REVIEW: American Fast (Theatre Alliance)
It’s March Madness already? Was it not January like, yesterday?
Perhaps it’s due to Everything That Is Going On Right Now, but for someone who’s usually really into the bracket thing, I’m not that tuned-in, even though my school is a relatively decent seed. No matter: Theater Alliance is here to clear my blues, with a DC-premiere production of Kareem Fahmy’s American Fast, which arrives just in time to deliver the would-be bracket fever with a creative use of the also-happening month of Ramadan.
Book
Fahmy has turned an interesting concept, a Muslim college basketball star who has to fast during March Madness, into an excellent result. Part live-narrative and part active drama, Khady Salama is in her senior year at [Unnamed University] for the Lady Panthers basketball team. Her strength and assured dialogue is easily comparable to Caitlin Clark, and normally, her faith as a Muslim Egyptian takes a back seat to winning. But following the death of her father and overlapping of Ramadan and March Madness, her mother Suzan takes an increasingly overbearing role in her headspace as she continually encourages her to fast during a career-making time period. As Fahmy’s riveting dialogue fosters this conflict, she also maintains acrimony with her similarly-headstrong coach and boyfriend Gabe, a fellow Muslim on the men’s team who is currently shaking off a mistake that cost them a chance at a championship. (I wasn’t too convinced by their romantic attraction, but the relationship, whatever it could be, was still chemically active.) The play explores a sort of “Reform” Islam, in which drinking and tattoos aren’t as verboten and one’s relationship with Allah is what you make of it. My high school friends growing up were all Muslim, so seeing these social changes reflected in a piece like this is comforting as a means of moving American stereotypes of Islam beyond that of “oppressive” and “restrictive”. But these changes aren’t as easily swallowed when Khady inadvertently becomes “The Face of Islam” during the tournament, and her psyche begins to fall apart. This conflict is addictive from the very beginning — and combined with the edge-of-your-seat pacing of the tournament all happening simultaneously, American Fast is a slam dunk. 10/10
Acting
Fast is a stellar product of its four roles, each sourced locally. Gigi Cammarato particularly shines as Khady, with a powerful and complex performance. Her drive to win is unstoppable, but the facade is fragile; and these cracks are skillfully made visible, especially in her most vulnerable confrontations with her mother Suzan (Raghad Makhlouf). Makhlouf, too, is excellent as the mother who has done everything to provide for Khady as a spiritual guide, but has lacked in emotional maturity and support when she needed it the most. Travis Xavier and Renee Elizabeth Wilson are each charismartic as Gabe and the Coach, respectively. Xavier’s laid-back demeanor smartly does not create the whole picture of Gabe, and he is effective at creating his own drama as a spiritual mirror of Khady. Wilson, meanwhile, is punchy and relatable: a coach who wants to win, and is willing to do whatever to get there. 10/10
Production
Reginald L. Douglas’s direction is graphic and pointed, decisively elevating the stakes in a number of ways. For starters, Hailey LaRoe’s projections are some of the most well-utlized I’ve seen in DC theatre yet: dramatic intertitles for each round of the tourney, hilariously blown-up facetime calls, and flurries of BlueSky posts illuminate the concrete gym walls of Nadir Bey’s divided set. One side features a basketball hoop and court, the other a college dorm, and despite the smallness of the stage, both never feel intrusive. These spatial divisions are further exacerbated by the superpowered lighting designs of Minjoo Kim; especially in the in-game scenes, which are beautifully choreographed by Siani Nicole. Nicole fluidly immerses Euro steps and pump fakes into dream ballet sequences, tremendously strengthening the storytelling of Khady’s journey with dynamic spectacle. 10/10
Viz
It’s production #3 of their season and I’m still a fan of the Alliance marketing team’s’ sketchy preview art. It’s especially effective for a show like this as the strokes and contrast add so much movement, and the looseness creates an aggressive picture of personal volition. These high-contrast motifs are also present in the scrum, as a sharp spotlight engulfs a bench in the middle of the stage, only the basketball court in relative visibility. The drama of the game, and implicit conflict, paint an excellent picture before the action tips off. 10/10
Verdict
American Fast is a thrilling package of awesome narrative ideas that spark great conversations about identity and competition, via a quartet of tour-de-forces and a concise directorial vision. 40/40
