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Clay
Written and performed by Matt Sax
Directed by Eric Rosen
Produced by About Face & Lookingglass Theatre
At Lookingglass Theatre’s Chase Studio
821 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL
Call 312-337-0665, tickets $25 - $30
Tuesdays at 6:30 PM
Wednesdays at 7 PM
Thursdays at 6:30 PM
Fridays at 7 PM
Saturdays at 3 & 8 PM
Sundays at 3 PM
After October 8 through November 19
call for schedule changes
Running time is 70 minutes with no intermission
Energetic performances fuels one-man hip hop musical
I must state upfront that I have never been to a hip hop/rap musical. I have no knowledge nor any appreciation of hip hop music. It is alien to my tastes and therefore I’m not able to judge or critique the form.
That said, Matt Sax effectively reached to his younger audience with his contortions, raw humor and infectious charisma. His one man show, Clay, deals with a coming of age story where a white suburban boy is damaged by his father’s nastiness,infidelity and his mother’s suicide. He escapes into the ghetto world of rap/hip hop led by Sir John, a master rapper. Filled with crude language and rawness, Matt Sax deftly plays each character with a polished stage presence. He sings or raps several songs in pure hip hop. I couldn’t understand any of the lyrics. The rhymes are sung giving Sax a Jessie Jackson on crack sound. The style is foreign to my ears rendering the lyrics incomprehensible. I didn’t understand the rap style slang so the jokes also when over my head. The younger, hip audience got it fine and laughed.
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I guess I’m just too old or too un-hip to appreciate the style? The audiences, especially the young females, seem to love Sax’s show. I appreciate his talents and creativity even though I can’t relate to the form. Those who love rap will appreciate the skill of a white boy from Northwestern University who seems to have mastered hip hop. I’m glad I saw such a fine, talented performer. I now know that I’ll skip future hip hop/rap shows. If you like the form, then Clay will thrill you.
Recommended for hip hop fans
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2006
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