Brothers and consequences

Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney gives voice to thoughts and feelings many Black men have been conditioned to suppress. His work consistently offers nuance and authenticity to the internal conflicts surrounding identity and sexuality—bringing what’s often left unsaid to center stage.

Mainstream audiences were first introduced to McCraney’s artistry through “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins’ Academy Award-winning adaptation of his semi-autobiographical play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.” The 2016 film earned “Best Picture” honors and won McCraney and Jenkins the Oscar for “Best Adapted Screenplay.”

Last Friday, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis opened its Steve Woolf Studio Series season with the St. Louis premiere of McCraney’s “The Brothers Size,” which runs through November 16. The second installment of his “Brother/Sister Plays” trilogy, the drama explores the complex relationship between Ogun and Oshoosi Size. As the older brother, Ogun inherits the role of patriarch—tasked with guiding his free-spirited younger sibling back onto a stable path after a stint in prison. But Ogun’s efforts are challenged by Oshoosi’s friend Elegba, whose bond with him—strengthened during their incarceration—pulls him in a different direction. Every step Ogun pushes forward, Elegba pulls back, until the tension reaches a breaking point.

The Rep assembled a dream team of Black St. Louis creatives to bring “The Brothers Size” to life. Directed by Jacqueline Thompson, the production features choreography by Kirven Douthit-Boyd, sound design by Tre’von Griffith, scenic and lighting design by Jayson M. Lawshee, and costumes by Kristie C. Osi. Each artist understood the assignment—and delivered.

The play offers The Rep’s audience a front-row seat to unapologetic Blackness expressed through theater. The language is authentic. The staging demands full attention. The three-person cast moves fluidly around the circular performance space, at times sitting shoulder to shoulder with audience members—blurring the line between stage and life.

Even before the curtain rises, Griffith sets the tone with a pre-show playlist that includes Juvenile’s late ’90s club classic “Back That [expletive] Up.” The show opens with ritual—movement led by Douthit-Boyd—that reads as prayer. The scene, rich in African symbolism, may feel separate from the contemporary narrative that follows. But McCraney reminds viewers that the spiritual realm is always present in Black life.

The cast fully embodies the emotional weight of McCraney’s script. The play intriguingly begins with actors reciting the script’s interior language—rich in sensory detail and emotional nuance—before delivering their actual lines. Once the audience grasps this technique, they gain a deeper appreciation for the cast’s agility in shifting from description to dialogue that spans nearly every emotional register.

Under Thompson’s masterful direction, the cast maintains a rhythm and pace that keeps the audience locked in. Nic Few (Ogun) and Christian Kitchens (Oshoosi) share a chemistry that makes their opposing energies feel lived-in and layered. Few brilliantly channels Ogun’s anger as a mask—for disappointment, for pain, for the burden of being the responsible one. Kitchens is magnetic as Oshoosi, wrestling with dreams haunted by the tug-of-war between loyalty and liberation.

Donald Jones Jr. delivers a compelling Elegba, hinting at the depth of his relationship with Oshoosi, and leaving audiences wondering how far he’d go to relive their shared past.

“The Brothers Size” is a meditation on masculinity, memory, and the spiritual ties that bind. It’s a story of Black men navigating love, loyalty, and liberation—with no easy answers, only honest questions.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis’ production of “The Brothers Size” continues through November 16 at the Emerson Studio Theatre (inside the Loretto-Hilton Center), 130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO 63119. For tickets and more information, visit www.repstl.org.

Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.