AMERICA V. 2.1 - Reviews

America V. 2.1: The Sad Demise and Eventual Extinction of the American Negro 

By: Stacey Rose

Directed by: Logan Vaughn Location: Barrington Stage Company

Performances: June 14, 2019 - June 30, 2019

Times Union

"Deeply unsettling and marvelously conceived and executed by director Logan Vaughn, choreographer Kevin Boseman and a five-member cast, "America v. 2.1" starts from a bold premise and wholly creates its world. We're in the near future, a time when, as the title suggests, black American culture no longer exists except as historical facts to be presented as part of a theatrical production. It's a world seemingly totalitarian – multiple security cameras hang from the theater ceiling, unmentioned but ever watchful – as well as violent; the general public, we're told, all carry guns."

https://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Review-America-v-2-1-Barrington-Stage-14026216.php Broadway World "When the house lights came up at the end of the performance and the audience sat gob smacked, an overwhelming thought entered my head: sharing what I had just experienced was not going to be an easy task." https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/BWW-Review-AMERICA-V-21-THE-SAD-DEMISE-EVENTUAL-EXTINCTION-OF-THE-AMERICAN-NEGRO-at-Barrington-Stage-Company-Packs-far-more-than-a-1-2-Punch-20190623 The Berkshire Edge "Logan Vaughn, the director, along with choreographer Kevin Boseman, has toyed with us visually as the troupe moves from very old-fashioned minstrel-show figures to contemporary disco creatures as they follow historic trends in their four-part play. Vaughn also endows them with much more relevant human qualities shared by members of all races. They sing a rewritten edition of Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle’s “I’m Just Wild About Harry” and move to a parody of the dances of the 1990s: the Hippity Hop." https://theberkshireedge.com/theatre-review-barrington-stage-companys-america-v-2-1-has-a-long-life-before-it/