Taking The Streets To The Theater — And Singing About It
By MATT EAGAN
Hartford Courant
February 08, 2007
Aaron Jafferis was a senior at Hillhouse High School in New Haven during the blood-soaked spring of 1993 when the idea for ‘Kingdom’ – his hip-hop play about two young members of the Latin Kings – began to percolate in his brain. ‘My senior class lost so many people to violence,’ Jafferis says. ‘When your class is whittled down to half of what it was – not just from violence but a lot of it from violence – you start thinking something is wrong. ‘When you have grief counselors hanging around pretty much every day to help kids deal with stuff, you start to think something is wrong. ‘That’s when this story was born.’
Some 14 years later, Jafferis has brought ‘Kingdom’ back to its New Haven birthplace. The Bregamos Community Theater production is in the middle of a six-night run at Fair Haven Middle School. The play, which debuted in New York in September and won Most Promising New Musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, focuses on the lives of two Puerto Rican teenagers, Andres and Juan, who join the Latin Kings. As Kings, Andres and Juan gain meaning and direction in their lives and an economic and social structure that helps keep them out of trouble. But when a Kings leader is shot to death by a local gang, the play begins to explore the concepts of justice and vengeance.’The actual characters and story are created by me,’ Jafferis says. ‘But they are inspired by the actual stories of the folks I grew up with in New Haven. Some of them are alive. Some of them are dead.’
For Rafael Ramos, who founded the nonprofit community theater in 2001, the play is a perfect fit. ‘This is a real New Haven story,’ Ramos says. ‘This is part of our drive to have an initiative and offer programs for youth in the city. The response has been great.’ For Jafferis, who graduated from the University of California, Berkley, and earned a masters in musical theater writing from New York University, the story is unlike anything else in musical theater. ‘Hip-hop has told some versions of this story – although not in as expansive a way,’ Jafferis says. ‘I think the theater world has been afraid of it. This is about folks who are not portrayed in theater. This is about folks who don’t go to the theater.’ There have been other attempts at grappling with gang violence in musical theater – most notably ‘West Side Story’ – but such efforts are almost always adaptations of Shakespeare or Greek tragedy. And the music in such adaptations, while often striking, has usually been written for the tastes of the audience, not with the characters in mind. ‘The theater has stayed away from stories of real gangs that exist right now,’ Jafferis says. ‘These are dangerous times and theater needs to address these issues.’
Jafferis, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Ian Williams, who wrote the music, have mixed hip-hop, pop, Latin music and rock to create a more authentic feel for their characters. But there is also a dramatic reason for the mix of musical styles. Jafferis says hip-hop, while excellent at creating certain moods, is not as emotionally expansive as some of the other music in the play. ‘But there is still a sense that the music might be coming from the characters lives,’ Jafferis says. ‘That was important.’ More important, at least to Jafferis, is that the audience talks about what they have seen because the play isn’t simply about gangs in New Haven.
‘There is a link between the violence on the streets and the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ Jafferis says. ‘I want there to be a dialogue about the issues of violence on our streets and around the world.’
"[Kingdom] dramatically denounces street violence even as it demonstrates the ability of rap and hip-hop to make successful musical theatre." -BackStage
About Aaron
Aaron Jafferis is a hip hop poet and playwright. Read his bio, his CV, or contact him.
Taking The Streets To The Theater — And Singing About It
Hartford Courant
February 08, 2007
Aaron Jafferis was a senior at Hillhouse High School in New Haven during the blood-soaked spring of 1993 when the idea for ‘Kingdom’ – his hip-hop play about two young members of the Latin Kings – began to percolate in his brain. ‘My senior class lost so many people to violence,’ Jafferis says. ‘When your class is whittled down to half of what it was – not just from violence but a lot of it from violence – you start thinking something is wrong. ‘When you have grief counselors hanging around pretty much every day to help kids deal with stuff, you start to think something is wrong. ‘That’s when this story was born.’
Some 14 years later, Jafferis has brought ‘Kingdom’ back to its New Haven birthplace. The Bregamos Community Theater production is in the middle of a six-night run at Fair Haven Middle School. The play, which debuted in New York in September and won Most Promising New Musical at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, focuses on the lives of two Puerto Rican teenagers, Andres and Juan, who join the Latin Kings. As Kings, Andres and Juan gain meaning and direction in their lives and an economic and social structure that helps keep them out of trouble. But when a Kings leader is shot to death by a local gang, the play begins to explore the concepts of justice and vengeance.’The actual characters and story are created by me,’ Jafferis says. ‘But they are inspired by the actual stories of the folks I grew up with in New Haven. Some of them are alive. Some of them are dead.’
For Rafael Ramos, who founded the nonprofit community theater in 2001, the play is a perfect fit. ‘This is a real New Haven story,’ Ramos says. ‘This is part of our drive to have an initiative and offer programs for youth in the city. The response has been great.’ For Jafferis, who graduated from the University of California, Berkley, and earned a masters in musical theater writing from New York University, the story is unlike anything else in musical theater. ‘Hip-hop has told some versions of this story – although not in as expansive a way,’ Jafferis says. ‘I think the theater world has been afraid of it. This is about folks who are not portrayed in theater. This is about folks who don’t go to the theater.’ There have been other attempts at grappling with gang violence in musical theater – most notably ‘West Side Story’ – but such efforts are almost always adaptations of Shakespeare or Greek tragedy. And the music in such adaptations, while often striking, has usually been written for the tastes of the audience, not with the characters in mind. ‘The theater has stayed away from stories of real gangs that exist right now,’ Jafferis says. ‘These are dangerous times and theater needs to address these issues.’
Jafferis, who wrote the book and lyrics, and Ian Williams, who wrote the music, have mixed hip-hop, pop, Latin music and rock to create a more authentic feel for their characters. But there is also a dramatic reason for the mix of musical styles. Jafferis says hip-hop, while excellent at creating certain moods, is not as emotionally expansive as some of the other music in the play. ‘But there is still a sense that the music might be coming from the characters lives,’ Jafferis says. ‘That was important.’ More important, at least to Jafferis, is that the audience talks about what they have seen because the play isn’t simply about gangs in New Haven.
‘There is a link between the violence on the streets and the violence in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ Jafferis says. ‘I want there to be a dialogue about the issues of violence on our streets and around the world.’
KINGDOM will be performed at 8 p.m. today through Saturday at Fair Haven Middle School, 164 Grand Ave., New Haven Admission is $20, although discounts for youth groups are available. Tickets: 203- 643-2314. For more information, e-mail bregamostheater@aol.com. Parental guidance is advised for children under 13.
Matt Eagan can be reached at eagan@courant.com.
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