Holler If Ya Hear Me – Palace Theatre, New York

(L-R) Saul Williams, Dyllon Burnside and Joshua Boone in Holler If Ya Hear Me at the Palace Theatre, New York. Picture: Joan Marcus

Holler If Ya Hear Me continues at the Palace Theatre, New York, in an open-ended run.

The 2014-15 Broadway season has begun early with a grimly serious yet brilliantly theatrical musical. It’s hardly the ticket for those all-important tourists looking for light summer fare, but for devotees interested in new directions for the art of musical theatre, Holler If Ya Hear Me should be a must-see. It’s a show with genuine social conscience and passion to boot, inspired by and utilising the songs and poetry of the celebrated and controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. His life ended at age 25 as the target of a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996.

The show seamlessly entwines rap – with its propulsive rhythms dramatically heightened and varied in arrangements by musical supervisor Daryl Waters – into a compelling narrative. At the same time, director Kenny Leon’s dynamic staging gives the show a legitimate hip-hop sensibility, underscored by Wayne Cilento’s angular and driving choreography. The fluid sets, lighting and projection designs by Edward Pierce, Mike Baldassari and Zachary Borovay, respectively, further drive up the energy levels. Meanwhile, the main floor of the legendary Palace Theatre has been dramatically reconfigured for stadium seating, clearing sightlines and pulling the audience more intimately into the proceedings.

The book by Todd Kreidler portrays the harsh life of a black community in an anonymous American city, spelling out the systemic destruction caused by racism, poverty and criminality. While the details of the story are not always razor sharp, the humanity and anger of the characters involved are frequently overwhelming. Much of the plot revolves around John, a convicted drug dealer, now out of jail and wanting to walk a new path, even if it means a low-paying job at a neighbourhood auto repair job. But circumstances eventually pull him back into gang life, and a sudden burst of violence brings him to a tragic end.

It’s hardly an unfamiliar tale, but the fervour of the talented cast as they unreel it – along with Shakur’s uncompromising words – give it all an irresistible immediacy. John is played by Saul Williams, a noted rapper and poet himself, and he takes us deeply into John’s conflicted soul. His rendering of the title song, when his resolution to go straight is shattered by a chiseled pay-cheque, is ferociously majestic. In appealing contrast to Williams’ intensity is the more relaxed persona of Christopher Jackson as Vertus, the leader of John’s gang. His paean to his mother in ‘Dear Mama’ – one of Shakur’s most acclaimed songs – is delivered with a quiet depth of feeling that makes it a showstopper. The mother in question is notably portrayed by Tonya Pinkins, a Tony winner and three-time nominee.

Other fine performances include Saycon Sengbloh as John’s steadfast girlfriend (her declaration of ‘Unconditional Love’ makes for a stirringly soulful duet with Williams); Ben Thompson as the youthful well-meaning white boss of the auto repair shop, and Joshua Boone and Dyllon Burnside as gang members anxious for street warfare.

As the threat of war with a rival gang grows, Holler If Ya Hear Me may well put you in mind of West Side Story, the landmark musical now unbelievably more than a half-century old. Holler also resembles West Side Story in its closing number, with its yearning for a better world. But the show stems from an entirely different energy. It rips away the melodious romanticism of that work to reveal something more deeply unsettling. The fact that such conditions are carried daily – almost routinely – in news reports makes them and this musical no less urgent.

Ron Cohen