.
Under Blackwell’s direction, every character possesses a distinct personality and drive which allows the audience to become deeply invested in each one of them, despite the fact that they are often in conflict with each other. In many scenes, his direction is practically invisible, as the characters appear to take on lives of their own. The set is cleanly designed and creates a comfortable and inviting atmosphere, and the costumes are pleasing and appropriate for the time.
Before It Hits Home, written in 1989, was West’s first play to be produced. Its content, though shocking, opened many of the public’s eyes to some of the issues which existed in the undercurrent but were rarely brought to the table for discussion.
In reflecting on the themes explored in this play, it is impossible not to acknowledge the places that theater and the arts have taken us and the influence they will continue to play on our society when we give them the respect they deserve.