SnapShot Press Release | Topdog/Underdog [& a special invite to Legacy Night at the Milwaukee Chamber theater]

Modern-day digitization of “parlor games” will have you responding in the comments of a random social media post that asks, “name a dynamic duo”, with answers like…

Batman & Robin

Bonnie & Clyde

Peanut butter & Jelly

Bert & Ernie

Mac….AND….CHEESE

The foolery warrants a good knee-slapping chuckle [because why are we like this? Lol]  but somewhere in the ether there lives another dynamic combination that is destined to teach us all something about our own humanistic bonds; Lincoln & Booth.

Now, for those of you who are history buffs, don’t start jumping down my throat. I'm not talking about Abraham [Lincoln] and John Wilkes [Booth]. I’m talking about the brothers [& I mean brothers who are BROTHERS in the biological & melanated sense] from playwright Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog.

Let’s make it clear: 

I am always baffled, yet mesmerized, by the execution of an obvious hustle.

I’m talking about a three-card monte on a flooding table and being a Black Man in America.

[If you can’t find the correlation, then it's already too late.]

On Wednesday, April 2nd, 2025, I was invited to experience a sneak peek scene reading from the play from the Milwaukee Chamber Theater, who will be ending their 50th-anniversary season with the Topdog/Underdog productions directed by Gavin Dillon Lawrence. This Here2Play event was hosted at Running Rebels [whose mission is to guide Milwaukee youth into adulthood through mentoring, positive programming, and community connection] and included a panel of esteemed Black Men from Milwaukee, making an impact in their community.

image by /CW

We witnessed actors Dimonte Henning [Booth] and Anthony Fleming III [Lincoln] capture the complexities of brothers in an unyielding predicament that is the Black experience, preparing for the April 25th to May 11th, 2025, show dates with vigor, humility, and humor. There scripted banter seemed natural and reflective of the insight panelist Vedale Hill [Milwaukee Fine Artist, Arts Educator, and Community Advocate], Nate Deans, Jr [Director of Black and Latino Male Achievement, Milwaukee Public Schools], Damon Shoates [Community Organizer, Running Rebels], and Lafayette L Crump, JD (Moderator) [City of Milwaukee Commissioner of City Development] transparently discussed. 

They untangled questions that directly acknowledged their existence [as a collective and as individuals] that have historically been snubbed in the public arena.

What does it mean to be a Black Man?

“Actualizing the dreams of my ancestors”. - Nate

“I get to have audacity”. - Vedale

“To be responsible for the history of my people - immediate & past history”. - Damon  

They lovingly gave us their intimate thoughts, recalibrating the toxic tropes of masculinity into reflections of who they are as men…

Evolving

Committed to uplifting

Partners of accountability

They each noted how they navigate the world they exist in with a sense of obligation that reaches far beyond their gain as stewards of a community that still needs help changing the narrative of the plight that has been unjustly cast upon it. 

image by /cw

“These young men are innovators and understand the literacy of social media. . .How do we as people who run systems, integrate young people and vulnerable groups into [that work]?”Nate stated as he discussed culturally competent pedagogy.

“Your perspective is important. All historical documents and archives are some kind of art form: written, sculptural, or visual. Art is the treasure box of what happened. If you don’t say what happened, your story, your position, and your perspective can be untold. . . I try to get young people to approach art in that type of honest and philosophical way”, Vedale preached.

But it is in this conversation that we are directed back to the art of Topdog/Underdog and what awaits us on the stage as art holds a mirror to our existence. 

It's a space that I want us to hold together…Let me clear my throat *hmmmm hmmm*... It’s a space I invite all of my BLACK community to hold together for Legacy Night.

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre & CopyWrite Magazine [as a community partner] invites Black and African American community members to join us for Legacy Night on April 30 at 7:00 pm, a special performance of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks dedicated to and celebrating the Black community. Join us beginning at 5:00pm for a special pre-show reception! Tickets are $30 (plus tax and ticket fees) with special code LEGACY. 

To be in community with each other gives us more opportunity to build bonds with each other that exemplify brotherhood, triumph over adversity, and unadulterated joy.

Let’s show our city what it feels like to win together.

See you at the theater!

Lexi S. Brunson | Editor-in-Chief /CW