The Chase Center is no longer the only place in San Francisco where you can find squeaking sneakers and buzzer-beater shots this spring: San Francisco Playhouse has turned itself into a basketball court.
Written by acclaimed playwright Candrice Jones and directed by Margo Hall, “Flex” is set in the rural town of Plainnole, Arkansas and follows the high school girls’ basketball team, the Lady Trains, in their pursuit of a state championship win. What may sound like a cliche premise actually addresses complex questions about gender and sexuality, pregnancy and abortion and what it means for youthful competition to carry the weight of adult responsibilities as the desperate young women believe basketball can provide them salvation from their small town.
On and off the court, the team’s dreams of basketball stardom seem to collide with their experiences as young Black women in the rural South. While flaring rivalries and tensions threaten to create cracks in the team’s foundation, they are drawn together as they resist and wrestle with the limitations of their socioeconomic statuses. Tackling baptisms and backstabbings, when it comes to the multi-layered discussions presented in “Flex,” nothing is out of bounds.
Over the course of the play, five girls maneuver through comedy and drama with thrilling potency, led by point guard Starra Jones (Santeon Brown). Brown mirrors the play’s complexity as she adeptly transitions from sinking shots to delivering heartfelt soliloquies. Grappling with marginalization and the death of her mother, Brown’s performance of Starra brims with sorrow and hope in equal measure. Screaming out “mama” to the theater audience, tears stream down her cheeks as she searches for spiritual and athletic guidance. Despite being team captain, Starra’s blind ambition pushes her to do anything to achieve basketball glory, even if it means betraying trust or turning against other teammates, including talented player Sidney Brown (Paige Mayes), who attracts the attention of recruiters away from Starra. Brown’s character may be a ball hog, but it is clear that every player’s contribution is essential, both to winning the game and to conveying the play’s unique blend of competition and tenderness.
The team’s coach, Coach Francine Pace (Halili Knox), enforces the rule that no one can play basketball while pregnant, a rule put in place by prior team complications. However, a pregnant April Jenkins (Camille Collaço) questions whether or not to have an abortion. At the same time, two other teammates, Cherise Howard (Emma Gardner) and Donna Cunningham (Courtney Gabrielle Williams), wrestle with spirituality and sexuality, as their hidden queer relationship faces turbulence on account of Cherise’s devout faith. Demonstrating profound vulnerability in each individual performance, the actors skillfully maneuver the play’s many poignant, contentious topics, while balancing comedy and drama with subtle but affecting potency.
Transporting the audience into the game at play, the set design and creative stage movement are strikingly realistic. Adding to the electric, tense atmosphere, the actors perform offensive plays and free-throw lineups while navigating immense emotional turmoil. The audience is even encouraged to participate as a way of elevating the realism of the game, leading to points of direct interaction as the crowd repeatedly chanted “defense!” while cheering on characters and stomping their feet in pure excitement. “Flex” is a lively, action-packed production that highlights the musicality and dramatic material of the sport, even if occasional dropped balls and missed shots break the theatrical illusion.
Celebrating young women on the path to self discovery, “Flex” is not merely about the sport, but about the humanity of its players. Behind the scoreboard lies a unique story about young Black womanhood. From putting a condom on a cucumber to discussing the hardships of oppressive womanhood during a team sleepover, “Flex” intertwines humor and heartbreak. While some characters felt underdeveloped and stagnant, the actors still embodied intricate topics and conversations with bursting authenticity, providing a raw and thrilling production that’s impact long outlasts the final buzzer.