With ‘Ain’t No Mo’, it’s clear racist pimping won’t sell seats on Broadway

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Playwright Jordan E. Cooper may have been a little too on his nose when he said this wasn’t a play meant to be on Broadway, like Aint No Mo, Broadway’s recent attempt to signal virtue, announces closing not two weeks after its opening night.

With a star-studded cast of producers (Lee Daniels, Gabrielle Union, RuPaul Charles, and Dwayne Wade, to name a few) and a mostly positive response from theater critics, the play, on paper, should have succeeded. Its contents were simply too abrasive to ignore.

Coopers’ Broadway debut is a nonsensical political satire and lamentation over the black American experience. The premise of the 90-minute play is an alternate reality in which the United States government attempts to address racism by repatriating black Americans to Africa on the not-so-subtly named Flight 1619. Composed of a series of vignettes, the The story follows the descendants of slaves ready to board flight #1619 and Cooper hanging out as Peaches, the sassy flight attendant coordinating the whole thing. Aint No Mo depends on exploiting white guilt and condescending complacency toward the black community to achieve its desired effect on audiences.

The show opens with a funeral, Pastor Freeman (Marchnt Davis) eulogizes Brother Righttocomplain and it is explicitly stated that the funeral is the death of black people with a right to complain after the inauguration of President Barack Obama .

A vignette (which would make the ghost of Margaret Sanger proud) attempts to both justify black abortion and poke fun at black conservatives. A black Fox News reporter interviews and blames a black woman who waited in line for 40 days to get an abortion because she fears for the future of black Americans.

Another vignette puts affluent black people to shame in a scene in which an actor meant to represent true blackness erupts from the floor and spooks the whitewashed family at their fancy dinner party. Breaking free from literal chains, she scares the family by randomly parading around the room, jumping on furniture and forcing them to recognize their roots. The scene further sends the message that the well-mannered, successful black person isn’t really black at all, and that true blackness is unbalanced and animalistic. Yeah.

Other storylines include a Rachel Dolezal-like character and how the law enforcement system robs black people of their joy. One particularly disturbing scene shows a black woman being lynched on stage. No corner of non-black, non-rich America is safe from contempt.

While some may argue that the discomfort was the intended result of the artwork, it is obviously unsustainable as the show cannot afford to continue running. Deadline reports that only 47% of seats were taken, even with cheaper tickets. Before the masses cry racism, let’s look at the reality of producing a Broadway show. Despite high ticket prices, most Broadway shows struggle to break even due to the cost of production.

Compare that to The Lion King, one of Broadway’s longest-running shows. It’s a musical with an all-black cast, set in Africa and celebrates African culture and a classic story. This show has gone on for decades with minimal commercials, only a powerful story, and an award-winning score that speaks for itself.

Logistical costs aside, the average age of Broadway goers is between 40 and 45, and an estimated 67% of theater goers are Caucasian. What interest does this demographic have in buying a ticket to be reprimanded for the sins of their ancestors?

I’m not going to go down without a fight, Cooper said on Instagram. There is an audience for plays like this.

If so, they’re not going to Manhattan to see it. It’s true that cast, crew and fans don’t go down without a fight. Will and Jada Smith recently bought a performance of Aint No Mo, and Cooper hit up the #SaveAINTNOMO hashtag on social media in a bid to drum up support. Sadly, hashtags aren’t filling seats and Aint No Mo is still set to leave the Great White Way on December 18.

Elise McCue is a former Federalist intern and a student of multimedia journalism and professional and technical writing. She also reports on the Southwest Virginia music scene for The Roanoke Times. You can follow her on twitter @elisemccue or contact her at [email protected]

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