ArtPhilly’s What Now festival: Theatre in the X presents Carlo Campbell’s Acknowledge Me

Four Black Philadelphians

Acknowledge Me follows four Black adults living in Philadelphia. Renee (Cynda Purnell) opened the play with a land acknowledgement to the Lenape people and a Native-inspired dance, wearing a feather in a makeshift headdress. This dance was cut short by her friend Maxine (Morgan Charéce-Hall), who tells her this cultural appropriation is going to get her cancelled. Renee is working to complete a draft of her play to submit for her fellowship, while struggling with writers’ block. Maxine is a former artist turned eviction lawyer.

The play also follows Jaden (Charvez Grant), Renee’s brother, whose story starts with a layoff at Home Depot with bills stacking up, and epitomizes the saying when it rains, it pours. He faces problems that grow to almost comedically unrealistic proportions. Grant infuses dignity into the mostly angry and beaten-down character. Dale (Abdul Sesay), Jaden’s best friend, is living in his grandmother’s basement and has a charming personality, but little direction in life.

Revisions needed

The comedy and comradery between these characters were a highlight of the show, and Charéce-Hall’s physical comedy and timing as Maxine were a breath of fresh air. But the cast’s chemistry couldn’t carry the weight of this otherwise stifling and overlong production. The characters felt more like two-dimensional caricatures rather than people with emotional depth.

At a runtime of two hours, Acknowledge Me tries to cover too much, and uneven pacing from director Tariq Kanu added to the feeling that the play dragged on. There were frustrating plot holes. An ICE agent was held accountable for his crimes against citizens, which, unfortunately, does not sound realistic today. Cutting the show down to 60 minutes and focusing on a couple of key struggles and themes would’ve made this piece stronger. As it stands, it covers racially motivated layoffs, gig economy overlords, the prison industrial complex, eviction, poverty, white supremacy trying to pit minorities against each other, intergenerational trauma, systems of oppression, and late-stage capitalism forcing moral compromise. While important, these themes didn’t coalesce into a meaningful dramatic whole.

Platforming the community

Other recent Philly plays have successfully integrated community voices, like InterAct’s Seng’s Hair Salon, which premiered this spring (here’s my review), or 2025’s The Great American Gunshow: Philadelphia from Team Sunshine Performance (the company says another iteration of the show is coming). Seng’s successfully integrated problems faced by the Southeast Asian refugee community and utilized a traditional play structure that allowed themes similar to Acknowledge Me to have emotional weight and consequence. The Great American Gunshow shone by directly platforming community members and partners as part of the show.

Acknowledge Me brings up important themes and struggles facing Philadelphians today. However, the script itself needs refinement to tell a more cohesive story, present more realistic characters, and take a clearer direction. This play has potential, but it is not yet a compelling piece.

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