One-man show harmonizes hip-hop, theater

In the beginning of his one-man show “Flow,” Will
Power describes the perplexing appearance of a man he saw on the
street.

“He had an afro on the side and a Jerry Curl in the
back!” he exclaims, horrified at this man’s conflicting
hairstyles.

Like the hair confusion, “Flow” tries to combine rap
and theater performance, but unlike the other man, Power is
actually successful in merging these worlds.

“Flow,” playing through Nov. 7, is a production of
the New York Theatre Workshop, which also helped develop
“Rent” and Tony Kushner’s
“Homebody/Kabul.” Power also wrote the piece, which is
directed by hip-hop artist Danny Hoch.

Through his mix of spoken word and drama, Power tells the story
of a young boy who is discovered on the street by an elderly person
in his community and invited to be the seventh member of the
neighborhood’s storytellers.

This classic coming-of-age story of a young person guided by
elders in a community is anything but original. But Power’s
vocal energy and contemporary urban themes give the story an edge
that continues to strike with every change in rhyme.

The production opens with a live mix by DJ Monica to get the
audience ready for the hip-hop play. On opening night, most of the
crowd was over 60 and seemed remarkably out of place with the beat
of the music, as it encouraged them to “just move your
hips.” By the time Power jumped on stage, clapping and
swaying to the music, the older crowd started following the rest of
the audience and was ready to be taken under the spell of
Power’s story.

In this one-man play, it is fascinating to watch Power introduce
the other storytellers. He creates distinct expressions and
movements that linger in the light after he has acted them,
creating an illusion of a big group when Power is the only person
on stage.

Power’s story and stamina make this play thrilling. For
those looking for high-powered hip-hop and dance, this might not be
the right event. Power’s writing and manipulation of language
is what makes it engaging. While he does shuffle around the stage
and create rhythms with his step, the movement serves to enrich his
characters; it’s not a dance performance.

DJ Monica’s live mix is the perfect sound track for the
production, which could actually use more music. Every time there
is a clip of the live mix, the audience perks up, almost begging
the music not to end as it breathes life into the piece in a way
that Power, despite his never-ending energy, cannot do.

Still, Power’s story and performance are a compelling
experience. Watching someone take a solo play format and add the
vigor of a DJ mix and spoken word is truly thrilling.

Power clearly has a message ingrained in his story, and
audiences will delight in how he cleverly brings these issues to
life and creates energizing art.

-Fay Gordon