Synopsis
Deep in an existential crisis, MAN locks himself in his apartment. A portal reveals itself and when he crosses that threshold, MAN begins a journey that traverses centuries of history, allowing him to create a space for his own healing, while exploring the complicated and more camouflaged barriers of today. Mansa Ra offers a unique approach to poetically elaborate on the social, racial, and generational struggles and injustices that black men face while also creating a space for discourse about and healing from these experiences.
Character Breakdown
5M
Production History
World Premiere Production - Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre (2021)
Honors/Awards
Named one of TheaterMania's "6 Favorite Theater Productions of 2021"
Reviews
"Mansa Ra, like this show’s excellent cast of five, proves adept at lightning-quick switches between the crushing and the comical."
—NY Times
"Formally ambitious" and a "tender tribute to previous generations of Black Americans." —NY Times
Mansa Ra invites you into limbo with him. You emerge from the show as if you’re leaving his mind. To leave the theater, you go down a long stairwell, but it feels like rising again into life. —Vulture
"Alternately funny and heartbreaking, and the way in which [the characters] inspire the protagonist to ultimately choose life is genuinely uplifting... Ra's play is a worthy, and in some ways even more daring, companion piece." - TheaterMania
Deep in an existential crisis, MAN locks himself in his apartment. A portal reveals itself and when he crosses that threshold, MAN begins a journey that traverses centuries of history, allowing him to create a space for his own healing, while exploring the complicated and more camouflaged barriers of today. Mansa Ra offers a unique approach to poetically elaborate on the social, racial, and generational struggles and injustices that black men face while also creating a space for discourse about and healing from these experiences.
Character Breakdown
5M
Production History
World Premiere Production - Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre (2021)
Honors/Awards
Named one of TheaterMania's "6 Favorite Theater Productions of 2021"
Reviews
"Mansa Ra, like this show’s excellent cast of five, proves adept at lightning-quick switches between the crushing and the comical."
—NY Times
"Formally ambitious" and a "tender tribute to previous generations of Black Americans." —NY Times
Mansa Ra invites you into limbo with him. You emerge from the show as if you’re leaving his mind. To leave the theater, you go down a long stairwell, but it feels like rising again into life. —Vulture
"Alternately funny and heartbreaking, and the way in which [the characters] inspire the protagonist to ultimately choose life is genuinely uplifting... Ra's play is a worthy, and in some ways even more daring, companion piece." - TheaterMania
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Production photos below:
(photo credit: David Rauch)