They’re really cooking at Writers Theatre. The cast of Katori Hall’s 2021 Pulitzer Prize-winner for drama, “The Hot Wing King,” will be stirring up lots of laughs and some great aromas as they prepare the title snack onstage June 20-July 21 in Glencoe.
Performances are 3 p.m. (July 10 and 17 only) and 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays; 7:30 p.m. Thursdays (except July 4); 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 3 p.m. (except June 22) and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; and 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. (except June 23 and July 21) Sundays.
It’s the night before the annual Memphis Hot Wing Festival. Cordell, who is determined to be crowned the Hot Wing King, is doing prep work, with the help of his boyfriend Dwayne and his best friends.
“Cordell is a very interesting person because he’s lived a life in secret by not sharing his real desires and emotions,” said Breon Arzell, who plays the would-be Hot Wing King.
“He’s a very private person but still enjoys having fun, music and art. He keeps himself very composed most of the time but he has a bit of a temper because he’s very opinionated. He tells it like it is about everything but himself until the moment where he actually is honest with himself.”
The Hot Wing King title is important to Cordell because nothing else in his life seems to be working. “This is the only thing he has right now,” the actor said. “He wants to win at something.”
Fortunately, Arzell loves to cook, although cooking onstage is a first for the actor. And he’s accustomed to cooking alone. And yes, Arzell is a fan of hot wings.
The character also plays basketball onstage, something Arzell hasn’t done for a very long time. He is practicing for that part of the role.
Arzell praised the playwright, saying, “It’s so rare that we get to see stories of Black gay men that are rooted in joy and rooted in love. Katori is such a skilled writer in capturing real life.”
The show is based on the playwright’s brother who is represented by the character Dwayne. Jos N. Banks plays that role.
“Dwayne is full of life and love,” Banks said. “He is a caregiver, a nurturer. Dwayne doesn’t have any of his own children but I feel like he takes on that paternal energy with everyone.”
Dwayne is completely supportive of Cordell’s goal to be Hot Wing King.
“It’s really exciting for him to see his partner in his element, because he is struggling to find work,” Banks said.
The actor believes he has a lot of similar characteristics of Dwayne. “I am a Cancer. We’re emotional creatures. We really care about people, especially our loved ones,” Banks said.
He noted that like Dwayne he faces an internal struggle. “You can’t control people’s actions or how they go about living their lives,” Banks said.
The actor believes that this play deserves the Pulitzer Prize.
“The most riveting part of this story is love,” Banks declared. “It isn’t often that we in the American theater get the opportunity to see a show that has an all-Black cast and it’s not centered in trauma.”
Banks admitted that, when it comes to wings, he prefers a smoky-sweet barbecue wing rather than a hot one.
“I have not seen a Black, queer modern story onstage ever,” said director Lili-Anne Brown. She said that it is deserving of the Pulitzer because it “touches the heart. It’s a well-crafted drama. Katori Hall is an amazing writer.”
Brown said this is her favorite kind of show. “You’re laughing and the next thing you know you’re crying because it’s human,” she said. “When I first read it, I said, ‘I know these people.’”
The director admitted that the play offers one major challenge. “Cooking onstage is really, really difficult,” she said. Brown added that the farcical elements of the show also present an acting and directing challenge.
She loves the process with her cast, though. “We’re really having a super fun time creating this world,” Brown said.
Myrna Petlicki is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
‘The Hot Wing King’
When: June 20-July 21
Where: Writers Theatre, Alexandra C. and John D. Nichols Theatre, 325 Tudor Court, Glencoe
Tickets: $35-$90
Information: 847-242-6000; writerstheatre.org
