Theatre Exile presents R. Eric Thomas’s Glitter in the Glass

Chelle (Jennifer Kidwell) is a mid-career artist who needs to deliver an answer to that question in just six days. After years of research and rumination, she returns to her childhood home in Baltimore, which overlooks the empty spot where a statue of Robert E. Lee once stood. Kidwell's intense, unabashed, and commanding performance embodies Chelle's turmoil, struggle, and innate strength.

Chelle is joined by her energetic younger brother, Willard (a charmingly delightful Danny Wilfred), who serves as a foil to his sister's serious personality. She is surprised to find out Willard is the one who organized the Juneteenth festival where her work is scheduled to be revealed. The siblings fundamentally disagree about a lot of things—what authenticity looks like, what should replace the Confederate statute, what their community needs, and how to best continue the legacy of their parents’ activism.

Chelle is worried that “hope has been colonized.” Later, William shouts that Chelle needs to “free [herself] from mental slavery.” The core of the play is the lighting-quick back-and-forth between the siblings’ opposing views. Chelle’s monologues can be a lot to digest at some points, but Thomas’s impeccable sense of humor permeates the play, allowing complex themes to be explored with a light-heartedness and hilarity that kept the opening-night audience cracking up through the first act. Chelle’s art is her vehicle, through ephemeral pieces referencing the Middle Passage, delving into slave cabins and tending toward revenge. Willard’s vehicle is his community-building and resistance choir.

Thalia (Kishia Nixon), the contractor/interior decorator hired by Willard to revamp their childhood home, completes the onstage trio. She’s an outsider and commentator, likening the siblings’ bickering to The West Wing and declaring herself as the future. She brings a can-do attitude, unjaded optimism, comic relief, and a deep love of Star Trek. Nixon expertly switches between a few other ensemble roles with grace and stunning ease.

Lights by Natalie Robin, audio engineering by Natalie Merrill, and sound design by Elizabeth Atkinson work theater magic for the show’s fantastical elements, including travel though space and time. Chris Haig’s set, evoking an African American museum of art, is full of African masks, prints of Black folks marching, and bold African cloth prints.

Director Ontaria Kim Wilson’s production adeptly balances dramatic tension and comedy. Sidesplittingly hilarious, empathetic, and deeply thought-provoking, Glitter in the Glass is a genre-bending play with something for everyone.