Author Jonathan Norton, left, wrote Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem, and Dexter Singleton, right, directs the production now on stage at Dallas Theater Center. The show stars Trey Smith-Mills, second from left, as Redd Foxx and Edwin Green as Malcolm X. (Photo courtesy of Dallas Theater Center)
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
Before they became historic icons, Little and Foxy were dishwashers in a Harlem restaurant. In their own world of dirty plates, leftover food and backed-up pipes, the two strangers forged a bond amid the dramatic goings-on in the outside world.
Inspired by true events, playwright Jonathan Norton pondered how those days in the summer of 1943 began to shape legends in the regional premiere of Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem, now playing at Dallas Theater Center under the direction of Dexter J. Singleton.
The play opened in previews on May 8 and runs through June 7 in the Studio Theatre space at the Wyly.
The premise of the story is right there in the title, and Norton’s play is a layered exploration of male friendships — particularly, in this case, Black straight male friendship. And it all came about accidentally. Or perhaps, fortuitously.
“I was going to write a play about Maya Angelou and Malcom X which I struggled really hard with,” Norton said. “In his autobiography, I read a passage where he talks about his time at Jimmy’s Chicken Shack in Harlem, washing dishes with Redd Foxx, and I was like, ‘There’s a play in there somewhere.’
“That’s how it began, and I think what really fascinated me was exploring how each man was able to influence the other.”
Norton went on to add that he found more about that time and place in Redd Foxx’s biography that he could incorporate into his historical fiction.\
Malcolm X would go on to become a martyred pillar of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, while Foxx would find fame as a comedian and actor — most notably in the 1970s TV series Sanford and Son. In his play, Norton touches on nuances and even Easter eggs that would hint two men’s more famous lives to come.
Without getting caught up in his character’s legendary history, queer actor Trey Smith-Mills, who plays Foxy, found a deeper sensibility in the story.
“This is something you don’t always see — the way it tackles Black male relationships, vulnerability and intimacy,” said Smith-Mills. “This play is a bromance set in the 1940s, and you don’t see that set in the present day.
“I hope people take away the exploration of what it means to be friends and to hold each other up. And if I had to say what the bigger message is, it really is that idea of ‘Check in on a brother.’”
Norton notes that his own queerness allowed him to tap into Little and Foxy’s friendship in a specific way: “Of course, this is not a play with themes related to queerness in any way, and yet there is something about deep, passionate male friendships that’s interesting to me,” Norton said. “We’re accustomed to intimate relationships amongst women who have that permission. In queer communities, why can’t friendships be as deep but, at the same time, platonic?”
Instead of queer, hetero or nonbinary labels, the bottom line — for the play and to these friendships — is vulnerability.
“I just feel like there wouldn’t be a play here if we weren’t able to let those two characters, uh, be vulnerable with each other,” Smith-Mills said.
With all that being said, the play has a healthy mix of humor — and what’s a friendship without that?
“I mean, Jonathan wrote it so we knew it would also be hilarious,” the actor said.
Smith-Mills shares the stage with Edwin Green, and the two of them, like the two characters they portray, have built their own bond through this process of bringing Norton’s play to life.
Smith-Mills said, “Jonathan makes fun of me and Edwin all the time because, at first, we were opposites, and now, this play has really given us permission to explore this deep, passionate platonic friendship, allowing us to bond in many ways.”
Norton agreed: “I would see Edwin and Trey, and I’m like ‘Are they checking in again? Are they hugging again?’ But that would make me so excited because yeah, that is the point of the play.”
For tickets, visit DallasTheaterCenter.org.