While he claims contentment with this low-paying if steady gig, the extraordinary Hawkins always lets us see Lincoln’s inner disdain, disappointment and disgust – which we know will eventually combust. He works in an arcade where he dresses up as, yes, Abraham Lincoln – complete with whiteface - and allows white patrons to come in and “shoot” him on a daily basis. To pay their bills, Lincoln, once the king of three-card monte dealers, has now resigned himself to a different life.
(The fine scenic design is by Arnulfo Maldonado, who also frames the stage a la Washington D.C.’s famed Ford Theatre.) So, we truly understand the mixture of hope and despair with which the unfortunately named brothers Lincoln (Corey Hawkins) and Booth (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) approach life in the dingy one-room flat they’ve been forced to share. If anything, this bracing work has even more resonance than it did two decades ago, in large part because some of us have become even more aware of the inequities facing the Black community in light of the BLM movement and the murder of George Floyd. 15.Are we truly the products of free will? Or are our lives predestined – by societal expectations, by the tragedies of our adolescence, even by the names given to us by our parents? These questions – and more – swirl through our mind during Kenny Leon’s mesmerizing and exquisitely acted revival of Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Topdog/Underdog,” now at Broadway’s John Golden Theatre. Tickets to Topdog/Underdog are available now until Jan. The play is as important as it was 20 years ago as it is today. In the end, a bad habit strikes Booth and Lincoln that redemption can’t be sought. “Topdog/Underdog” teaches a grave lesson that we oftentimes won’t admit-sometimes our bad habits come back to haunt us. And coming from just performing, I feel so much love from everyone and I know that love is going to carry throughout the run of this production.” Audiences need to see this not only for the story we’ve been able to tell, but for the work we’ve done to get here. Hawkins agreed to the same sentiment, explaining that he learned a great deal from the role and also from Leon and Parks. I think that this a heart and soul play and Booth is the heart and Lincoln is the soul.” Abdul-Mateen said about his role, “Booth is a dreamer. The story takes place entirely in a small apartment so the aspect that draws you in the most are the performances.
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