Late playwright’s portrait of a Black family confronts truth with humor and compassion 

Broke-ology is at once a Kansas City story and a universal story. It recounts a tale of illness and crisis in a particular Black family in the Midwest and at the same time shines light on a dilemma that nearly every family in America will eventually confront. 

And it functions on the level of the very greatest family dramas of the past, from Death of Salesman to A Raisin in the Sun. The closer we get to this modern classic, the more it reveals its depth, its wit and profundity, its density of thought and idea. 

It grew from Kansas City soil, a crowning achievement of the late Nathan Louis Jackson — who grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, was trained at the Juilliard School, and from 2013 to 2019 was Mellon Playwright in Residence for the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. 

Nathan died in 2023 at age 44 from cardiac issues (he had experienced cardiac dissection and an aortic aneurism). He was a family man and a beloved theater colleague who achieved incredible things during his brief career — not only as a playwright but as a writer/producer for several television shows (Luke Cage, S.W.A.T., 13 Reasons Why, Shameless, Resurrection, Southland).

The Rep, which has presented all of Nathan’s major plays (including When I Come to Die, Sticky Traps, and Brother Toad), will revisit Broke-ology this month with a top-drawer production aimed at placing the play onto the world stage. 

It is a play with a compact cast of four vividly etched characters, a single set design, and a dynamic theme that grips the attention throughout. The crisis in the King family begins when William, a widower with multiple sclerosis, is reaching the point where he can no longer live alone.

His older son, Ennis, resides locally and is about to be a father himself: He is highly stressed despite his relaxed temperament, and is working extra shifts to make ends meet. 

Malcolm, who has just finished his master’s degree and anticipates a promising career in environmental research, wants to put dad in an assisted living facility and resume life on the east coast. 

Thus arises a dilemma that will ring familiar to many American families: Who will care for our aging parent, and how? 

“I’ve always felt that the more specific a play is, the more universal it is,” said actor/director Francois Battiste, who starred as Malcolm in the work’s 2008 premiere at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts — and is directing the Rep’s new production.

“But it’s going to speak to a universal audience, because ultimately, we’re all human beings. If you live long enough, you’re going to go through the process of ailing parents, of coping with the loss of a parent, of feeling ‘stuck,’ of not knowing how to cope with all that while taking care of your own family.” 

Yes, it’s true that Nathan tells the semi-autobiographical story through the lens of a Black family in Kansas City, Kansas. (The playwright’s late father did indeed suffer from multiple sclerosis.)

But the King family is dealing, ultimately, with problems that “don’t have a color attached to them, that don’t have a socioeconomic label attached to them,” said Francois, whose acting credits also include major films and television shows (The Caine Mutiny Court-Marshal, Law and Order, New Amsterdam). “They resonate with all of us, on many different levels.” 

Broke-ology derives its title from Ennis’ half-serious notion that there is an actual “science of being broke, and staying alive despite your broke-ness.” The play begins with wit and sharp humor, as the three men play dominoes and engage in delightfully written banter. 

As William descends into fugue-like hallucinations (he shares scenes with the spirit of his late wife, Sonia), the mood grows heavier. 

“We’re dealing with a human being whose body has begun to break down, like Willy Loman’s,” Francois said, “and whose mind is beginning to unravel.” Despite Nathan’s skill at keeping things light, the audience begins to feel the weight of William’s decline. 

“People do not walk away from this play unaffected,” said Francois, who was also part of the production when it moved to New York’s Lincoln Center in October 2009 (with Tony Award-winning director Thomas Kail). “I’ve seen the result of its impact. I’ve had people come up to me afterward saying, ‘Oh my God, the way those boys were helping to deal with their father is just like when my sister and I dealt with our mother.” 

The New York Times praised the play’s “easygoing, believable dialogue” and called it “moving in its exploration of how time and circumstance … can diminish hope and divide loving siblings.”

Nevertheless, at its core “this play is a love story,” Francois said. “We’re dealing with a love story of mothers to sons, wives to husbands, fathers to sons.” Even Sonia’s love exerts its punch. “We only have two scenes with Sonia, but she is present for the entire play because her impact on the family was that great.” 

In many ways Broke-ology is tailor-made for the company’s KC Rep for All program, which since the 2021-2022 season has taken “portable” theater on tour throughout the region. After the play’s regular run, it will move to 10 different community venues in the metro — five on each side of the state line — where it will be performed admission-free. 

In a poignant tribute to Nathan’s memory, the KC Rep for All performances will open at the playwright’s alma mater (Washington High School) and close at the school whose drama club he started (Kansas City Kansas Community College). 

“It’s so exciting that we’re bringing the show back to the community where he had roots,” said Morgana Wilborn, the Rep’s associate artistic director. “These were the things that Nathan was about: bringing accessible theater into the community, and breaking barriers.” 

And for the first time in the play’s history, the Rep has modeled its scenic designs (by Edward E. Haynes, Jr.) after the interior of Nathan’s childhood home. Adorning the interior will be hand-picked art works by Kansas City artist Adrianne Clayton, which will help underscore the play’s local connections. 

“These performances create an intimate playing space that blurs the line between where the actor engages and the audience member participates,” Morgana said. “Where there’s a real engagement between the two … a connection that our community members can truly pull into their real lives.”  

Nathan has built regional references into the play itself, too, some overt (the mention of the John Brown statue) and some more subtle. The notion that the Underground Railroad ran through the neighborhood seems to allude to the King family’s parallel sense of “transition.” 

“Nathan’s writing is sprinkled with a little bit of magic,” Francois said. “Couched in the language, he is really pulling us along, saying, There’s history here, let’s reclaim it. … It is specific to American history, and to African-American history in particular.” 

Broke-ology stars Melvin Abston as William, Robert E. Coppage III as Ennis, Raffeal Sears as Malcolm, and Teonna Wesley as Sonia. It runs from February 11th through March 2nd at the Rep’s Copaken Stage downtown. KC Rep for All performances will run from March 6th through the 16th. For tickets and information call 816-235-2700 or go to kcrep.org. 

—By Paul Horsley

To reach Paul Horsley, performing arts editor, send an email to paul@kcindependent.com or find him on Facebook (paul.horsley.501) or Twitter/Instagram (@phorsleycritic).