EXPATRIATE, the explosive play with all-vocal music was hailed as “a feast for the eyes and ears” (NYTheater.com) and received rave reviews from critics!
"Ms. Moïse has written a thoughtful narrative laden with observations about childhood, black identity in the United States and abroad, and the cost of show business on performers." - New York Times.
A “freshly imaginative” (NY Post) an uncompromising look at the complexities of fame, sexuality and art, Expatriate pulses with “an abundance of heart and conviction” (NYTheater.com) as Claudie and Alphine weave their “powerfully sung” contagious jazz-pop songs throughout the show.
Claudie and Alphine, black American artists, are childhood friends struggling against the addiction and sexual trauma that runs in their family histories. They flee to Paris to realize their dreams of musical success, supporting themselves as performers on the streets of Paris, and rising to fame as singing group Black Venus. But while Claudie finds sexual freedom, artistic sustenance and spiritual regeneration through her new life – Alphine’s hunger for adoration from a celebrity-mad culture has tragic consequences.
EXPATRIATE is an engaging exploration of black womanhood, friendship, sexuality, and freedom, celebrating characters in the spirit of Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, and the Hottentot Venus. With only a JamMan loop machine at their feet, real-life rising stars Lenelle Moïse and Karla Mosley make intricate, haunting and stirring music as they weave the story of singing group Black Venus's rise to fame.
VARIETY calls the show “compelling” and says “both thesps are sensational. Moise’s calm soulfulness is an excellent counterpoint to Mosley’s raw-nerve energy.”
NYTHEATER.COM says, “Expatriate is certainly a force for good on the theatrical landscape… Director Tamilla Woodard’s direction is elegant, organic, and unpredictable.”
And BACKSTAGE says, “Lenelle Moise’s music, created by a JamMan loop machine and a powerful voice singing evocative lyrics, has a beat that gets under your skin, fascinating rhythm, and a real theatrical power.”
Review from the New York Times:
With all the theater out there, how inspiring it is to be reminded how invigorating an Off Broadway play can be with just two appealing performers, compelling music and a searching, intelligent script. Lenelle Moïse, a poet, playwright and performer, has written, composed and stars in “Expatriate,” a two-woman production at the Culture Project that delivers on all counts.In the first act the play follows the best friends Claudie (Ms. Moïse ) and Alphine (Karla Mosley) from childhood in the Boston projects to New York. Understated, earnest Claudie, in dreadlocks, attends Juilliard while exuberant but needy Alphine, in a glittery short dress, works briefly as a stripper and sings at jazz gigs. Though Alphine goes out with Omar, Claudie’s ne’er-do-well twin, a rising hip-hop star, it’s clear the women reserve their greatest support for each other. When Omar dies, Claudie, despondent, flees to Paris, where she falls in love and moves in with a woman. Alphine follows her there, and the two find success as the singing duo Black Venus. As they struggle to define their relationship, Alphine goes solo, succumbing to the temptations of fame and substance abuse. Claudie emerges from under her shadow and finds her own inner star. With the Black Venus numbers, the play breaks out its big musical guns, suggesting the glory of the stage but with minimal fuss. Ms. Moïse’s compositions, enhanced by Nick Moore’s music direction and sound design, are often recorded percussive vocals accompanied by live singing. The stripped-down result is effective. Nicco Annan’s choreography and Stephen Arnold’s unobtrusive projection design also make an impact. Ms. Moïse has written a thoughtful narrative laden with observations about childhood, black identity in the United States and abroad, and the cost of show business on performers. As directed by Tamilla Woodard, it never lags nor gets ahead of itself. But the production’s greatest asset is Ms. Moïse and Ms. Mosley’s heavenly symmetry, entwined in dialogue and song. Ms. Mosley’s contribution cannot be underestimated. She calibrates Alphine’s decline with subtlety, bringing out her shrill, brittle insecurities and petty vanities organically, without undue pyrotechnics. You see the result but know where it came from. Claudie has her own transformation. When she tears into the song “Rebel” toward the end, it’s as if a spirit has been passed on — of Nina Simone, of Josephine Baker, of Alphine.
A “freshly imaginative” (NY Post) and uncompromising look at the complexities of fame, sexuality and art, Expatriate pulses with “an abundance of heart and conviction” (NYTheater.com) as Claudie and Alphine weave their “powerfully sung” contagious jazz-pop songs throughout the show.
Claudie and Alphine, black American artists, are childhood friends struggling against the addiction and sexual trauma that runs in their family histories. They flee to Paris to realize their dreams of musical success, supporting themselves as performers on the streets of Paris, and rising to fame as singing group Black Venus. But while Claudie finds sexual freedom, artistic sustenance and spiritual regeneration through her new life – Alphine’s hunger for adoration from a celebrity-mad culture has tragic consequences.
EXPATRIATE is an engaging exploration of black womanhood, friendship, sexuality, and freedom, celebrating characters in the spirit of Nina Simone, Josephine Baker, and the Hottentot Venus. With only a JamMan loop machine at their feet, real-life rising stars Lenelle Moïse and Karla Mosley make intricate, haunting and stirring music as they weave the story of singing group Black Venus's rise to fame.
VARIETY calls the show “compelling” and says “both thesps are sensational. Moise’s calm soulfulness is an excellent counterpoint to Mosley’s raw-nerve energy.”
NYTHEATER.COM says, “Expatriate is certainly a force for good on the theatrical landscape… Director Tamilla Woodard’s direction is elegant, organic, and unpredictable.”
And BACKSTAGE says, “Lenelle Moise’s music, created by a JamMan loop machine and a powerful voice singing evocative lyrics, has a beat that gets under your skin, fascinating rhythm, and a real theatrical power.”
