Playwright Terry Guest has a lot to say — about the South and its history, race and racism, love and loss, fathers and sons, birthplace and home, ancestors and ghosts, and teenage gay love and friendship. And he expresses it all skillfully, with lyricism and passion. However, too much intense substance was compressed into a 100-minute, no-intermission play, such that some of the author’s many insightful observations overlapped, causing the play to lose focus and momentum.
“Magnolia Ballet” is a Gothic, allegorical coming-of-age tale about two rural Georgia teenagers — one Black and one white — who share the surname Mitchell. Each is hiding from his father the fact that he is gay. Both families have lived in Georgia for centuries, together, but separately, through slavery, the Civil War, Jim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan, lynchings, and 1980s church burnings.
Young African American Ezekiel Mitchell VI (called “Z”), adroitly played by Jaiden Griffin, struggles with his queerness and his relationship with his best friend, Danny Mitchell (adept Nicholas René Rodriguez), amid Danny’s family’s centuries of white supremacy. Danny’s father and Z’s father (both deftly acted by Drew Watkins) have a personal past tainted by mistrust and racism. It’s as though both families are incapable of moving past their histories — histories almost as heavy and deep as the Georgia soil.
Z’s widower father tries to be a good parent by teaching Z a strong work ethic and some of life’s hard truths. But he is incapable of showing affection toward his son, who badly needs his father’s love and acceptance.
As “Magnolia Ballet” continues, the boys’ school project on the Civil War becomes more personal than they had expected. Danny digs out of an old chest his family’s Confederate uniform, which was interestingly made in 1910. And in a bit too coincidental plot point, Z finds a series of his grandfather’s love letters that show his forefathers had more in common with Z than he would have believed.
An unhappy family ghost (emotive Devin A. Cunningham) haunts Z and the play, often standing in a tall, lighted window above the surreally dressed stage (scenic designer, Imani Wilson). He sings spirituals and dances as though to assist Z and passively give him strength. And Z will need all the strength he and his forebears can muster.
Director Aejay Antonis Marquis instills the whole performance with passion and imagination. While not an actual ballet, “Magnolia Ballet” features some choreographed scenes that exhibit the artistry and lyricism of dance. By the end of the drama, Z grows up suddenly; his life has changed. We leave the theater wondering what will become of Z. We wish him well.
By Emily S. Mendel
emilymendel@gmail.com
© Emily S. Mendel 2025 All Rights Reserved
