{"id":360691,"date":"2024-10-21T16:48:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=360691"},"modified":"2024-10-21T16:48:49","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T20:48:49","slug":"riveting-and-spell-binding-covenant-at-theater-alliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/10\/21\/riveting-and-spell-binding-covenant-at-theater-alliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Riveting and spellbinding ‘Covenant’ at Theater Alliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watch your ideas of good and evil go up in flames in Covenant,<\/em> masterfully executed by Theater Alliance. Following a sold-out Off-Broadway run in 2023, this Southern gothic tale arrives at the perfect time to ignite your imagination and set fire to what you think you believe. It is a riveting and spellbinding play about lies and secrets, truth and trust, piety and shame, and the power of identity and belief.<\/p>\n

When bluesman Johnny (Isaiah Q. Reed) returns to his hometown in 1930s Georgia after years of touring juke joints, playing like an angel and smooth talking instead of stuttering, rumors circulate that he acquired his guitar skills by selling his soul to the Devil. Blues aficionados might recognize the nod to the real-life bluesman Robert Johnson, whose prodigious skills and songwriting resulted in his being accused of playing \u201cthe Devil\u2019s music.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Madison Norwood as Ruthie in \u2018Covenant.\u2019 Photo courtesy of Theater Alliance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Johnny\u2019s return inspires differing reactions from the four women who round out this accomplished cast. Mama (Fatima Quander) is religiously devout and unflinching in her view that the rumors are true. She forbids her strong-willed eldest daughter Avery (Renea S. Brown) from seeing Johnny. Avery\u2019s sister Violet (Raven Lorraine) tries to convince Avery to be skeptical about trusting Johnny. What if anything is he hiding? Violet\u2019s friend Ruthie (Madison Norwood) is more welcoming of Johnny than Violet and obviously so. But as the play goes on, we discover each woman also harbors something buried and that their connections to Johnny and one another create an interconnected web, leaving the audience to tear fact from fiction.<\/p>\n

Each of these performers gives a master class in portraying complex characters, no doubt the result of sure direction by Autumn Angelettie. One by one each takes a spotlight turn spinning a strand of this spider web of a story. Fatima Quander as Mama commands each of her scenes with jaw-dropping, fear-inducing certitude. Yet she allows her pain to leak through. Renea S. Brown\u2019s metamorphosis as Avery is simply staggering. Isaiah Q. Reed as Johnny is physically nuanced and believable as he exposes different sides of himself to Avery, Violet, Ruthie, and Mama. Raven Lorraine as Violet is expressive and dynamic. She speaks volumes through her eyes and facial expressions, and also delivers the humor the show needs to avoid being unrelentingly chilling. It\u2019s impossible not to cheer for her. And Madison Norwood\u2019s Ruthie believably conveys youthful yearning complicated by people-pleasing earnestness. Indeed, this play is really an actors showcase. Each delivers!<\/p>\n

The creative team has created the perfect complement to this frightening story. The design team amps up the supernatural with illusions that stupefy such as blackouts and spinning furniture and sounds that throb such as lightning strikes. The spare set allows prominence to the actors while conveying the multiple locations in the story.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LEFT: Isaiah Q. Reed as Johnny and Renea S. Brown as Avery; RIGHT: Raven Lorraine as Violet, Madison Norwood as Ruthie, and Fatima Quander as Mama in \u2018Covenant.\u2019 Photos courtesy of Theater Alliance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But last and not least it\u2019s playwright York Walker\u2019s dialogue and story construction that blew me away. His debut play is quite accomplished and sophisticated. Indeed, the complex and multilayered Covenant<\/em> is as if Jordan Peele, Nathanial Hawthorne, and August Wilson got together and wrote a play. It\u2019s amazing. Don\u2019t miss it.<\/p>\n

Running Time: 95 minutes, no intermission.<\/p>\n

EXTENDED: <\/strong>Covenant<\/em><\/strong><\/a> plays through November 10, 2024,<\/strong> presented by Theater Alliance performing at The Westerly, 340 Maple Dr SW, Washington, DC. Tickets are available online<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The program for Covenant<\/em> is here.<\/a><\/p>\n

COVID Safety<\/strong>: Masks are optional.<\/p>\n

Covenant<\/strong><\/em>
\nBy York Walker
\nDirected by Autumn Angelettie<\/p>\n

CAST
\nRenea S. Brown: Avery
\nRaven Lorraine: Violet
\nMadison Norwood: Ruthie
\nFatima Quander: Mama
\nIsaiah Q. Reed: Johnny
\nJordan Taylor: Understudy<\/p>\n

CREATIVE TEAM
\nGisela Estrada: Scenic Design
\nLogan Benson & Rakell Foye: Costume Design
\nDavid Lamont Wilson: Sound Design
\nColin K. Bills: Lighting Design
\nTrinity Joseph: Assistant Lighting Design
\nRyan Phillips: Illusions Consultant
\nJustin Nepomuceno: Props Associate<\/p>\n

PRODUCTION TEAM
\nStage Manager: Regina Vitale
\nAssistant Stage Manager: Kelsey Jenkins<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:<\/strong>
\nTheater Alliance announces The Westerly as temporary venue for 2024\/25 season <\/a><\/strong>(news story, October 2, 2024)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Southern gothic tale arrives at the perfect time to ignite your imagination and set fire to what you think you believe. 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