By Barbara Smith, Contributing Writer
Steve Broadnax III made Broadway history when he directed the 2021 production of Keenan Scott II‘s Thoughts of A Colored Man, which featured for the first time a Black male director, Black male writer, and all-Black male cast. Now, with the Tony-winning play Appropriate opening at the Old Globe Theatre this week, the multi-talented artist brings his unique vision to the San Diego premiere of acclaimed playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ intriguing play, which the New York Times has called “subversively original… remarkable and devious.”
Appropriate follows the dysfunctional Lafayette family, who return to their Arkansas plantation to settle their father’s estate. There they uncover a shocking relic, which forces them to confront long-buried secrets and decades of resentment. The comic drama explores themes of race, belonging, and unexpressed rage.
Broadnax, whose career path spans theater and film and who serves as Penn State University Théâtre Professor, took time from a busy rehearsal schedule to share his thoughts on this latest project. The show has particular resonance for the artist, who was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and whose roots in that community run deep. After seeing the show in New York, he was drawn to its theme, especially after meeting with playwright Jacobs-Jenkins, who he learned also had an Arkansas connection, having spent summers there with his mother.
“I was excited about his writing and the themes he explored, in particular, personal and familial undealtwith trauma,” he offers. In a larger sense, Broadnax sees the familial struggle as a metaphor for our family as a nation. “It’s a cautionary tale,” he says. “When we don’t take accountability for our personal history, it destroys the familial ties that bind…. If we as a nation don’t take accountability for our country’s history, it will erode and destroy us.”
If you’re not sure how to pronounce the title, Appropriate, verb, or adjective, both are correct. The play’s double-edged title is, well, appropriate for Jacob-Jenkins’ nuanced message, which for Broadnax is another layer of the playwright’s brilliance. “You’ll be challenged, and you’ll question,” he says, “and even with the heavy conflict, you’ll be able to laugh.”
Broadnax’s energy is palpable as he describes the excitement of placing his creative lens on the already acclaimed play.
“It is definitely re-imagined,” he says, noting that the production, which features an all-White cast. When the play was staged on Broadway it was directed by Lila Neugebauer, who is also White. “Now it is directed by a Black queer man from Little Rock, Arkansas,” he muses. His lived experience connects him to the characters, Broadnax says, and helps to convey the drama and conflict that arise when trauma is not dealt with. “This is particularly our show for San Diego and my take on that script.”
Over the course of his career, Broadnax has worked with pioneering playwrights as writer, director, and actor. He calls it his “trifecta.” Filling his impressive directorial portfolio are The First Deep Breath, performed at Geffen Playhouse; New York Public Theatre’s Sally & Tom; and August Wilson’s Jitney, at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. He has worked with such powerhouse writers as Dominique Morisseau (Skeleton Crew) and Katori Hall (The Mountaintop), whose award-winning works explore African American themes with exquisite artistry.
When he leaves San Diego, he heads to Philadelphia’s People’s Light Theatre, where he will direct Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. “This is the blueprint,” he says of Hansberry’s classic family drama, noting the connecting thread Jacob-Jenkins has woven in writing his own vision of the American family play.
Broadnax is thrilled with Appropriate’s actors, all of whom, he says, are at the top of their craft. He describes his approach as “people over play,” beginning each rehearsal with cast members joined in a circle, as a means to connect with one another on a human level before moving to the craft of acting.
While the play examines big questions of history and national identity, Broadnax says it achieves a fine balance by offering humor.
“We laugh at our shortcomings, at the familiarity of what you see in your own family. I’m hoping people will look at their own systems and grapple with their own accountability, their own personal traumas within their own families and within themselves.”
Appropriate runs through February 23. Visit TheOldGlobe.org for ticket information.
