This year’s offering is ‘Frank the Freak’ and it is a certified hit based on the decibel level reached within Center Stage Theatre.
With a faint resemblance to ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ with the beloved character Quasimodo, ‘Frank the Freak’ chronicles the trials and tribulation of Frank, the unbearably ugly young man who has been chased away from every hovel and shack he occupies because residents feel his face is so hideous it leaves their children traumatised and suffering from nightmares. Indeed, story has it that his grotesqueness killed his mother at birth.
A musical with good scores and lyrics, ‘Frank the Freak’ is a tale of a lonely deformed man (Akeem Mignott) who everybody fears and a lonely young girl Cutie (Keisha Patterson) whom everybody loves; but her overprotective father Tiny (Courtney Wilson) keeps a tight rein on her, much to her consternation as Cutie is not allowed to even style her hair to her own liking much less date. Both individuals are bereft of friends, though Cutie has her housekeeper Munchie (Sakina Deer) who is at constant war with her father over her strict upbringing.
Cutie and Frank have a chance encounter in the back of her yard and forge a tentative friendship which she later exploits to her benefit. Frank gets an unexpected gift in the form of an imaginary friend (Glen Campbell) who is candid, blunt, bawdy and says things Frank would be too scared to verbalise. Things come to a head when Cutie’s and her father’s plans clash, all in a hilarious theatrical roller coaster that has patrons rolling in the aisles.
The set design is creative but carrying the production are the actors, and no one disappoints. Akeem as Frank is brilliant as it cannot be easy doing two hours of acting in a crouched position. His portrayal is flawless.
Campbell pulled triple duty in this play, first as Cutie’s rasta boyfriend ‘Killa’ (short for Killangatiti!) who “bun all meat including macaroni”; later being the imaginary friend of Frank and the craziest character of all, Ezekel. Bredda Ezekel seeks to be Cutie’s suitor and has lots of money and even more ‘mouth wata’ as he literally drips all over everything. Campbell owned that character- mouth water and all- much to the audience’s sheer delight.
To continue reading, purchase Vol.8 #10, 2017 Issue.