Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King, enjoying its Midwest premiere at Writers Theatre, hits the stage with an impressive pedigree, having won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Yet though the play nods toward Shakespeare, it’s built on sturdy sitcom, or perhaps dramedy, bones.
The characters are all recognizable types: the boyfriend who fears commitment, the nephew trying to rise above his tragic upbringing, the sassy best friends and the responsible breadwinner trying to hold everything together while struggling with demons of his own.
As the pressure surrounding a Memphis hot wing competition brings simmering tensions to a boil, the narrative unfolds pretty much exactly as expected. The sassy friends inadvertently trigger a crisis involving an entire container of volcanically hot pepper flakes. The young blood runs away when his honesty is challenged. The lovers re-litigate the deep emotional hurts driving them apart. And then it all works out in time for the last commercial break. Even the teen’s drug-dealing stickup man of a father is guided onto the It Takes a Village path with nary a punch thrown.
Why, then, did the play earn such accolades? Because all of the elements are executed with admirable precision. Crackling dialogue, genuine friendships, deep and deeply conflicted love. It all comes together in a winning production that’s perfectly cast and well directed by Lili-Anne Brown.
You can’t help but root for the charming Cordell (Breon Arzell, whose smile is as warm as the wings his character’s whipping up). He left his wife and children in St. Louis to be with Dwayne (a grounded, empathetic Jos N. Banks), the man who inspired him to finally live as his authentic self. But now Cordell is stuck between two worlds and Dwayne’s patience is running thin.
Their two best friends are delightful, especially the impish, irrepressible troublemaker Isom, played by Joseph Anthony Byrd with such anarchic zest that he draws the eye even when the action moves away from the kitchen where he’s stuck stirring the marinade.
The core couple are people who are easy to care about, and it’s satisfying to watch them begin to work through their issues toward a better life together. Sometimes in theater, as in life, you just need a good hang. That’s exactly what The Hot Wing King delivers.
The Hot Wing King runs through July 21 at Writers Theatre.
For a full roundup of reviews of this show, visit Theatre in Chicago.
Photo by Michael Brosilow
