INTERVIEW: Ian Eaton’s ‘SuperHero’ has world premiere in NYC
Photo: SuperHero stars, from left, Bryce Michael Wood and Jeorge Bennett Watson. Photo courtesy of Russ Rowland / Provided by Richard Hillman PR with permission.
Playwright Ian Eaton brings some of his personal experiences and memories to the new play SuperHero, now playing a world-premiere production at the Frank Shiner Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City. Performances, presented by the Houses on the Moon Theater Company, continue through May 1.
In the show, which was developed and directed by Warren Adams, the central character needs to navigate strict West Indian parents, girls and Catholic school in 1980s Harlem, according to press notes. Joining Eaton and Adams on this journey are cast members SJ Hannah, Valisia LeKae, Jeorge Bennett Watson and Bryce Michael Wood.
The play receives its name because the young protagonist fantasizes about having superpowers to escape his insecurities, the playwright said. Throughout the show, the power of new beginnings is emphasized as this boy journeys on in life and comes of age.
“It’s been a really good turnout,” Eaton said about the early performances of SuperHero. “Our first show was a matinee, and we did it for some high school students in the Bronx. Kids don’t lie. … They don’t really care to lie, and they had a tremendous time. They really, really loved the piece, so that really set the tone for everyone, for all of us. We have had some really lovely performances.”
Adams added: “The kids were extremely receptive. What was most eye-catching was how immersed they were. They connected. Typically sometimes you’ll have kids at a performance, and they kind of check out. But these kids were really connected. They asked some really solid questions afterward, and what they identified with I thought was really compelling.”
Eaton, who studied at the Harlem School of the Arts, said the narrative behind SuperHero is a story he’s been wanting to share with audiences for quite some time. He described the events of the piece as being the first tent-pole moment of his life, and he has never forgotten this time period in the 1980s.
“So I always hung on to it, so when I got an opportunity to share it with Houses on the Moon in their storytelling workshop with them, they loved it,” the playwright said. “We continued to develop it, and afterward I just decided to keep on working on it on my own and making it into a one-man show. It worked out really well. Audiences were really receptive to it, and Houses on the Moon wanted to produce it. So we were looking for a director, and we reached out to Warren. And Warren said he’d be happy to help us.”
When Adams joined the project, he saw the potential for SuperHero and suggested that Eaton turn the story into a four-character play. The playwright was intrigued by that comment, and he started to see the narrative in a different context.
“I was comfortable doing it as a one-person show for so many years, but then what I’ve learned from this story and as a result of doing it, you’ve got to take a chance,” Eaton said. “You’ve got to take a risk. You’ve got to do something that’s outside of your comfort zone, so I wrote it. And I did the very best that I could, and Warren gave me great guidance on how to really develop it and organize the beginning, middle and end of it. We workshopped it. We worked it with several actors, and here we finally are. It’s produced, and it’s on stage. And I’m really happy of all of our work.”
Adams, whose previous credits include Motown the Musical and All the Natalie Portmans, said it wasn’t his intention to direct SuperHero. When Eaton originally approached him for some advice, Adams was determined to find another director to helm the production. He wanted to discover someone who could work well with Eaton and help realize the potential of the material.
“I saw the show in there, the potential of what it could be, and so let me work with you for a bit until we find someone,” Adams remembers telling Eaton. “And then that someone ended up being me, and then working with Ian, it was really exciting because I spent a lot of time just asking questions. And he would just talk, and I’d be like, ‘That’s interesting, write that down. That’s interesting, write that down.’ Once we got going, it became about finding what the arc of the story was going to be — beginning, middle and end.”
Adams added: “And then we had our first reading, and we made several cuts. And then we had a second reading, and we made several additions. It was very organic how we got here. It’s not typical for a show to go from idea to production in under a year, but I think because the story was so immersed or really within him, I think the language was the cherry on the cake. … It’s so real and so visceral that I think that helped speed things up.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
SuperHero by Ian Eaton and directed by Warren Adams is now playing in a Houses on the Moon production at the Frank Shiner Theater at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
