Nexera Colors a San Francisco World Premiere

Theatre lovers in San Francisco this month have a rare opportunity to witness the unique and surprising one-man musical, A Boy and His Soul starring the beloved Bay Area performer, Colman Domingo. The world premiere, presented by Thick Descriptions, runs through July 31 at the Thick House, 1695 18th Street on Potrero Hill in San Francisco.

A Boy and His Soul is a dazzling and moving true story of a childhood spent in Philadelphia in the 1970's, during one of the great eras of soul music. In a home with a lot of conflict, a lot of love, and a LOT of great records, classic soul music propels Colman's life forward and Colman and his family bring the music to life. This show was originally developed in readings at New York's 55 Bar (where Colman worked as a bartender) during the summer of 2004. Thick Description and Colman workshopped the script in December 2004, and earned a standing ovation at a sneak-preview performance at the Thick House in January 2005.

Rick Martin, designer for the set, kept the scenery to a minimum, thereby keeping the focus on Domingo and his story. He decided the moods were best conveyed with creative lighting. He used six Nexera Wash and Profile fixtures to achieve the desired effect. Rick commented, "Simply put, [the Nexeras] are wonderful. They are built as solid as every other Wybron product. We literally plugged the power supply in during load-in and haven't unplugged it since. This is pretty impressive considering how many effect routines we run the color flags through throughout the show. It's one of the same reasons that I love the CXIs so much." Noise was also a big concern, for the quiet reflective moments during the play. He appreciated the quiet operation of the Nexeras. "The quietness of the units is perfect. I can't imagine a theatre that wouldn't want to own them."

Martin's set and lighting design perfectly showcased Domingo's captivating story. The show has gotten rave reviews since its preview on June 29. Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "A sweet, comic, genuinely moving and at times edgy performance memoir of Domingo's Philadelphia row-house childhood, it's an impressive effort. Domingo's engaging, finely tuned performance is irresistible."

Colman Domingo is proud to be a working theater artist on both coasts. He was most recently seen in the Bay Area performing in the celebrated premiere of People's Temple at Berkeley Rep, and as Lavatche the Clown in All's Well that Ends Well at the California Shakespeare Festival. Off-Broadway credits include Henry V, Bright Ideas, and American Maul. Regionally he has worked at A.C.T., Berkeley Rep, TheaterWorks, S.F. Shakespeare Festival, and toured France with Word for Word. In 1997 he played Garnet, a lip-synching Jackie Wilson impersonator in Thick Description's production of Oliver Mayer's Blade to the Heat; that role and that production planted some of the seeds for A Boy and His Soul.

Colman Domingo's film and television appearances include "Law and Order", "Nash Bridges", "True Crime" directed by Clint Eastwood, and "Around the Fire" co-starring with Tara Reid and Devon Sawa. He recently wrapped the film Freedomland with Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Joe Roth. Judging by the success of A Boy and His Soul, we can expect to see more of this talented young man.

Photo credits: Rick Martin