Avenue of the Arts BU Theatre
January 4 – February 3, 2013
Adapted for the Stage by Oren Jacoby
Based on the Novel by Ralph Ellison
Directed by Christopher McElroen
Roles: Preacher, Big Halley, Bledsoe, Brockway, Old Man, Brother Wrestrum, Barrelhouse, and Ensemble
On the stairs as the Preacher, prophesying the journey of Invisible Man (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As Big Halley, proprietor of The Golden Day Saloon, giving Burnside a drink of water (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As Dr. Bledsoe, president of the college, asserting his power by expelling Invisible Man (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As Lucius Brockway, mixer of Liberty Paint’s “Optic White” and inventor of the paint’s slogan, worried that Invisible Man (Teagle F. Bougere) is out to get his job (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As Dr. Bledsoe, face smeared with yam as Invisible Man (Teagle F. Bougere) gets his imaginary vengeance (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As an Old Man, cruelly evicted with his wife (Joy Jones) from their lifelong home in the cold of winter (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As the jealous Brother Wrestrum, a leader of the Brotherhood, planning to denounce Invisible Man for his “dangerous and undisciplined” persuasive skills (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
As Barrelhouse, bartender at The Jolly Dollar, calming the fiery McAdams (Brian D. Coats) with the help of Dehart (McKinley Belcher III) to prevent a fight with Invisible Man (Teagle F. Bougere) (PHOTO: T. Charles Erickson)
Critical Response
“The supporting actors all played multiple roles which are distinctively nuanced. Notable were Johnny Lee Davenport as the booming Preacher, the mean-spirited Dr. Bledsoe and the angry, resigned Brockway and Brian D. Coats as the ghostly Grandfather, the street person Burnside and Peter Wheatstraw.”
—Mark Favermann, Berkshire Fine Arts (January 9, 2013)
“Invisible Man features a strong supporting cast that includes McKinley Belcher III, Brian D. Coats, Deidra LaWan Starnes, and several of Boston’s finest actors: Johnny Lee Davenport, Jeremiah Kissel, and De’Lon Grant.”
—Don Aucoin, The Boston Globe (January 10, 2013)
“The play is full of many such heartrending truths, but the underlying truth of this production is the powerhouse performance of Teagle F. Bougere, a very visible, wondrous Everyman. The supporting cast, every one of them superb, includes McKinley Belcher III, Brian D. Coats, Johnny Lee Davenport, De’Lon Grant, Edward James Hyland, Joy Jones, Jeremiah Kissel, Deidra LaWan Starnes and Julia Watt. In perhaps the juiciest roles, Coats, Belcher and Davenport stand out, but individually and as an ensemble, they’re all awe-inspiring.”
—Jack Craib, South Shore Critic (January 10, 2013)
“Christopher McElroen directs an excellent cast, particularly Brian D. Coats and a couple of local favorites, Johnny Lee Davenport and Jeremiah Kissel. Teagle F. Bougere in the title role is terrific in the parts that call for great oratory.”
—Ed Siegel, WBUR (January 11, 2013)
“In one of the play’s pivotal scenes, when Invisible Man discovers a particularly hideous betrayal by the president of his college (played by Johnny Lee Davenport, in a typically commanding performance), he begins to sing the song that is playing in the background — ‘They Picked Poor Robin’ — and you can almost hear his heart breaking.”
—Alicia Blaisdell-Bannon, Cape Cod Times (January 11, 2013)
“A small cast of players manages to populate the stage with a plethora of stylized and memorable characters. . . . McKinley Belcher III is terrifying as Ras, a fiery “destroyer” who preaches violent overthrow of the white regime. Johnny Lee Davenport plays a corrupt college president and a charismatic preacher with equal élan.”
—Killian Melloy, Edge Boston (January 11, 2013)
“Bougere carries the weight of the play on his shoulders and never falters. . . . His performance is complemented by nine incredible actors and actresses in the ensemble who each play multiple roles with nary a false note. Bostonians Johnny Lee Davenport, De’Lon Grant, and Jeremiah Kissel make their impact respectively as the nefarious college president, a disenchanted youth leader of the Brotherhood, and Brother Jack, the white leader who recruits invisible man to the organization.”
—Nancy Grossman, BroadwayWorld.com (January 12, 2013)
“The neatened-up production at the Huntington Theatre, a co-production with Washington’s Studio Theatre, is usually compelling, . . . featuring a cast that digs gleefully into Ellison’s language when given a chance. McKinley Belcher III, Brian D. Coats, Jeremiah Kissel, Joy Jones, and Johnny Lee Davenport fight against the inevitable flattening of the book’s rounded characters.”
—Bill Marx, Arts Fuse (January 13, 2013)
“Johnny Lee Davenport is harrowing as Dr. Bledsoe, the president of the college who scolds the main character ‘You’ve grown up in the South, and you haven’t learned to lie?”
—Peter Gross, Examiner.com (January 13, 2013)
“Bougere gives a bravura performance as the Invisible Man, but Johnny Lee Davenport is right there with him as a fire-breathing preacher and the double-crossing college president who turns him away from the school.”
—Rich Fahey, On Boston Stages Blog (January 14, 2013)
“Johnny Lee Davenport, as both Bledsoe and Brockway, brings the play gravity whenever in a scene.”
—Gillian Daniels, The New England Theatre Geek (January 14, 2013)
“Bougere is ably abetted by an ensemble of nine, the mightiest of whom are Johnny Lee Davenport as power-corrupted ‘Negro’ college President Bledsoe, among other roles, and Jeremiah Kissel as folksily ruthless mentor/organizer Brother Jack.”
—Carolyn Clay, The Boston Phoenix (January 15, 2013)
“We follow this man through even uglier exploitation from the college’s power-hungry president, whom Boston star Johnny Lee Davenport portrays venomously.”
—Sheila Barth, Theater Mirror (January 15, 2013)
“It should also be noted that there is not a single weak link in this exemplary cast. Teagle F. Bougere is nothing less than phenomenal in the lead role. . . . And the supporting players were just as compelling; local lights Johnny Lee Davenport, De’Lon Grant and Jeremiah Kissel did themselves proud.”
—Thomas Garvey, The Hub Review (January 17, 2013)