While Booth tries to follow his brothers once infamous hustler legacy with a game of Three-card monte, with the hopes of creating his own legacy to the point of throwing away his birth name for the self appointed “3-Card”. Living up to his name, Lincoln goes to work as a stand-in for Abraham Lincoln while tourists line up to shoot him in the head with blanks on repeat all day.

(Photo courtesy of Olimac Media) The setting for this story only adds to that on and off strained relationship as they share a derelict single bedroom apartment with no bathroom and no running water. Haunted by their past together they are forced to confront what they mean to one another, and how the future comes crashing in through the window whether they want to or not – their names being a hint at the fateful tension between them.ĭenzel McCausland as Lincoln (right) recalls happier days in “Topdog/Underdog” at Main Street Playhouse. With Booth being the younger of the two, he is constantly struggling to break free from the shadow that Lincoln casts, a shadow that he refuses to let go of. This play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, brothers in a state of roller coaster like tension.

Some might think that the closeness would take away from the possible exploration of this story but in fact all it does is give us a private sneak peek into the lives and cramped relationship of these two brothers, Lincoln(Denzel McCausland) and Booth(Roderick Randle). Directed by director/actor Carey Brianna Hart, this particular production is a much more intimate experience within the 50-seat theatre in Miami Lakes than some grand space in New York.

Main Street Players had the difficult task of putting up this play right before the Broadway opening, leaving themselves vulnerable to a comparison that no one wants or needs because this play is chewed up and swallowed like a delicious dinner you’ve been waiting for all day. Because of that simple fact, I’ll be blunt and honest as I promised myself I would be for every article and every review I went in with neutral to low expectations when I went to see this currently very popular play in the year of its 20 th anniversary… and I am more than happy to say that I was pleasantly, excitedly surprised. TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks is not an easy play… Let me say that again – TOPDOG/UNDERDOG by Suzan-Lori Parks is not an easy play.

Topdog play