KILL MOVE PARADISE by James Ijames: In a space somewhere between past and future, between now and nowhere, four Black men meet. Isa, Daz, Grif and Tiny have been torn from the lives they knew and thrust into limbo, just to find out they are four more names on an ever-growing list. Their struggle for identity and meaning evolves into an electrifying fusion of words, movement, combat, music, dance and play that express both profound grief and radical joy. Far from merely cold statistics of slain Black men and women, James Ijames sketches moving portraits of vibrant lives cut short.
Run time for KILL MOVE PARADISE is 1 hour, 30 minutes with no intermission.
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*Sunday Night Insights (evening conversation held over Zoom so that ticketholders from any date may join)
Cez says: “Director Marti Gobel proposed this play to me for Next Act and it’s easy to understand why. The author serves up his play to Marti’s adept directorial skills, calling for visceral story-telling powered by music, movement and imagination. We are in good hands.”
Sponsored by David Paris Dentistry
Marques Causey as Isa
Ibraheem Farmer as Grif
Dimonte Henning as Daz
Joseph Brown Jr. as Tiny
Marti Gobel, Director
David Cecsarini, Production Designer
Trinae Williams-Henning, Costume Designer
Maaz Ahmed, Lighting Designer
Josh Schmidt, Sound Designer
Kemet Gobel, Sound Designer, Composer
Freedom Gobel, Movement/Vocal Assistant
Michael Van Dreser, Lighting Design Consultant, Set Builder, Technical Director
Mitch Schmidt, Set Builder
Malaina Moore, Directing Intern
Jessica Connelly, Production Stage Manager
No dates yet.
It is unlikely you will see another show like this on a Milwaukee stage this year; it is well worth your time to see this one.
– Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal SentinelPlaygoers will never experience anything like being a part of the play as they do for “Kill Move Paradise.”
– Reggie Jackson, Milwaukee Independent…a theatrical tour-de-force that sidesteps rhetoric to reveal something more essential: the beating hearts of four men in all their humanity.
– Jeff Grygny, Play On MKEDirector Marti Gobel is equally fearless, allowing very brutal moments of silence to glacially migrate across the stage with overwhelming power.
– Russ Bickerstaff, Shepherd ExpressThe four actors do an excellent job of creating a genuine rapport that helps to bind the production together.
– Anne Siegel, theatrecriticism.com
This talented quartet of performers has so much to unpack in this show and they do so brilliantly, handling the physicality, the often-beautiful language – even some melodic harmonies and in-sync dance – with energy and passion.
– Marilyn Jozwik, Wisconsin Theater Spotlight…the ensemble of three adult actors do an extraordinary job of world building.
– Gwendolyn Rice, gwendolynrice.comIjames’ prose style makes for a very sharp read … He wields words with grace.
– Russ Bickerstaff, The Small StageIn actors Marcus Causey, Dimonte Henning, Ibraheem Farmer, and Brown, [Gobel] and Cecsarini have the perfect cast
– John Schneider, Shepherd Express