Performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Urban Bush women displayed African American culture and traditions as well as the struggle that came with African Diaspora, migration of Africans to America and later on to the world, through expressive dance performances. For many members of the audience like me, it was difficult to understand the story of the dance performance.  Only in the end did I realize that there was no plot. Without sufficient introduction in the beginning of the performance, Urban Bush women confused its audience.

Instead of focusing on the theme of the performance, I decided to look at the dancers, persuading myself that it was not as dull as it seemed. Penetrating on the struggle of many Africans, the facial expression of the dancers matched the tension of African descendants, battling to accept the heritage and adjust to the new culture. For the most part of the performance, individual performances weren’t as fluent as group performances. The female dancers were often times too dramatic in their interpretations of the meaning of tension. To show internal conflict, the female dancer did not have to show the contortion of arms and wild movements.

Though I felt I was exposed to a different genre of dancing performance, the Urban Bush Women did not affect me. I would recommend the dance performance to people who wanted to see the dance techniques. But the theme of the performance was no where to be found.

“Let me introduce you to my man Clay!”  The hip one man musical with hip hop, yes hip-hop.

Now any skeptic or Broadway buff that might scoff at the idea of hip-hop or any non traditional form of music on a stage.  They might even deign to hide a condescending laugh at the idea of a white guy going to a bookstore of all places and rapping his way to self-actualization. Just watching the first five minutes of “Clay” can change those judgmental notions and there lies the power of Mr. Sax. Matt Sax’s refreshing rhymes and contagiously energetic performance joins the ranks of such musicals as “In the Heights” a Broadway musical with the enterprising Lin Manuel Miranda.

In his performance the set becomes secondary to the point of existing only to complement his acting. The cushy red curtains add to his dramatic acting and there are books to give the impression of a bookstore but that is where the set reaches a limit. Clay’s rush of energy can only be described as a live wire that hit a puddle of water. That small puddle is the stage at New Street Studio’s on 42^nd Street. Their productions in general are geared towards attracting “new” younger audiences and after quickly scanning the demographics of the audience it is apparent that their endeavors are successful. Needless to say, he left us all electrified.

Matt Sax’s sensational story line for a poor rich kid from upstate to a lyric spitting machine in Brooklyn is somewhat incredulous but it only serves to enhance his emphasis on performance. He did not just memorize these lines, he also wrote them. The lost youth that finds guidance in an older crabbed version of him self is predictable. It is something of a Hollywood feel good cookie cutter plot.  Yet when one is part of the audience just 6 feet away from him, Mr. Sax makes one forget this. His performance leaves one transfixed on his trembling form.

The mentor he finds in the hooded character of Sir John dubs him “Clay”. “Clay” has an elasticity in his facial features that does credit to his name. Mr. Sax innocently widens his tawny hazel eyes and bends down on his knees emulating the innocent young child Clifford that he used to be. For his parent roles he morphs into the stereotypical busy and nervous types. As the father Mr. Sax slacks his jaw and lowers his voice to a nasal hum. His interpretation of the mother, a cigarette brandishing bundle of nerves with a high-pitched breathy voice to boot ensues hilarity in the crowd.

His ability to adapt and slip in and out of character is chameleon like. It is seemingly effortless with the flexibility of his facial features almost to the point of being enviable. This in not however what Matt Sax tries to do. In writing, acting and composing a one man play he gives himself multiple identities to do justice to the range of characters he can play. It is obvious in the enthusiasm and his laughter that he is not only successful in his career but that he has fun-at plays.

Matt Sax in CLAY

CLAY is a one-man hip-hop musical written and performed by Matt Sax.  It is a story about a boy named Clifford whose mother kills herself and whose father finds another woman who Clifford gradually comes to have an affair with. He finally escapes the torments of his own home and finds a mentor in the back of a bookstore, Sir John, a man of words, a poetry slam. He teaches him how to use words, and how to express himself.  In one of the funniest scenes of the show, Sir John finds Clifford to be replicating the usual themes of rap songs rather than saying what’s really on his mind. “You ever met a prostitute before?” he asks after Clifford has ended a song.  “Um, no.”
Hip-hop helps Clifford to come out of his shell and express himself. The scenes in which Sir John transforms Cliff from a quiet teenager into a proud rapper are the show’s funniest and touching moments. His mentor keeps his hymn “It only comes out truthful if it comes from a truthful place.” Sir John makes out of Clifford a hip-hop star, Clay. Clifford soon discovers he cannot escape his past. Even when he makes rhymes, his past haunts him.  Even when he is free styling, he reveals “I’m in love with my…. stepmother.” The hip-hop musical encouraged everyone to listen, “Come inside/ open up your ears wide … To the beat ya’ll.” This entertaining production may even win over older folks who usually take hip-hop to mean there are gangsters in town.
I think the performance was very well done. Even though there were some blurts of inappropriate, I think it fit into the context.  Hip-hop became a type of genre in which many artists use words inappropriately, give words new meanings, and overuse words and phrases. The switch between Clifford and Sir John was fantastic. When becoming Sir John, the hood went on Sax’s head, and when going back to Clifford the hood went off. It amazes me how one man could act out so many different characters. He was Clifford, his mother, his father, his stepmother, and Sir John. Matt Sax did not lose control of his characters, not once. He gives each character a gesture which is strictly their own-a cigarette for Nancy, tucking hair back for stepmother Jackie, and the face-hiding hoodie for Sir John.
The stage set was very simple, for a bookstore there were piles of book covering up the entire back stage.  For every other setting, there was nothing but a chair on occasion. This was fine, because the performance did not require any elaborate stage designs. If there had been more objects on the stage, it would take the attention away from the performer. For an emerging artist, this show was a wonderful creation that required a lot of effort and it deserves applaud.

Matt Sax in "Clay"

Emerging playwright Matt Sax: writer, composer, and one man star of the hip-hop stage performance “Clay,” breaks all the limits with “Clay” ’s energized compilation of rap music and the coming of age story of a distressed boy running from the troubles at home. From crude humor to foul language, Sax is relentless with his portrayal of the amazing total of five different characters.

“‘Clay’ – The Hip-Hop Musical” is what the show was advertised as; I would change ‘musical’ to ‘drama’ instead. His father doesn’t love him; his mother commits suicide; his stepmother becomes the first woman he makes out with – Clifford has it rough growing up, which is why he turns to Sir John, the local master of hip-hop, for guidance. Each of the characters mentioned is played by Sax with intricate articulation – the father is identified with a snide voice, the mother with an imaginary cigarette, Sir John is the formidable instructor. Between constant voice changes, hand motion habits, and facial expressions, Sax manages to throw in an original rap score and some fancy footwork, not to mention a load of beat boxing. For those unfamiliar with the term, beat boxing is a technique that recreates sounds like record breaking to static using a wide array of mouth motions – not an easy feat to master. The audience gave him a grand ovation as soon as his finishing act came to a close.

“Clay” is not only meant to entertain. Sax tried to show how hip-hop was not just about drugs and women. He makes a point of it during one of the scenes between Clifford and Sir John. Sir John ridicules and reprimands Clifford for his initial attempt to describe what hip-hop meant, an attempt that consisted of nothing but cuss words and gender slurs. This additional backdrop provides “Clay” with something else to bring to the table besides acting, dancing, and rapping.

            Behind the red velvet curtains draping the stage, a man who calls himself Sir John begins to rattle the crowd anticipating the arrival of acclaimed hip-hop superstar Clay. While the audience awaits the entrance of Clay, Sir John like a chameleon morphs into Clifford. Though Clifford’s face is hidden under the hood of his sweater, the audience’s eyes are curiously fixated on the blood smeared all over his face. This is just the start of the intoxicating performance where we are introduced to the protagonist Clifford, his obnoxious and callous father, emotionally distressed mother, his pedophilic stepmother, and hip-hop mentor Sir John.

            Clay captures Clifford’s internal struggle as he experiences the raw and painful realities of his parent’s divorce. Stuck with a jet-setting and absentee father and mother who only acknowledges his presence with a yearly call on Christmas, Clifford uses hip-hop as the medium to articulate his conflicted emotions. Seeking to learn how to rap, Clifford escapes from his home in Westchester and wanders into Sir John’s bookstore in Brooklyn. Matt Sax exhibits his vocal talent in a sequence of beat boxing where Sir John quizzes Clifford on his knowledge of popular sounds from Michael Jackson and the Wu Tang Clan. The theater explodes with laughter at Clifford’s pathetic and futile attempts to mimic his mentor’s beats.

            Perhaps Sax’s versatility is best exposed in his successful transition among the five characters. Sax masterfully goes from depicting a naïve and vulnerable young boy, to contorting his face illuminating Clifford’s father’s snarl and condescending demeanor, topping it off with his excruciating and whiny voice. With the rapid covering and retracting of his hood over his head and facial expressions, Sax illustrates the exchanges between father and son effortlessly. Sax also brings to life the image of Clifford’s helpless mother; visualized in her obsessively tapping legs, fidgety hands that appear to be solving an invisible rubix cube, and the exchange of her cigarette, animated by the microphone, between her hands like a hot potato. Sax’s absurdly funny and somewhat disturbing rendition of his stepmother undressing is so convincing, it literally looks like a woman taking off her underclothes and leggings.  There are arguably six characters as Sax’s single prop, the microphone, holds a world of its own representing a cigarette, gun, telephone, gavel, razor blade, and even a woman’s mouth.

            Sax successfully entertains the crowd with his gestures, facial expressions, witty rhymes, and makes you squirm with his jaw-dropping and awkward erotic encounter with his stepmother. However, the compelling and harsh story of an alienated boy eaten alive by his insecurities searching for his identity reveals a deeper meaning. Clifford’s rap ballads connect with spectators, as Clay, Clifford’s stage name, repeatedly emphasizes, “we define ourselves through rhymes…it only comes out truthful if it’s from a truthful place.” Like Clifford, Matt Sax’s authenticity shines through making Clay a delightfully amusing yet inspiring performance.

“Come inside, open up your ears up wide” to hear the story of a derelict 17-year old boy named Clifford who flees from his dysfunctional “family” and finds a home in the arms of Sir John and hip-hop. “Clay”, the one-man hip-hop musical held at the Duke on 42nd Street, certainly broke the traditional and ordinary mindset of a classic musical. Written and performed by Matt Sax, “Clay” opened its curtains with the night that Clifford is performing his major debut as a hip-hop performer. At once, we can see that this play twists time as it is loaded with flashbacks.

Although the storyline is rather predictable, it is also relevant in some cases. Children do experience the psychological effects of parental divorces as Clifford did at the tender age of 7. When his father remarries and Clifford gets a stepmother, he runs in the streets of Brooklyn to find a sanctuary. Somewhat expectantly, he runs into a bookstore where Sir John is performing. With hip-hop as his saving grace, Clifford learns to deal with his residential problems but realizes he cannot escape his past.

Matt Sax is certainly talented, even though young, as he successfully takes on the role of 5 different people. He is Clifford, the timid and nervous boy who stammers as he speaks and is the father, a sarcastic businessman who only uses Clifford as a pawn in his fight against his wife. At the same time, he is also the mother, who is a smoke addict and commits suicide, and Sir John, Clifford’s mentor and hip-hop teacher. The fact that he acted these different personalities without a change in costume or makeup is already an impressive feat. All he needs is a hooded sweater, his voice, and his face. Mr. Sax’s mouth as a musical instrument is another talent to praise. His catchy rhythms and admirable beat boxing stir the audience into laughter as he provides a humorous remix of Britney Spears or Michael Jackson. Not only is his costume simple, but the stage is unadorned as well. All the stage provides is a backdrop of stacks of books and curtains to reveal each act.

Some parts were rather graphic however. For instance, Mr. Sax went into much detail by reenacting the sexual tension between Clifford and his stepmother. In addition to this, Sax unnecessarily jumps off the stage to rap to women in the front row of the audience, startling a young woman such as myself. Despite these dispensable and unnecessary actions, “Clay” proved to be a captivating performance as it stole my attention the entire time, more so because of Sax’s skill in beat-boxing. Matt Sax is a compelling young talent and is definitely someone to look out for.

As one can imagine, I expected the hip-hop musical Clay to be like nothing I had ever seen before.  Not only was it anything but ordinary, it also went above and beyond my expectations.  With a song about sleeping with his stepmother, the main man Clifford certainly has a few surprises up his hoodie sleeves.  This one-man musical was intensely entertaining.  It pulled at the emotions.  The audience got to see Clifford all the way from his tragic childhood to his confusing adolescence.  Amidst turmoil and pain, however, bits of comedy were scattered throughout the production. 

One part made me laugh close to uncontrollably.  It was when Clifford was trying to free-style about females and he rapped about “super-man that ho”.  In his rhythmic lyrics, he seemed to quote a description straight from urbandictionary.com. He explained exactly what the expression means in a way I could never seriously imagine a teenager, a rapper of all people, to describe it in.   I already knew what it meant, so his unique description of a strange thing I have already heard about made me almost roll on the floor.  The dictionary diction reminded me of the difficulty of presenting a hip-hop musical to such a diverse audience.

With a wide-array of ethnicities in the New York audience, I felt considerably comfortable watching a white up and coming rapper.  Some faces were young and others were elderly.  I cannot fathom how they took the musical to be.  Much of the content seemed a bit inappropriate.  If the root of the plot was not so serious, I would have been appalled, but the musical had a balance of comic relief and seriousness.  Even though I would never ever fall in love with my stepparent, I did feel that I could relate to the song “Reflection of I,” in which Clifford struggles with his likeness to his father.  I have felt the same way when it comes to my mother.  The concept of the main character being molded into the person he aspires to be also appealed to me. As an inspiring work of art, the overall sincerity and freshness of Clay imprints a lasting impression.

I had always looked down upon Hip Hop culture, partially because the gibberish language was too much of a distraction. I carried that thought with me when I arrived at the Duke on 42nd street, with a free ticket in my hand. It wasn’t until Clay, Hip Hop musical, started that I began to understand why Professor Bernstein chose this piece. It was different. Watching theatrical plays for the whole semester, I have always wanted to explore other form of art. Clay not only altered my view of Hip Hop culture but also exposed the audiences to Clifford’s World of broken promises and internal struggles.

Clay, a one-man musical, based on the story of Clifford (Matt Sax) and how, through Hip Hop, he found the confidence in himself but soon realized that he cannot escape from the past that tormented him. Directed by Eric Rosen, Clay revolved around a central scene where Clifford appeared on the backstage with bloods on the forehead. The scene helped to unfold the violence and the tension between Clifford and his father, who he blamed for the death of his mother.  The scene also introduced Clifford’s mentor, Sir John, who guided Clifford into the Hip Hop culture. With that scene in place, all the different parts and elements of the story fell right in place. Unlike Dr Atomic, reading the libretto before the musical was unnecessary since the plot was well constructed.

Matt Sax’s one-man show turned out to be a success. Clay added a new element to my definition of one-man show. It turned out that sound and costumes could also create a clear distinction between the different characters. The phone dialing sound and Matt Sax’s multipurpose black sweater deceived the audiences into believing that there was more than one person on the stage. The scenery also translated the mood of the Hip Hop Musical. In the set construction, the director used curtain to signal the changing of scenes from the Library to Clifford’s home. Low intensity of lighting together with curtain’s gentle movement created the atmosphere of sadness and loneliness of Clifford, struggling to cope with his new relationship with his father and stepmother.

What I learned from musical performances was that we often construct our own interpretation of it. By the end of watching Clay, I was able to form my own view of it. Yet, other audiences may come to a different conclusion. Clay made the connection between the audiences and Clifford, who represented a part of everyone. Clay may just be the best musical I have seen.

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.