Workshop’s ‘Stick Fly’ gives families lots to think about

In Workshop Theatre’s newest production, “Stick Fly,” a weekend gathering at Martha’s Vineyard turns into a wide-ranging debate about race, gender, class and privilege as two new members of an upper class African-American family try to fit in.

Patriarch Joe LeVay welcomes his sons to the family’s beach house. One son, novelist Kent, brings his fiancee, Taylor, an entomologist who studies the common housefly. Another, plastic surgeon Flip, brings along his girlfriend, Kimber.

The easy banter gets awkward as secrets and pasts are revealed.

When “Stick Fly” opened in New York in 2011, one of its producers was the singer Alicia Keys. It got rave reviews for its mix of comedy and drama, and its ability to rise above other family dramas.

“I think people should leave the theater talking,” said director Bakari Lebby in the production notes. “Opening up a dialogue is the only way to initiate positive change. And we could all use a little change.”

See “Stick Fly” at 8 p.m. Wednesday, at The Market Space at 701 Whaley St., through Saturday, April 4. $20; $17 seniors and military; $14 students; (803) 799-4876 or www.workshoptheatre.com

From Staff Reports

This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 12:42 AM with the headline "Workshop’s ‘Stick Fly’ gives families lots to think about."