When flipping through the production photos for \u2018Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u2019 at Karamu House, you\u2019ll see dozens of photos of one actress. If you\u2019ve not yet attended the play, you might take notice of how she wears different accessories in the various photos, be it a jacket, sunglasses, sweater, earrings or gele. After attending the show, however, you will view these photos in a different light and with a new appreciation; for now, you will be able to recognize the vast multitude of characters portrayed within each photo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To distinctively play nearly a dozen characters is a feat in and of itself. To do so as a solo performer, for nearly two uninterrupted hours, is remarkable. Karamu\u2019s \u201cQueens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u201d is an entertaining coming-of-age story, but even more impressive than the semi-autobiographical script is the performance that brings the tale to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u201d begins in 1968 as our main character, Jackie, begins her freshman year at Bennington College. The Vermont mountains that house Jackie\u2019s all-women, majority-white school are a vastly different environment from her hometown of Queens and Nigeria, where she spent the last three years with her family. During her four years at Bennington, Jackie forms diverse friend groups, navigates a complicated first love, struggles to define her career aspirations and tries to find a place where she \u201cbelongs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u201d is the third and final installment of Caleen Sinnette Jennings\u2019 Queens Girl series. The first two installments, \u201cQueens Girl in the World\u201d and \u201cQueens Girl in Africa,\u201d follow Jackie during her childhood and years spent abroad. Although the prior Queens Girl shows might help provide context as to the character of Jackie, they are by no means essential viewing in order to appreciate \u201cBlack in the Green Mountains.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a coming-of-age story full of self-discovery. The show takes place in the late 1960s and early 70s, but anyone who has worked their way through the growing pains of their late teens and early 20s will likely relate to Jackie\u2019s struggles to define herself and determine how she wants her future to look. This is possible thanks to Jennings\u2019 script, which is an honest, humorous and charming piece of autobiographical fiction derived from parts of her own life.<\/p>\n
Guiding us through Jackie\u2019s experience is the superbly talented Maya Israel under the direction of Caroline Jackson-Smith. Israel\u2019s Jackie is a sweet, intelligent character who laughs often and approaches life with a hopeful outlook and a joyful demeanor. As far as main characters go, she\u2019s one that audiences will enjoy spending an evening with.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jackie\u2019s story is told chronologically with the help of supporting characters, from rich, white dorm roommates to theater professors to her Nigerian father. With the swapping of an accessory from Brielle McGrew\u2019s costume design, the hunching of shoulders or the donning of an accent, Israel effortlessly slips into the skin of supporting characters. Israel embodies more than 10 characters with chameleon-esque skill. While the Jackie character has many monologues, interactions with the supporting characters are common. This requires Israel to swap between personas in rapid succession. Even when holding conversations with herself, she manages to maintain distinction between her many characters\u2013a feat that takes no small amount of skill.<\/p>\n
The show, which clocks in at just under two hours, spans Jackie\u2019s years in undergrad. There\u2019s a lot to cover in four years, meaning that the show runs slightly long, but the nature of the play requires that most of the individual scenes be short and snappy. This aids in the show\u2019s ability to hold attention and keep the narrative moving, but it also means that we are never able to linger too deeply with Jackie\u2019s more profound thoughts and experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jennings\u2019 script touches on many issues, the most prominent of them being Jackie accepting, embracing and advocating for her Blackness in a society where she never feels as if she belongs. As one of 12 Black girls on campus, Jackie is made especially aware of all of the ways that she is \u201cdifferent.\u201d After discovering a love for the theater and acting, Jackie finds that prejudices seep into her chosen major as well, leading her to become an advocate for change and representation within the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Global issues and incidents, such as the Kent State killings and the heightening of the Vietnam War\u2013aided by large projections of historical photographs by multimedia designer Jasmine A. Golphin\u2013intermittently rear their head. These events act as touchstones that help provide historical context for the audience, but Jackie\u2019s opinions about and interactions with the events are largely minimal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More significant is the use of music. Jazz, R&B and soul music has a profound impact on Jackie, and these supplemental sounds and snippets of songs are well provided by designer Richard Ingraham. Laura Carlson-Tarantowski\u2019s set design is minimalistic, but with the help of lighting designer Logan Chapman, the set contains all the trappings needed to translate the passage of time and change of place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u201d contains an inspiring tale of self-discovery and belonging, but what sets it apart from other plays is the strenuous demands it places on its central performer, and in Karamu\u2019s case, that performer is a tour de force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cQueens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains\u201d runs through March 8, 2026, at Karamu House\u2019s Bank of America Arena Theatre, 2355 East 89th Street, Cleveland. Visit karamuhouse.org <\/a>or call (216) 795-7077 for tickets, $20-40.<\/p>\n Subscribe to Cleveland Scene newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t