Robert Coppage III, Melvin Abston, and Raffeal Sears in Broke-ology (Don Ipock)
Authenticity is one of those traits that audiences crave, but is so intangible, and so largely subjective, that it’s rare to find art that feels imbued with it. KC Rep has remounted Broke-ology, the 2009 family drama written by late Kansas City, Kansas native Nathan Louis Jackson, and while the play falters a bit in its execution, it radiates authenticity in its depiction of a loving but struggling family.
Broke-ology centers on the Kings, a tight-knit Black family living in Kansas City, Kansas. In the summer of 2009, Malcolm (Raffeal Sears) has returned home after graduating from the University of Connecticut, joining his older brother Ennis (Robert Coppage III) in caring for their father, William (Melvin Abston), whose health is rapidly deteriorating due to multiple sclerosis. The boys’ mother Sonia (Teonna Wesley) died when they were young but remains a presence in their home, returning to William in memories, hallucinations, or something between the two.
A running throughline in Broke-ology is the disappointment characters experience over unmet expectations. Sonia and William made a pact to stay in their cramped home in their high-crime KCK neighborhood for no more than five years. Decades later, William is haunted by his late wife’s sorrow. Meanwhile, Ennis expects Malcolm’s return will lighten his load as caretaker to their father and give him space to turn his attention to his pregnant girlfriend and work as much as possible at the wing shop job he hates but needs. When Malcolm reveals he plans to return to Connecticut after the summer to work under his college mentor—learning about community revitalization and promising to eventually bring those skills back home—Ennis is furious at the idea his brother could choose personal growth over familial responsibility.
In an intriguing contrast to how these sorts of narratives usually play out, the thoughtful, even-keeled Malcolm isn’t raging against the expectations placed on him. He just wants to explore an exciting opportunity and the life it could lead to. He knows that staying in Kansas and caring for his father, working a fine job he’s landed at the EPA, is a reasonable and responsible option. But he’s also seen what it looks like to get stuck. And if he has an opportunity to avoid the pitfalls of an unfulfilled life, why wouldn’t he jump at it?
Ennis, the more hot-headed brother, makes his anger at his brother (and at the rest of his life’s circumstances) known, but overall, the conflict in Broke-ology plays out quietly. There is a gentleness, an intimacy, that cradles the play. This is especially evident in the character of William, an exceptionally good father and decent man who only drinks chocolate milk, dances alone in his home to The Temptations, and supports his youngest son’s decisions, wherever they may take him. (Abston’s performance, both emotionally and physically, is worth the ticket price alone.)
The gentleness in Jackson’s script sometimes plays out to a fault. At its best, Broke-ology is beautifully understated: a true slice-of-life profile of a Black American family just trying to get by and finding joy and solace in their bond. The cast’s charisma and chemistry are spellbinding and set designer Edward E. Haynes, Jr. has created a home on KC Rep’s more intimate Copaken Stage that feels deliciously lived in. It feels good just to spend time in the world of this play.
But ultimately, the conflict is set to such a low simmer that Jackson’s drama ends up feeling thin. Director Francois Battiste has crafted a series of long, slow, silent moments, some of which are poignant, while others are a bit of sly fun shared with the audience by a character alone. Many, though, simply make the already lengthy runtime drag. Contrasted with random bursts of raucousness—most of which are thoroughly enjoyable, save for one jarring transphobic joke that should never have made it out of 2009—we end up with a pacing that feels erratic and unmotivated. The energy doesn’t drive forward, it simply is.
There is some beauty in that quietly realistic depiction of a life filled with love and struggle. But it’s hard to keep that approach from being underwhelming and Broke-ology, much like its characters, ends up feeling stuck.
“Broke-ology” runs at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre (Copaken Stage, 1 H&R Block Way) through March 2. For more information, visit kcrep.org.
