Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea

Full Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3m, 4f

Critic's Choice! "A mesmerizing blend of magical realism and poetic social comment [...]" - The Los Angeles Times

Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea

Cast Size
3m, 4f
Duration
90 minutes
Subgenre
Adventure, Fables/Folktales
Target Audience
- Adult
- Teen (Age 14 - 18)

Additional Info

Eighteen-year-old Dontrell Jones the Third decides that it is his duty and destiny to venture into the Atlantic Ocean in search of an ancestor lost during the Middle Passage. But his family is not at all ready to abandon its prized son to the waters of a mysterious and haunting past. Blending poetry, humor, wordplay, and ritual, Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea is a present-day hero’s quest exploring the lengths and depths we must go to redeem history’s wrongs.

Reviews

REVIEWS

Critic's Choice! "A mesmerizing blend of magical realism and poetic social comment [...]" - The Los Angeles Times, Read More

"Nathan Alan Davis’s script is sunny and lovable, despite its inexorable pull from present-day Baltimore toward the slave trade’s notorious Middle Passage." - The Washington Post, Read More

"This fable about a young Black man’s search for an ancestor who leapt off a slave ship as it crossed the Atlantic weaves storytelling, music, dance, and ritual into a fantastical tapestry [...] the result is thrilling." - Los Angeles Post, Read More

"Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea breaks over us like wave upon wave of human love and hope, submerges us in honesty, buoys us by its bold vision and heartfelt voice [...] this beautiful new play is an absolute must." - DC Metro Theaer Arts, Read More

"[T]his play’s greatness doesn’t really come from the plot, though the plot’s water-tightness and inevitability show playwright Nathan Alan Davis’ incredible skill. The characters and poetically transfixing language are the real stars." - DC Theatre Scene, Read More

"This play illuminates a corner of the human condition and will change the way we understand a hero in the context of his family." - Eugene Weekly, Read More

Videos

Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea Skylight Theatre promo
Skylight Theatre audiences discuss Dontrell Who Kissed the Sea

Keywords

Friendship, Love, Parenting/Family, Black/African-American Interest

Considerations

Performing Groups

College Theatre / Student
Professional Theatre
Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups

Cautions

Strong Language

License details

Minimum Fee: $100 per performance

Production

Details

Time Period: Contemporary, Present Day
Duration: 90 minutes
Setting: Present Day. Baltimore, Maryland - The Chesapeake Bay coast - The Atlantic Ocean.
Additional Features: No intermission
Features / Contains: Contemporary Costumes / Street Clothes

Casting

3m, 4f

DONTRELL JONES III - (M,18, Black) Heir to a haunting and powerful legacy.
ERIKA - (W, 21, White) A lifeguard and Dontrell's soul mate.
DAD (Dontrell Jones Jr.) - (M, 40s, Black) Dontrell's father.
MOM (Sophia Jones) - (W, 40s, Black) Dontrell's mother.
DANIELLE - (W, 17, Black) Dontrell's little sister.
SHEA - (W, 30s, Black) Dontrell's cousin on his father's side.
ROBBY - (M, 19, Black) Dontrell's best friend and an honorary member of the family.

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Cast Attributes

Role(s) for Black Actor(s)
Ensemble cast

Resources

Scripts

Authors

Nathan Alan Davis

Nathan Alan Davis is a playwright from Rockford, IL, now based in New York. His plays include NAT TURNER IN JERUSALEM, DONTRELL WHO KISSED THE SEA and THE WIND AND THE BREEZE. His work has been produced and developed by New York Theatre Workshop, McCarter Theatre, The Public Theater, Arena Stage, Williamstown Theatre F ...

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Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea premired in the Source Festival in Washington DC in June 2014 under the direction of Mark Hairston. The show subsequently received an NNPN Rolling World Premiere.

Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea

Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea