Review: Seek and Ye Shall Find (Mortar Theatre)

Review: Seek and Ye Shall Find (Mortar Theatre)

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Written and Performed by Sentell Harper
Directed by Stephanie Stroud
Apollo Studio Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln (map)
thru June 8 | tickets: $10-$15   | more info

Check for half-price tickets


   Read entire review

Ye must not miss this play!

Mortar Theatre Company presents

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Review by Katy Walsh

Q: What do you get when the Million Man March intersects with the Gay Pride Parade?

A: Sentell Harper as the tour de force Grand Marshal.

Sentell Harper is sensational in his one man show. As the writer and performer, he confronts his own prejudice against gay black men. Sentell takes a journey on the Red Line to a parallel universe where the Common Ground Café caters to a marginalized clientele. Common Ground likes their coffee like they like their men… black and bold and gay. ‘No, she didn’t.’ Yes, she did!

Willie is the kind, old regular. Tom Tom is the sassy, flamboyant barista. Isaiah is his uptight, conservative sidekick. Chris is the gentle, singing customer. Miss V is the tainted, bitter queen. And Sentell is confused to how he stepped into this delusion. Under the masterful direction of Stephanie Stroud, Harper plays each of these characters and well over a dozen more. His handsome face is like an Etch a Sketch. With a slight shake, Harper instantaneously morphs into another person. It’s marveling. At one point, he channels a special episode from The Cosby Show by playing Dr. and Mrs. Huxtable, Sandra, Elton, and Theo. In this imagined series, Theo is gay and Mrs. H classically rips Elton a new a-hole for hints of homophobia. It’s hysterical!

A good portion of this show is LMAO. Harper goes there again and again and it’s a riot. Yet, this isn’t just an evening of lampoon: there is sustenance and intimacy. Harper engages as several different storytellers telling the backstory on these characters. We learn their personal struggles and secrets. We see a past reenactment that impacted their present day persona. Isaiah goes to an HIV clinic. Tom Tom is on a date. Willie gets ready for church. And even Sentell helps his grandma hang laundry. Harper plays all the characters in these defining memories. The truth about a black gay man’s struggle is poignantly portrayed.

Seek and Ye Shall Find is a must see. Harper entertains, educates and inspires in his colorful mosaic. This isn’t a show just for black gay men. It’s for everyone. I’m neither gay nor black and I fell head-over-heels in love with Sentell Harper. I like my stories, like I like my men… honest and humorous and hot. ‘No, she didn’t.’ Yes, she did!

Rating: ★★★★

Seek and Ye Shall Find continues through June 8th at Apollo Studio Theater, 2540 N. Lincoln(map), with performances Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30pm, Saturday at 3pm and Sundays at 7pm. Tickets are $10-$15, and are available by phone (773-935-6100) or online through Ticketmaster.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at MortarTheatreCompany.org. (Running time: 90 minutes, includes an intermission)