NORFOLK, Va. — We are onstage at the Wells Theatre in downtown Norfolk with the stars of a new stage production whose title alone is attention-grabbing.
Try this on for size: Malcolm X and Redd Foxx washing dishes at Jimmy's Chicken Shack in Harlem.
"The play is an imagination of their youth, so for most of the play you're in that space," Jordan Williams said. Williams plays a young Redd Foxx.
"He's definitely the class clown, if you will, but super passionate about the world and how people should be interacting with each other," he said.
This new play is making its world premiere this year, with a stop in Norfolk at the Virginia Stage Company.
"What are the odds that they would work together in a chicken shack washing dishes?" Williams asked.
While it seems like a clever work of fiction, it's actually true.
"He mentions in his autobiography that 'Chicago Red,' which is Redd Foxx (John Sanford), was the funniest dishwasher he'd ever met," said cast member Edwin Green
Williams plays Malcolm Little, better known as Malcolm X. "So you're watching him at a crossroads, really — a pivotal time in his life," he said.
The year is 1943. A war is looming, and racial tension and unrest are high.
"They wake up thinking about the Harlem riot; they think about World War II; they think about police brutality — stuff that shaped both of these men to be who they were," Green said.
"They took different angles, both trying to heal the world and solve its problems," Williams said.
Both men made their way into the history books, each with his own approach to making things better — and not so different after all.
The Virginia Stage Company and its thought-provoking productions are 'Positively Hampton Roads.'
The production runs through April 26th. You can get tickets through the Virginia Stage Company.
