'Slam poet, Truth poet' Beaty returning to Crossroads Theatre

Playwright Daniel Beaty is a soft-spoken, polite and gentle man, but his passion for people is fierce.  Daniel believes passionately in the power and grace of mothers . . . . that children should have fathers . . . . that people should treat themselves and each other with dignity and respect.

His characters don’t socialize with Oprah and the President; they live in an America where mothers quietly remove groceries from the conveyor when the bill climbs too high, where small children visit their fathers in prison, where people struggle just to live from one day to the next.  Daniel reminds us that for every African-American CEO, there are tens of thousands of children unable to read or write.

These are not light themes.  And yet – his talent for communicating this message with humor, with compassion, and with gentle dignity somehow magically combine to offer hope over despair.

Humor is Daniel’s most potent weapon. The weight of his topics can easily turn to preachiness. He uses humor to avoid that pitfall, trusting that the material will inspire a conversation of import afterward. It seems to be working, as people are talking about the issues he raises as much as they are talking about Daniel himself.

Daniel’s plays use his characters' back-stories to illuminate the inner struggle of each of our souls, as they gently nudge us toward a better path. In his new one-man play, Through the Night, he deals with turning personal pain into power for change.

Six African-American men, ages ten through sixty years, are all faced with choices that require extraordinary courage -- courage he believes we must all find within ourselves, to protect and teach our children. To see Daniel segue from character to character is an astonishing thing. His immersion is so thorough, so precise that you know a character has changed before he utters a word. In this play Daniel hopes to show that no matter what challenges we are faced with, no matter how hard or how long the night is, if we are brave the dawn will come.

Daniel’s own nights are short these days. In addition to rehearsals for Through the Night, he is working with Showtime to develop a half hour series, and he has film projects in development as well.  His influences include comedians and activists such as John Leguizamo, Whoopi Goldberg and Dr. King, and though some may see a small glimmer of George Carlin in his work it is purely coincidental. He is deeply grateful for the support of luminaries like Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. But he shows none of the ego displays such praise can inspire in young artists.  He has a sense of self that is rare in a man of his few years.

It would seem that there will be many opportunities to see this rising star’s work in the coming months, and New Brunswick is fortunate to host him today.

 

- Lorri Matusiak-Lindsay

Through the Night will be presented February 11-21 at the Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick. Tickets for the 90 minute show can be purchased online at www.CrossroadsTheatreCompany.org, or by calling 732-545-8100.