InterAct Theatre’s ‘Hype Man’: Hip-hop and the challenge of injustice
Big issues are at stake, and the music is vibrant, but some unsteadiness in the writing and the acting combine to make this deserving production a little less than it could be.
Dating to its inception in the early 1970s on the gritty streets of the Bronx, hip-hop has been characterized by slick rhymes, bass-thumping beats, and a lifestyle to match. But hip-hop has also served as a mode of activism, documenting the systematic inequities black and Latino communities have faced over the last 50 years.
InterAct Theater’s Hype Man: A Break Beat Play is vibrant. It has much going for it: an interracial cast of three, and award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin writing about social injustice and the role of artists in speaking out.
The InterAct production is earnest but tries too hard. The opening scene seemed especially rushed. That may account for the somewhat reserved response from a diverse audience on a Friday night. Though the audience gamely joined in the call-and-response segments with the hip-hop group, it seemed obligatory rather than spontaneous.
The show opens with a scene from a small-venue hip-hop concert, with a cheering crowd, flashing lights, and lyrics that were either inaudible or childish. Fledgling white rapper Pinnacle (Kyle Glenn) and his black hype man Verb (Carlo Campbell) fill the theater with life, setting a feisty tone that runs throughout the show. We learn that Pinnacle and Verb have been friends in mischief and music since childhood.
The duo is then joined by a racially ambiguous audio engineer, Peep One (Bianca Sanchez). Because of a police shooting that caused traffic delays, Peep One joins the group late; her bandmates heckle her for her notorious inability to be on time. Details from the police shooting emerge: An unarmed black teenager had been shot and killed.
The show reaches a high point when, despite a group decision not to act, Verb decides to wear a T-shirt in support of the slain teenager. This act of defiance challenges Pinnacle to face his own privileges as a white man.
Can a white rapper remain silent about issues that affect listeners of hip-hop? What’s the responsibility of hip-hop in addressing social unrest in communities of color? Given that hip-hop was birthed as a political art, what is its role in the larger social conversation? Hype Man seeks to answer these questions.
Though the play addresses some important themes — friendship, politics, and the uneasy role of art — the three characters at times felt generic. Verb is obviously the funny, hot-blooded, mildly annoying friend who stirs up controversy. Pinnacle is just the opposite: aloof, indifferent, out of touch. Peep One is the most authentic character. Her temperament falls somewhere in between, putting her in a position to diffuse conflict. But as written, she is constantly mediating disagreements, because Verb and Pinnacle are bickering in nearly every scene.
The show’s production qualities, including sound, set design, and lighting, created a persuasive sense of reality. Even Meek Mill could get on that stage and do a great show. The frequent opportunities for audience participation were also refreshing — except when the performers got too invasive.
The acting fumbles. Campbell as Verb overacts and is overly loud and boisterous. Glenn as Pinnacle underacts, giving us little insight as to why he is the leader of the band. Sanchez as Peep One did the best she could with an underwritten part; I wish that, instead of being constantly overridden by the two males, she could have had more say.