Plays and Players starts its fall season with the Philadelphia premiere of “Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet” by award-winning out playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, through Nov. 3.
Written as the last chapter in McCraney’s “The Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy, the play is the coming-of-age tale of the title character, a “sweet” young man seeking to discover the secret of who he is and where he comes from. All of this happens in the days before Hurricane Katrina strikes the projects of Louisiana, bringing together three generations of characters in Marcus’ life.
Actor Erin L. Fleming, who plays Marcus, said he identifies with his character’s struggle of trying to figure out who he is as an African-American male without a father or father figure.
“He is in pursuit of asking everyone if he is like his father,” Fleming said. “He doesn’t know much about sexuality. He’s just turned 16. He’s in pursuit of answers.”
Marcus is outed after being spotted kissing another boy in the bayou, which Fleming said prompts his character to more actively explore his identity.
“He doesn’t fully realize what his sexuality is or what the freedom of coming into and accepting his sexuality can be. He’s questioned by a lot of people,” he said. “Then this character Joshua enters in act two and just takes over. He takes him by surprise and all of a sudden he is sneaking out to meet this guy in the bayou. So he’s a little more active in act two because he’s been outed. There’s no more hiding and he’s a little more persistent with it.”
Fleming said Marcus’ internal struggles with his sexuality are the catalyst for his conflicts with the other characters in the play.
“With every character, there is a conflict with Marcus that manifests from his internal battle,” he said. “He’s trying to find himself while disobeying his mother and sneaking out. He has a best friend whom he can’t be open with. So all of his external conflicts come from his internal conflicts.”
Even though the timing and setting of events in “The Secret of Sweet” conjure up images of strife, disaster and woe, Fleming said Marcus’ story is both uplifting and inspiring.
“He definitely takes a journey from not being able to act on his own and not being sure of himself and not being able to make decisions on his own to becoming a man by the end of the play,” he said. “He is more active in act two. In act one, everything happens to him. He’s kind of on this ride. In act two, he’s outed. He controls his world more. He can make things happen for himself that he never could before because he wasn’t ready. He had the cloud of being in the closet over his head. Once that is released, he’s a lot more free and can think more clearly. He finds his path by the end of the play.”
Plays and Players presents “Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet” through Nov. 3 at Plays and Players Theater, 1714 Delancey St. For more information or tickets, call 800-595-4849 or visit www.playsandplayers.org.