\u201cHe is carrying legacy,\u201d Kane said. \u201cHe is carrying risk, ego, as well as the hopes of an entire people. And as a Black man and as an artist, that speaks to me deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jack Johnson died in Raleigh in 1946 due to injuries from a reckless driving accident that occurred after he was denied service at a diner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at the weight of his death and it taking place here, and many years later, coming and doing this show here, I think about him every time I am on the road,\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n
Kane said that he worked to strip away the gravitas of Jay\u2019s life, so he could reveal the psychological underpinnings of his character.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the surface there is power, there is smooth, there is strength, but underneath that, there is doubt,\u201d Kane said. \u201cThere is fear, fear of losing, fear of success and having to [manage] that complicated juggle. It is a very great artistic challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the company\u2019s excitement about the show, fewer tickets have sold than expected, Benesch said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it boxing? Is it the violence?” Benesch said. “Is it [that] right now people do not want to spend their time in a sort of racial justice forum, a conversation around historical racial and social justice? It is interesting just trying to figure out what the temperature of the community is.”<\/p>\n
However, Benesch said she hopes that by combining athletics and arts into her season, Playmakers can bring more people to the shows who do not think theater is for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In October, “Theatre That Moves” will continue with a show about a high school women\u2019s soccer team, called “The Wolves.”<\/p>\n
\u201cAthletics is so huge here, and there’s a real movement right now to make arts as much of a pillar in the Carolina experience,\u201d Benesch said.<\/p>\n
lifestyle@dailytarheel.com<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0@dthlifestyle<\/a><\/p>\n \n To get the day’s news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.\n <\/p>\n