Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet

October 20 – 22, 2023

Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre

Marcus is sixteen and “sweet.” Days before Hurricane Katrina strikes the projects of Louisiana, Marcus keeps having dreams about a mysterious man and a ton of rain. The currents of his life converge, overflowing into his close-knit community and launching the search for his sexual and personal identity on a cultural landscape infused with mysterious family creeds. The poignant and fiercely humorous coming-of-age story of a young gay man in the South, Marcus is the stirring conclusion of The Brother/Sister Plays.

Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney and directed by Rosalind Bevan (CFA’19), presented by Boston University School of Theatre as part of the 2023 Fringe Festival.

Photos of the cast of Marcus by Ken Yotsukura

Cast

Brandon Nnoli

Imayah Hawkins

Christian Donnerson

Jaden Bridges

Janelle Johnson

Julian X

Sage Gunning

Malik Mitchell

Program Book

An Interview with Director Roz Bevan

What have you been up to since graduating from BU?

Since graduating, I’ve been working as a director, producer, and casting director in the Boston theatre scene. I started working at The Huntington in the Artistic department the summer after graduating. I was the Casting & Producing Apprentice and worked my way to Casting & Producing Associate where I led the local casting efforts and line produced multiple productions. I have directed plays at theatres around Massachusetts including Gloucester Stage and Newton Theatre Company.

How did you come to join Marcus?

Susan Mickey [director of BU School of Theatre] called me and shared Marcus with me. I am an admirer of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s work – the way he weaves language and poetry with deeply human and honest relationships all with resonant undercurrents of mythology and magic. I also was really inspired by the fact that Marcus was pitched to Susan by a student, Julian X. I’ve always been inspired, even when I was a student myself, by SOT students’ passion and initiative around creating art and telling stories that mean a lot to them. If the students are down to do the play then so am I! I was honored and excited to be of service to that.

You’ve come back to SOT as a guest director twice before. How has this specific process been different? Are there different possibilities and avenues of process that being part of Fringe offers?

This is my first time directing in the Booth! I assistant directed in the Booth when I was a student, but never directed. This process has been different from my previous shows as a guest director in that we have such a robust team of artists and practitioners in every department. We have full support from all of the production shops which means the design team and I can dream big together. There are so many students supporting the many moving pieces that it takes to bring this story to life. It’s both a challenge and a relief as a director to have such a large team.