Sal Capone: The Lamentable Tragedy
Written by Omari Newton
Dramaturgy by Diane Roberts
Staged Reading August 28th 8:00pm
O Patro Vys
327 Avenue du Mont Royal Est Montreal, QC
In Association with Playwrights Workshop Montreal
Featuring: Lucinda Davis, Tristan D. Lalla, Todd Fennell & Leah Doz
The fatal police shooting of a talented but troubled young DJ irrevocably changes the lives of his three friends. The future of their once promising hip hop group is now in jeopardy. Can these urban poets salvage their dreams in the face of this tragedy? Open your eyes and ears to Canada’s inner-city realities in this full-on reading at O Patro Vys.
Using elements of hip hop, spoken word, experimental sound & video, The Lamentable Tragedy of Sal Capone examines the struggles found in Canadian inner cities. Class struggle, racism, homophobia, and a legitimate fear/distrust of authority are only a few of the factors responsible for the nihilistic world view festering in ghettoized neighbourhoods across North America.
I am born and raised in Montreal so the humour, the jokes, the cultural diversity was so familiar, but at the same time, I felt like i was witness to something new – something that gets swallowed up by the media, by facades people put up, and also by popular culture. Thank you for writing it and trying to weave a story that is not just about police brutality but about the complications in how society interacts and communicates. If only we listened to each other and showed more empathy!
What you are writing is so so profound, yet is presented in a way that is accessible and entertaining. It has a fine balance of suspense, drama, and humour – At times i found the humour to be too forgiving… too nice… (for lack of a better word), but you are dealing with a very uncomfortable subjuct – taboos so to speak… so the humour I understand is necessary…
To answer Diane’s question about the sound – I loved it! When we back tracked (rewind sound *) to the scene with gun – that flowed super well! It is a great example for when iit works well! i guess something that confused the audience (taking this from the discussion) is the gunshot sound as a way to move to the next scene… but these are details that will iron themselves out i’m sure.
It is amazing to see a work in progress and thank you for letting for even reading this! For 2 days’ work – this is is more than stupendous!
shout out to the actors and DJ Mana = WOW!! Y’all blew my mind with your preformance
Diane Roberts – Company’s like Urban Ink make the world a better place!
Omari – Encore!
m.
Congradulations again Omari, the Play really looks like it is shaping up to be a success! One comment I wanted to put out there though was in the scene between Naomi and her brother. I thought that their relationship was one of the most captivating elements of the piece, except however when Freddy called Naomi Sweetheart. Using that name really cut the authenticity of their relationship for me, it felt a bit fake. I think that sticking to one nickname throughout the show would be a stronger choice. I hope this feedback helps and I really look forward to seeing it in full production!
i was at the reading in montreal last night.
came with a friend, & didn’t know what to expect.
i wanted to be sure to drop you a line and tell you how incredible i thought your play was.
with all of te police brutality we see going on, it was great to hear about it like you wrote.
the actos were so great. the guy playing sal (justin? tristan?) blew my mind. so much depth, so invested.
those tears streaming down his face at the end had me really into it, and i forgot i was watching a play.
the ladies were great too. such strong voices. so grounded.
i hope to see a production of this in montreal. people need to hear this story.
thanks again. well done.
Phil