Pictured: Ibukun Omotowa and Sol Fuller in 'From 145th to 98th Street' at Urbanite Theatre. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.

When telling friends, neighbors and slightly alarmed strangers to go see From 145th to 98th Street, currently enjoying its world premiere run at Urbanite Theatre, I have found it difficult, at times, to articulate the story in a suitably gripping manner and one commensurate with the compelling nature of the production. It’s much easier to say it’s simply one of the best shows I’ve seen this season.

But I’m paid to try.

Written by Nia Akilah Robinson, From 145th to 98th Street drops audiences smack-dab in the middle of the Curtly family home, which parents Jackie and Cedric (Imani Slates and Brian Darnell Coats) have unilaterally relocated out of Harlem and into a “better neighborhood,” seeking more opportunity for their daughter, Fatima (Sól Fuller). A bright kid unconvincingly wearing a Malcolm X t-shirt, she carries the distinction/burden of being the Curtly child designated as destined for college—whether she likes it or not and particularly after older brother Jamal (Ibukun Omotowa) opted to pursue a music career instead. He works at a gym now. His parents are loudly unimpressed.

Jackie and Cedric believe in a world where their son could have gone to college, worked hard, followed the rules, and reaped the rewards; Jamal does not. And when the world carelessly throws his life into jeopardy at the beginning of the story, it only solidifies his position.

Now, From 145th to 98th Street is not “about” Jamal and his parents fighting over the perceived benefits of higher education. Or about Fatima’s uncertainty regarding college or whether the Curtlys ever should have left Harlem. Within the greater context of the narrative, and as the characters reveal more of their inner selves, these conflicts become emblematic of a greater and more universal disconnect under examination: the aching distance between parents and children that love can soothe but never entirely bridge.

Like a generational gap on steroids, the parent-child relationship precludes a certain understanding of the other. It’s an inescapable perspective, necessarily warped. The Curtly family is no different. And while Robinson’s script is undoubtedly rooted in and speaking to the Black American experience, an authentic exploration of the human condition necessarily arrives at common ground. Which is why everyone will recognize that last bastion of parental diplomacy: “Because I said so.”

Directed by Jerrica D. White and currently onstage at Urbanite Theatre,  From 145th to 98th Street runs through June 29. 

Pictured: Ibukun Omotowa and Sol Fuller in 'From 145th to 98th Street' at Urbanite Theatre. Photo by Sorcha Augustine.

To learn more click here