*We often hear about the fragility of the male ego, but how do men expose their true feelings when their ego is totally crushed? In this play, “Choices & Consequences,” writer, director, producer, and ordained minister Marlon Orlando Cole reveals how far down the rabbit hole a man can go when his masculinity is called into question. Based on a true story, “Choices & Consequences” made its off-Broadway debut this summer at the St. Luke’s Theater and will run through July 29. This play candidly deals with how an African American power couple copes with childlessness and the sensitive issue of male infertility.
Thirtysomething married Dexter (N’fa D’jba Thomas), a financial advisor and his wife Angela (Charese Annel), a lawyer, seem to be the perfect couple. The only thing missing from their lives is a child. The play opens with the couple as they get ready for work in the morning, whisking around their Brooklyn apartment, teasing each other in great spirits. The elephant in the room is that Angela has failed to conceive after trying in-vitro fertilization, artificial insemination and hormonal injections. Dexter is a praying man who believes that God promised to give him the desires of his heart. He encourages his wife to have faith as he rushes out of the door to his new job at a brokerage firm.
But circumstances only place more pressures on the couple. Though Dexter hits the ground running—opening three accounts by noon and raising more than a half-million dollars in assets—his curmudgeonly supervisor Jack (L.K.) informs Dexter that he reduced his expected $20 thousand commission by half because it’s his firm and he calls the shots. As it turns out, Jack (L.K) is a cocaine addict and philanderer who is trying to keep Cat (Iliana Paris) his escort-turned mistress and office assistant happy. She walks around the office half naked, asking to go shopping, when Jack cuts into the brokers’ commissions.
The pressure builds between Jack and Dexter, especially after other coworkers confide in Dexter about Jack’s behavior. Dexter confronts him and the two get into a physical altercation that lands him in jail. Dexter’s wife immediately comes to her husband’s aid and gets him released.
Dexter and Angela decide to take a trip to Jamaica to get away from the drama and to reconnect with one another. As soon as they arrive they befriend a Jamaican cab driver named Clinton Winston Barrington III, who drives recklessly through traffic, steering with his knees while rolling a joint with both hands. Also known as Mr. Third, the cabby is a stereotypical expression of a Caribbean Rastafarian, and actor Swavian Loney does an excellent job of making him as colorful as the green, black, and gold fishnet tank top he wears.
Back at home, Angela becomes more open to adoption until a call from her doctor (also played by L.K.) reveals that she is capable of conceiving. When he suggests that Dexter’s fertility be tested, Dexter agrees, confident his soldiers are marching. But a week after leaving his specimen, Dr. Smith gives him the news: His sperm count is very low. Devastated, Dexter apologizes profusely to his wife when he gets home, but soon slips into weeks-long depression that shuts out his wife. Frustrated by the wall of tension and uncomfortable silences with Dexter, Angela finds herself drawn to personal trainer Terrence Peterson (Thomas Aponte), who offers more than a workout routine to help Angela de-stress. This affair opens a chasm in an already tenuous relationship that is slowing ripping to shreds.
A hilarious Narrator (Chris Carlock) walks the audience through this maze of calamity, often commenting on the outlandish shenanigans of these characters.
“Choices & Consequences” is a well-told tale with humor spun throughout. Despite not having the full scenery and accoutrements of a Broadway stage, the production team of Marissa Katz (co-producer, co-director, casting) and Marlon Orlando Cole (writer, director, producer) chose a talented cast whose work portrays their characters’ flaws and challenges, as well as their growth, as life’s tough lessons sink in.
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