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indianapolisrecorder.com Arts & Culture AfiSection Friday, July 4, 2025Loeb Stadium | 2250 Wallace Avenue | (765) 742-5664 | www.longpac.orgWITH SPECIAL GUEST: TAJ FARRANTLOEB STADIUM . LAFAYETTE, IN07.18.2025BUDDYGUY.NET TICKETS AT LONGPAC.ORGwww.connerprairie.org13400 Allisonville Road | Fishers, IN 46038PLAN YOUR VISITWITH US TODAY!By CHLOE McGOWANchloegm@indyrecorder.comI was told this play might make me uncomfortable.Jordan E. Cooper%u2019s %u201cAin%u2019t No Mo%u2019%u201d paves the way for a provocative new season for the Indianapolis Black Theatre Company under the leadership of artistic director Tijideen Rowley. Directed by Jamaal McCray, the play, which originally debuted on Broadway on Dec. 1, 2022, is based around a singular question: %u201cIf America offered Black people oneway tickets to Africa, would you go?%u201dI have a dark sense of humor and welcome theatre that makes me go %u201cOh, that%u2019s not%u2026%u201d so %u201cAin%u2019t No Mo%u2019%u201d did everything but make me uncomfortable. I loved it. However, it does come on strong, so let%u2019s get into it, shall we?%u00a0Truthfully, %u201cAin%u2019t No Mo%u2019%u201d is an unhinged dark satire about what it means to be Black in America. It%u2019s set up like a sketch comedy, where each scene tells a different story in reaction to the news of the reparations flight. At the center is Peaches (Daren J. Fleming) a drag queen and boarding agent for gate 1619 of African American Airlines, and a cast of five %u201cpassengers%u201d (Chandra Lynch, Reno Moore, Clarissa Todd, Cara Wilson and Avery Elise) who rotate between at least six different characters each.It%u2019s very modern. In fact, the playwright is just about as chronically online as I am because there were so many niche and new pop culture references %u2014 such as %u201cHe%u2019s got a gun!%u201d and %u201cYou need to leave%u201d %u2014 that I fear many older, non-Black audience members didn%u2019t get.There%u2019s a handful of skits, each one more devastating than the last, but I stopped counting after about six. Several scenes take place at the African American Airlines boarding gate and feature Peaches alone on stage with nothing more than a suitcase, a flawless wig and a bone to pick with society. It%u2019s sassy and soul-shattering, and I couldn%u2019t look away.Because there are so many sketches, I can%u2019t remember all the names of the characters each actor played, but I will highlight Reno Moore for bringing to life perhaps some of the funniest and most amusing characters. Clarissa Todd is always a pleasure to watch onstage, and her role in the Real Baby Mamas of the Southside was nothing short of brilliantly executed rage bait. Avery Elise as personified Blackness was something I didn%u2019t see coming, and yet she delivered one of the most powerful monologues of the whole show and then did it again as Blue in the next sketch.The playbill so kindly refers to everyone as Passenger 1, 2, 3, etc., but everyone on stage has so much range and versatility that it%u2019s impossible not to be entertained or at least challenged to engage.While I enjoy a big extravagant set as much as the next person, I loved the minimalist aspect of this show. Less really is more %u2014 and fewer set pieces allow for hilarious scenes where characters can be chased by their Blackness personified. However, there%u2019s a deeper meaning in the set pieces and props that do make it onto the stage, such as the casket holding Black folks%u2019 %u201creason to complain,%u201d the suitcase holding everything Black people %u201cmade%u201d in America, TV camera and the gun.The show is good; it%u2019s enjoyable if you let it be. It hits you hard and fast in scene one and barely gives you a second to breathe before the humor comes back around, but it%u2019s essential. Each of the stories presented in the sketches is raw and tangible in a way that cannot be captured in a review, I don%u2019t think.%u00a0It%u2019s the kind of thing you have to experience in order to reconcile with it %u2014 whether it%u2019s the church service celebrating the president of the U.S. being %u201cmy N****%u201d or the community center abortion clinic offering Black women a choice between a loss now or immeasurable grief later when their sons are inevitably gunned down in the streets, or aggressive ignorance of the%u00a0 %u201ctransracial Black woman%u201d attempting to steal a culture that doesn%u2019t belong to her only for show and tell.It%u2019s a bold choice for IBTC%u2019s debut, but if this is the kind of theatre it takes to make others understand what this organization is all about, then so be it. We%u2019re in good hands as a creative community.Lastly, and because I felt this was worth mentioning, %u201cAin%u2019t No Mo%u2019%u201d is long as hell. It clocked in at about two hours %u2014 which isn%u2019t crazy, musicals are usually two and a half hours. My issue with it being two hours is that the long scene changes are what made it two hours. I%u2019m not sure if it%u2019s a run-of-the-show thing (costume, wig, set change, etc.) or if it%u2019s intentional due to the recordings played over the speakers during the scene changes, but it was noticeable.Before the show began, McCray let the audience know they were experiencing some technical issues. Apparently, there are some media/tech aspects to the show that were not working on Friday night. The show must go on, but I did wonder what exactly we were missing throughout the show.%u00a0Hopefully, they%u2019ve fixed that for the remaining nights because this show isn%u2019t one you want to miss.%u201cAin%u2019t No Mo%u2019%u201d is on the District Theatre stage at 7:30 p.m. on July 3 and 5 and at 2 p.m. on July 6. The show is approximately two hours and recommended for audiences aged 16 and up. Tickets are $23-$28. For more information, visit indydistricttheatre.org.Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.IBTC%u2019S %u2018AIN%u2019T NO MO%u2019:%u2019 YOU JUST GON%u2019 HAVE TO SEE ITREVIEW: Chandra (Passenger 1) and Reno Moore (Passenger 2) in Indianapolis Black Theatre Company%u2019s production of %u201cAin%u2019t No Mo,%u2019%u201d playing at The District Theatre July 3, 5 and 6. (Photo/ IBTC via Facebook)