Written and directed by Michele Avery and Yvette Modestin of ReRooted, Crown of Times debuted on Sept. 20 at Robsham Theater, enthralling its audience with a dialogue on the history of Black hairstyles in America.
The play spanned seven decades, depicted through five individual time periods. An unseen narrator introduced the concept of the play, explaining that “Black hair culture is Blackness in its rawest form.”
Opening in the 1950s and culminating with the recent Black Lives Matter movement, actors appeared one at a time, filling the stage with a singular presence. The intimate environment only included about 10 feet of empty stage between any one of the five actors and the audience.
The bare setting allowed the audience to follow the speaker’s train of thought easily, with only two chairs, a kitchen table, and a projected background image to possibly distract the audience. Full of negative space, bringing the viewer’s entire attention towards the actor. Accompanied by the direct conversational style of the play, this put the audience and actor in an active relationship.
The direct style allowed the actors’ words and vocal inflection shine, allowing the audience to appreciate Avery and Modestin’s truly excellent writing. It felt as though quotable lines appeared in the dialogue more often than not.
Visually, the background music and each character’s dress convincingly conveyed the distinct mood of each of the different decades.
The 1950s featured formal dress and straightened hair, a reflection of the idea that hair affects whether one is treated with respect, imposing a sense of conformity for many Black women.
This time period contained a standout performance from Shavonne Brown as a housekeeper, who delivered both heartfelt and humorous lines. Across the board, the actors delivered visceral performances, superbly conveying their individual strife as well as the sentiment of a large collective.
The 1970s saw Black women break the mold. Actors wore their hair completely naturally, illustrating the new “Black is Beautiful” movement. When Amanda Shea said, “Afro is our north star back to ourselves,” it was palpable how much her words moved the audience.
The next act showed how society began to judge Black women much more harshly, as the idea of the “crack epidemic” and “welfare queens” swept the country. On the other hand, it depicted the spirited reaction with the birth of hip-hop as a new form of expression and “a new liberation.”
The final historical act outlined the sexual liberation of the 1990s, as new beauty standards were introduced. The exuberant performance from Trisha Mondesir was a highlight, expressing how women began to once again shun afros and braids.
The play’s final act brought all five actors on stage together, a collective demonstration of how the Black Lives Matter sentiment echoed across all eras and styles, with each actor explaining what their hair—or crown—means to them
Avery and Modestin then took the stage themselves, breaking the fourth wall by asking the name of audience members’ individual crowns. This provided for a feeling of connection and solidarity among audience members and the cast, a warming ending for what Avery and Modestin described as “a love letter to Black women and Black hair culture.”
