Two African-American brothers are struggling with work, women, and poverty, as they share a small, one room living space. Their names are Lincoln and Booth. Their father gave them those names as a joke. He left when the boys were 16 and 11. Their mother left two years earlier. They raised themselves. It is now some years later and Lincoln’s wife has recently thrown him out, which is why he lives with his brother. And Booth is trying to learn three-card monte so he can hustle money on the streets.
Topdog/Undrdog, by Suzan-Lori Parks, premiered in New York in 2001. When it moved to Broadway, Parks got the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year for the play. In 2023, it won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play. People’s Light has brought to its stage this often-produced play. Co-produced by Arden Theatre, it is directed by the outstanding Amina Robinson and is powerfully performed. It sure to be in the running for a Barrymore Award.
The brothers clearly care about each other even thought they constantly bicker. Lincoln (Akeem Davis) was a card hustler before he got the job at an arcade as a whiteface impersonator of Abraham Lincoln. But his job is in jeopardy because the arcade is talking about replacing him with a wax replica of Abraham Lincoln. At the arcade, people pay to relive the man’s assassination, and they fire a gun with blanks at him, and he falls “dead” on the floor. Booth suggests he act out the death more dramatically than a wax model can ever do.
Meanwhile, Booth (George McGriff) has no income. He is an adept shoplifter who is trying to learn what his brother did before taking on the job at the arcade- becoming proficient at three-card monte, a sleight of hand card game where the player is tricked into losing money. He is constantly practicing and trying to get Lincoln back to playing it also.
There is much talk about the women- Lincoln’s wife Cookie who threw him out and Grace, who Booth desperately wants so badly that he lies to his brother about the success of the relationship, though she constantly rejects him.
And then, there are the stories about their parents- powerful, moving stories that left the boys feeling empty and unloved. Parks is a wonderful storyteller, and you will be engrossed. And I can’t say enough about Amina Robinson’s direction. With Akeem Davis and George McGriff, they have recreated this compelling drama, brilliantly!
I saw the final preview before the opening. I’ll bet it gets even better.
“Topdog/Underdog” by Suzan-Lori Parks” at People’s Light, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, PA 19355, 610-644-3500, peopleslight.org Thru October 18, 2026
