The very timely topic of gentrification takes center stage in the comedic and poignant play, Good Bones, the latest from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright James Ijames. The play, starring Susan Kelechi Watson, well-known for her acclaimed role as Beth Pearson on This Is Us, and Mamadou Athie, who recently starred in Hulu’s Kinds of Kindness, offers a nuanced exploration of gentrification, community, and identity.
Good Bones centers on Aisha, portrayed by Watson, and her husband, who renovate a house in Aisha’s old neighborhood, sparking tension over the future of their once-familiar community. At first glance, it might seem like a straightforward story about urban renewal and displacement, but it digs deeper, asking vital questions about how people engage with the neighborhoods they enter. Through the character of Aisha, the play examines what happens when people choose to transform a community rather than understand how they can contribute to it.
For Watson, the return to stage felt like coming home. “Theater is one of my great loves,” she explained. “With acting, for me, theater is the foundation of it. It’s always a thrill to go back. It’s a whole different muscle from film and television.” Watson, who has an extensive resume of film and television credits, also starred in the 2022 production of the Public Theater’s Merry Wives — a unique take of the Shakespeare play with an all-Black cast, set in South Harlem. “There’s nothing like it,” she says of live performances, “every time you perform, the audience is different, the vibe on stage can be different. There’s nothing like doing something, and it only exists in that space at that time for those people.”
With this particular show, Watson, who grew up in New York, was especially drawn to the story and character. “She’s just real….
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