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The Royale at GableStage, Best of the Season

 

Miami theater

In reading that the newest play, The Royale at the GableStage, was about boxing, frankly I was lukewarm about going, especially the thought of being inside on one of those perfect days in May we’ve been having. But after reading the rave reviews from the run in New York and London, decided to give it a try. For Miami theater, it turns out to be the best play of the season  by any measure — script, acting, choreography, and topic. Plus, there’s a heart warming Miami story behind the story about the playwright, Marco Ramirez.

The Royale is inspired by the story of Jack Johnson, a boxer who -at the height of the Jim Crow era – became the most famous and the most notorious black man on Earth.  The story on the surface is about Johnson’s literal and figurative fight to become the first African American heavyweight boxing champion of the world. The winning match had him fight against Canadian James Jeffries, a white man and former heavyweight champion, in what was another “first”, a biracial match which brought out passions on both sides of the racial divide.

But more than that, Johnson’s story was one of the challenges in rising to the top, success, and trust. The play all takes place in the boxing ring. The script’s powerful punch doesn’t let up for all of the 70 minutes of the production. You’ll be totally enthralled.

As you may know, GableStage has brought its productions to the Miami-Dade Count Public Schools for 18 years. Eighteen years ago one of the students in the audience was Marco Ramirez.   He graduated from Coral Reef Senior High and then went on to New York University and the prestigious playwrighting program at The Julliard School.  He now works in theatre, film and television, where credits include Sons of Anarchy, Orange is the New Black, Fear the Walking Dead and Marvel’s Daredevil. He flew in from California especially for the debut of his play at GableStage.

The Royale is playing through June 26. I suggest getting your tickets asap as it could very well sell out. Though we went in the weekend it opened before reviews came out, it was sold out at the matinee and got a standing ovation. Don’t miss it.

Karen Escalera

Karen Escalera

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