The Crisis Magazine: Thoughts of a Colored Man

The play “Thoughts of a Colored Man” by Keenan Scott II amplifies various voices of Black men, while offering glances into the fabric of their souls. The 90 minute production features seven characters with the allegorical names: Love, Lust, Anger, Happiness, Passion, Wisdom and Depression. The likely Broadway-bound play follows the men through their lives as they navigate their gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. Watching the characters go through life events while challenging inner thoughts and struggles is reminiscent of Ntozake Shange’s 1975 original choreopoem “For Colored Girls,” but the difference is, this play focuses on Black men telling their stories. The Crisis Magazine’s Nicki Mayo talks with playwright Keenan Scott II, actors Reynaldo Piniella (“Lust”) and Jody Reynard (“Happiness”) and theatergoers about the importance of accurate representation of Black men in the arts.