Broadway World: Washington, D.C.- Review

BILLY AND GEORGE at Avant Bard Theatre This World Premier runs through February 11th.
by Ken Kemp Jan. 27, 2023

BILLY AND GEORGE at Avant Bard Theatre This World Premier runs through February 11th. by Ken Kemp Jan. 27, 2023 There's something special happening at Avant Bard Theatre. The world premier of Billy and George debuts a play that doesn't just entertain - it educates, inspires, and makes you think.

Written by Ken Jones and Daryl L. Harris, Billy and George explores the complex relationship between George Washington (John Stange) and William "Billy" Lee (Raquis Da'Juan Petree), the enslaved African-American that was his constant companion and confidante during the Revolutionary War.

The play takes place during the hours leading up to the Continental Army's surprise crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas Eve of 1776.

The story unfolds in the bedroom of Washington's headquarters. Set designer Megan Holden has created an elegant, period bedroom; before the show begins the stage is masked by gauzy curtains on the two sides of the stage that face the audience. Lighting and Projections Designer Hailey LaRoe's video work is projected on the curtains, accompanied by contemporary music from David Lamont Wilson's rich, nuanced palette of sound design. It sets a perfect contemporary feel, and nicely juxtaposes with the historical setting the action segues into.

Once the curtains are drawn back, Petree and Stange get down to the difficult task of creating a story arc from a relationship with scant historical documentation. Over the course of the afternoon the facets of their relationship unfold, mostly through Billy's performance of his duties, highlighting the very intimate relationship between the two men.

Even though much of their dialogue is conjecture on the part of Jones and Harris, it is fascinating to ponder the interactions of two men who, at their core, are master and slave. Watching Washington gloss over and rationalize the institution of slavery feels very genuine - and Lee never misses a chance to remind his owner of the irony of a slave owner fighting for freedom and independence. As a gathering blizzard blows outside, we see Lee's deep concern for Washington's physical wellbeing, and genuine moments of caring and empathy, interspersed with gossip about the war, philosophical discussions about freedom, liberty, slavery and bondage, and harsh, shouted arguments about the very present reality of how those concepts play out in the real world they live in.

Director DeMone Seraphin has done a credible job of creating a natural rhythm and flow to the action, but Billy and George is essentially a parlor piece, and one that tackles a difficult subject, at that. At times the dialogue becomes a bit dense, and the tempo drags. There are moments of levity that lighten the mood, but this is a serious piece that forces us to re-examine our bedrock beliefs about the history of our country.

And that may be what makes Billy and George a must see production. It is a thought provoking look backward at our perception of history, that simultaneously provides an important template for increased diversity and inclusion in theatre. True diversity and inclusion is not just about the actors, directors and designers that work in theatre - it's also about the stories they tell. Billy and George is a compelling narrative that is superbly acted, and it stands alongside other recently produced works (Nat Turner in Jerusalem and Drumfolk being two good examples) that broaden our understanding of history by examining stories that are outside the commonly accepted mainstream, forcing us to acknowledge heretofore unexamined, troubling parts of that shared history. Billy and George is not always easy to watch, but it is moving and evocative.

Billy and George runs through February 11th at Theatre Two of the Gunston Arts Center. Running time is approximately 90 minutes, with no intermission. 

METROWEEKLY- WASHINGTON, D.C.- PRESS

METROWEEKLY
Editor’s Pick: ‘Billy & George’ at the Avant Bard Theatre A new play explores the relationship between George Washington and the enslaved man William "Billy" Lee.
By Doug Rule on January 18, 2023 @ruleonwriting

Mere hours before leading the Continental Army in the 1776 Christmas Day defeat of Hessian soldiers in Trenton, New Jersey, General George Washington is discussing and arguing concepts of freedom, war, and love with his closest companion, the enslaved man William “Billy” Lee.

A new play by Ken Jones and Daryl L. Harris, both theater professors at Northern Kentucky University, Billy & George focuses on the relationship between the two titular men, and in so doing puts a rare spotlight on Lee, the unexpected confidante who influenced Washington’s perspective on peace, freedom, and independence.

The play is now gearing up for its world-premiere at Avant Bard Theatre. “Ken and Daryl’s remarkable play provides us with a thought-provoking look at a key moment in our country’s history via the relationship between our first president, George Washington, and his slave, William ‘Billy’ Lee,” says the show’s director, DeMone Seraphin. “My sincere hope is that this journey back will propel us forward into our greater selves, so that yesterday’s missteps don’t remain tomorrow’s pitfalls.”

With its nuanced portrait of an interaction and a relationship overlooked by history that nonetheless offers insightful contemporary relevance, Billy & George follows in the tradition of Sankofa, according to Seraphin, who explains that the literal translation of the word and symbol from the Akan tribe in Ghana is, “it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind…. The symbol Sankofa embodies the Akan people’s quest for knowledge based on critical examination, and intelligent and patient investigation.” (Avant Bard Theatre: Billy and George: Raquis Dajuan Petree)

“In writing the play,” Jones says, “Daryl and I wanted to give Billy Lee a voice, a sound, a body, and to make sure that the soul of the man, joined with George’s, [is] still fighting for freedom, for love, and for life.” Billy & George is a notable work from many angles, including from the perspective of the show’s producer.

Just two years ago, Avant Bard Theatre was close to shutting down due to the double-whammy of struggling through the pandemic and the November 2020 death of then-Artistic Director Tom Prewitt. The company survived because a group of independent artists teamed up for an organizational restructuring in which five “producing partners” collectively lead the company rather than just one artistic director. The new season reflects the company’s bold new leadership and style, with Billy & George followed by provocative modern-day reimaginings of two classic tales, one focused on ancient Rome’s most famous ruler, the other the Greek god of wine, pleasure, and revelry.

First up in March is a new Julius Caesar, in which “an ensemble of nine actors dismantle this traditional story to explain how leadership is not defined by Caesar’s ambition or Brutus’s and Anthony’s famous funeral speeches, but by the shifting personalities and demands of the citizenry.” Set in a post-2016 America, the reimagining, helmed by Kathleen Akerley, asks, “Is consensus even possible?” In May, the season wraps up with Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George’s Hurricane Diane, a climate change-centered wild comedy in which the god Dionysus is transformed as Diane, a lesbian permaculture gardener from Vermont with supernatural abilities and a “secret mission to seduce mortal followers and restore the earth to its natural state” — starting with four housewives in suburban New Jersey.

Billy & George runs from Jan. 19 to Feb. 11. At the Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St., in Arlington, Va. Tickets are $40, or pay-what-you-can for preview performances and Saturday matinees. Visit www.avantbard.org or call 703-418-4808.

BROADWAY WORLD- CINCINNATI AND LOUISVILLE- REVIEW

BILLY AND GEORGE Announced at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati
The play depicts a conversation between a 40-year-old George Washington and his enslaved manservant William Lee.
by A.A. Cristi

This year' most promising new play is not at Actor's Theatre of Louisville's mainstage or Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park's shelter house, but instead at a small upstairs rehearsal venue at Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.

The new play is called BILLY AND GEORGE by Ken Jones and Daryl Harris, and the room is filled with the electricity that is produced only when an audience knows that they are seeing something special for the very first time.

The stage reading is in a confined, intimate location for which Ensemble's Theatre flexible space is perfectly suited. It is a good choice because it blocks the two main characters with a wall of audience members, locking their action and movement into a captured space with no way out. The two men must face each other in a non-stop exploration of character. Two men so far apart in almost every way but who find over time that they may not be so different after all.

The brilliance of this play is that the two men locked in this 90-minute sparring match are none other than a 40-year-old George Washington and his enslaved manservant William Lee. Skip Ad The play, BILLY, AND GEORGE, takes place on December 25, 1776, just hours before General George Washington and the Continental Army crosses the Delaware River to defeat the Hessian soldiers at Trenton, New Jersey. The turning point of the American Revolutionary War. George Washington and his closest companion and enslaved person, William 'Billy' Lee, prepare for the crossing while discussing, arguing, and challenging the concepts of Freedom, War, and ultimate Love.

We learn a history of forgotten facts. That Billy Lee was owned by George Washington. That besides Martha Washington, Billy was George's closest and most trusted companion. That Billy served as a military attaché, servant, and bodyguard for George Washington. That George spoke and wrote about his admiration and love for Billy Lee. That after a horseback riding accident, Billy was badly injured and unable to walk. Washington enlisted the aid of engineers to construct metal leg braces for Billy's legs, so that Billy could join Washington in New York City during his Presidency. That Billy's image was included in the background of several portraits of George Washington, most importantly, the Washington Family painting. That upon his death, Washington owned 317 slaves at his Mount Vernon plantation, and only one, Billy Lee, was freed in George's last Will and Testament.

But this production is so much more than a history lesson. There is beautiful moment when each of the men give one another prized possessions for Christmas gifts. There's the emotional sharing between two soldiers at war. There's a George Washington, so in pain from his bleeding gums, that he begs for more laudanum, the opioid of the time. There's the realization that Billy, this young, enslaved man, who Washington has educated and groomed to think for himself, is thinking for himself and challenging his master's own thoughts and ideas.

This is a debate that travels between the funny and sad, and the peaceful and violent. Jim Hopkins with his baritone voice and easy gravitas is a natural for Washington. At the top of the show, Hopkins shows the vulnerability of the aging general, but then slowly grows into the image we all know from the portraits. Ken Early portrays Billy Lee, with a sly twinkle in his eye as he revels in all matters from the utterly frivolous to those of the most solemn to humankind. Facing Hopkins on the tiny set, Early rises to the occasion to counterbalance the power of the ultimate Commander in Chief with a slowly thawing revelation of Billy Lee's own self.

For the show to succeed, various storylines must be crystal clear to make sense of the relationships, staying within a slow build until the knockout punch of an ending that is truthful with crisp, flawless timing. Director Christine Jones has masterfully achieved all this and more.

So, the Ensemble Theatre Workshop has pulled off a miraculous performance. This new play has won my vote for the most promising of the year, and I won't be surprised to soon see it at high caliber regional theaters or on Broadway.