"Harlem Duet," written by Canadian playwright Djanet Sears, imagines a Black love story unraveling across three eras — the 1860s, the Harlem Renaissance, and 1997 — and serves as an unofficial prequel to Shakespeare's "Othello." Three cast members from Face Off Theatre — Alyssa Laney, Kennedi Wheeler and Vic Ledbetter — tell Cara Lieurance about their experiences bringing it to stage. It opens Sep 11 in the Festival Playhouse at Kalamazoo College, and runs through Sep 20.
Alyssa Laney, who plays Billie (born Sibyl), explains that Billie and Othello have been engaged for nine years when Othello leaves her for a white colleague named Mona after landing a job at Columbia University. "Again, this idea of Black identity and how do I fit in? How can I be the best version of myself?" Laney says, describing the assimilation pressures the play explores. Face Off's artistic director, Marissa Harrington, brought the show into this season at the urging of director Dr. Quincy Thomas, who had wanted to stage it for years.
Vic Ledbetter, making his stage debut as Billy's estranged father, Canada, draws on his own experience as a retired police detective and father of two sons. "I feel like I'm the weakest link in this production," he admits, crediting his castmates for mentoring him: "We got you, rookie." He adds that the play's themes of family struggle and addiction will resonate broadly: "Culture doesn't matter. Ethnicity doesn't matter. It's going to touch everybody in that theater."
Kennedi Wheeler, a Western Michigan University student playing Maggie, the couple's landlord, describes the show as "a love story about your platonic relationships" as much as a romantic one. Xavier Bolden plays Othello, and Anna Cafagna plays Mona.
The production runs weekends through September 20, with 7:30 p.m. shows Fridays and Saturdays and a 2 p.m. matinee Sundays, followed by audience talkbacks. Laney closes by quoting Dr. Thomas's director's note: "How much of who we are do we sacrifice to belong, and who pays the price for that sacrifice?"
The interview was summarized by Claude AI and edited by the author.
