Clay

The theatre was shaking as we entered to find our seats.  Hip-hop beats flowed forth from somewhere behind the stage, and soon the lights dimmed to signal the beginning of the performance.  We were introduced to a man named Sir John and his protégé Clay.  The story itself was told through a fractured timeline, frequently revisiting the first scene and revealing a little bit more each time.  Clay uses hip-hop to weave the tale of a young boy named Clifford who escapes his emotionally detached father by taking hip-hop lessons in Brooklyn.

The music and rhymes featured in Clay were all written and performed by one man – Matt Sax, and for the most part he does a very good job of flipping back and forth between characters.  The way he used different facial expressions and certain mannerisms to represent each character worked well for the most part, although sometimes I did find myself confused about which character was speaking.  Another cool thing about Clay is that it encompasses several aspects of hip-hop – not just rapping, but also beat-boxing.  Clay also explores the reasons why one would begin rapping rather than just using rap as a different medium for telling the story.

Some parts of Clay, however, were not as enjoyable.  There were some aspects of the performance that, while getting the point across, where quite over the top and maybe even unnecessary.  One example of unnecessary portions is when he came into the audience and began grinding up on female members of the audience while he lamented his unrequited love.  This was unexpected, to say the least, not to mention just plain awkward.