![\"Chuma](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Hymn_9698-e1778009131566.jpg\")
<\/a>Chuma Gault and Jason Delane. Photo by Cooper Bates, as is the one above.<\/p><\/div>\n
The basic premise of Hymn<\/em>, (which is revealed pretty early on in the hour and a half, so I\u2019m not ruining anything for you,) is that a pair of fifty-year-old men discover that they\u2019re half-brothers. They share a recently-deceased *father, but with very<\/em> different upbringings. And the relationship grows from there. With ancestry-tracing kits being so popular these days, (not that these<\/em> two sibs used any,) Hymn<\/em> is a tale for everyone. (I<\/em> always wish I would find a secret sibling, especially a long-lost twin. No joke.) *[Note: My analytical mind wonders if the title Hymn<\/em> has a dual meaning. \u201cHymn,\u201d of course, because the brothers meet in a church after the \u201clegitimate\u201d one has given the eulogy for their father, but also the play on words \u201chim\u201d because their entire newfound kinship is based on him<\/em>\u2014their sire. Just sayin\u2019. Now I wish I was still in college to write a paper on it!]<\/p>\n Hymn<\/em> began its life in London five years ago. I love British accents, which these actors\u2014Jason Delane as Benny and Chuma Gault as Gil\u2014do convincingly. But I don\u2019t understand why the action could not have been moved to America for the run here. I\u2019m just about positive that both actors are American, and it could be set anywhere<\/em> in this country. The characters\u2019 experience is universal. I kept waiting for London to figure into the story, but it never did, so that was a bit distracting. (I\u2019ve since found-out that the play has been performed elsewhere in the States several times, all with the men being American. So now I really<\/em> wonder why the Odyssey chose to make it unneccesarily British.)<\/p>\n Chuma Gault and Jason Delane. Photo by Cooper Bates.<\/p><\/div>\n The show opens with two monologues, and then the action finally gets going when the men meet. In all honesty, I\u2019m not very interested in plays with only two characters, but Jason and Chuma do such a good job that I barely noticed it was a two-hander. And my friend Marc said that when they were talking to unseen characters, (such as a waitress and one\u2019s son,) he totally believed it, so that added some depth.<\/p>\n Both actors are Black, (I can\u2019t say African-American here, in case they are<\/em> actually British,) so one might assume that the play is about the Black<\/em> experience. But, I see it as simply a human<\/em> experience. I feel that Hymn<\/em> could also be performed by any two people of the same age, preferably around fifty, with no regard to race or gender. However, it\u2019s good the way it is. So just go on the journey with them.<\/p>\n Chuma Gault and Jason Delane in the “Dump and Run Room.” (This just hit me–is there a dramatic reason the actors are always on their one side? I guess I DO have to go back to college to write this paper!) Photo by Cooper Bates.<\/p><\/div>\n Hymn<\/em> is basically a serious play, with several good laughs along the way. My favorite bit of mirth is when the bros are going through boxes containing some of Benny\u2019s nostalgic old items, (such as always-comedic M.C. Hammer pants,) in what I\u2019m assuming is an attic, and Gil labels the area a \u201cdump and run room.\u201d That\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve<\/em> turned every<\/em> room in my house into, so I totally identified. And now I finally have a fun name for what I\u2019ve done to my place! I\u2019ll thank playwright Lolita Chakrabarti for those bon mots every time I go through my own By the way\u2014Ms. Chakrabarti is the genius who adapted the novel Life of Pi<\/em> into the gorgeous many-awards-winning play. So on that past success alone, although far from the spectacular production that Life of Pi<\/em> is, you know that Hymn<\/em> is a good one.<\/p>\n The entirety of Hymn<\/em> is performed on one small set, but it manages to demonstrate about a half dozen different locations. Strangely, though, they never use that one area that\u2019s set-up with those aforementioned coveted (by me<\/em>) blankets, a portable piano, a chair, a stool, and some books. (So I could<\/em> have borrowed a blanket! Or both<\/em>.)<\/p>\n The set. Note the folded blankets next to that portable piano and chair on the upper right side. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n As short as it is, Hymn<\/em> would benefit from having about ten minutes cut. There are at least two monologues that could be much briefer or perhaps not there at all. We get the gist of each scene without it getting as wordy as it does. To me, the fun scene in that dump and run room is the only one that should remain totally intact.<\/p>\n But still, the show is a worthwhile one. Just remember to bring a parka!<\/p>\n Hymn<\/em> running through June 14, 2026<\/strong> HYMN I have to be honest and tell you right upfront that this review might be partially affected by the fact that it was soooo freezing in the Odyssey Theatre on the Opening Night of Hymn that it was very hard to pay as much attention to the play as I always do.\u00a0I\u2019m pretty sure<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>junk<\/del> treasures.<\/p>\n<\/a>
\n \u2028Odyssey Theatre\u20282055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. WLA<\/strong>
\n 310-477-2055 www.odysseytheatre.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"