Last night I went to go see a one-man hip-hop musical down at The Duke called Clay.
The story goes like this. A little boy struggles through his parents’ divorce and subsequent family struggles with little success, until several years later, he stumbles into a book store in Brooklyn. The talented and tragic wordsmith who works there, Sir John, takes the quiet kid under his wing and molds him into the most talented Jewish rapper to come out of Westchester.
I shit you not.
Matt Sax in Clay
A little bit of transparency on this? I totally thought I would uncomfortably laugh all the way through this thing. First, just the mention of a “one man show” gives me that horrible feeling of being so embarrassed for what’s happening that I want to just crawl into a corner and die a quick death, preferably with a bag over my head so no one can tell it was me in attendance.
Secondly, hip-hop musical? Sure, okay. Also, my toe nail clippings attack neighbors in the night and leave them with irritating, half-moon marks all over their bodies. Because that sounds just as likely to successfully happen, right?
Well, this post would be in poor taste if the answer was “You betcha” (Sarah Palin, you twat, you’ve ruined that phrase forever).
The show was actually really, really good. After getting over the initial adjustment of what character the actor, Matt Sax, was playing (which took all of 7 minutes), I got really into the music and performance. The music was great, the rapping and beat boxing were on point and Matt Sax did a pretty awesome job keeping the audience entertained.
WHICH, by the way, was no easy feat, because about half of the audience was over the age of 50 and most likely only endure the upbeat musical stylings of Kenny G. And only if it’s a Friday night and they’re having a wine cooler with dinner.
But, in hindsight, that added to the awesomeness of the show. Not Kenny G (NEVER Kenny G), but rather the fact that so many different people were in the audience to check this show out. And let me tell you, it ended with a standing ovation.
A few reasons to see the show? Well, it’s different, and you would so totally be the just coolest cat in your crew if you were all “I went to a hip-hop musical” and all they could say is how they hung out at that same lame bar on the lower east side. Also, the show is part of LCT3, which is the Lincoln Center Theater’s emerging program meant to give voice to emerging playwrights, directors and designers. Which is just pretty much awesome.
You can read more about Clay and watch some videos here, and head on over and buy some tickets for just $20 here. Hurry up, though, the show ends Nov. 8th.
