An Off-Broadway Theatre Review: ATC’s A Freeky Introduction
By Acton
We duck under a curtain and cross the threshold to find a DJ (DJ Monday Blue) beckoning us in, filling the room with rhythm, and warming us up for a night of sermonizing, harmonizing, exorcising, and exercising in A Freeky Introduction (director Dennis A. Allen II) at Atlantic Theater‘s Stage 2.
Freeky Dee (writer and star NSangou Njikam) may seem like a mortal man, but he has the bravado of a sex god right from the start as he recounts an Ugly Duckling legend that also serves as his origin story. Born into a shabby world, surrounded by folks who have forgotten how to use their power, he’s here to reawaken the Freek within us all. If you’re asking “what’s a Freek?” you have come to the right show, which is largely a jellicle explanation of the various types of life-loving Freeks out there (Earth Hoes, Hotep Brothas, and Sacred Sistas are a few examples). And Freeky Dee has come to play with the audience, training us to strut from our seats and even anointing those in the back row with their very own Freek name.
DJ eventually nudges Freeky Dee into telling the story of how and why he crossed over into holy Freekdom, and it’s a tale as old as time, with a twist. After a night of apparently exquisite sex (Njikam mimes this with a stool in a way that zooms past explicit straight to hilarious), he’s ghosted by the woman of his dreams: Lady Liberty. His ascension to another plane of existence is a thought-provoking metaphor of one-sided lovemaking to a country that won’t love you back. His revenge is cruel and complete, and left me wanting more of a comeuppance or obstacle for this character, whose rise to power encounters few challenges.
The sets by Jason Ardizzone-West (Vineyard’s Good Grief) and dynamic lighting by Sim Carpenter (Jackolope’s Dutch Masters) are instrumental in supporting the evolution of Njikam’s stories, and DJ Monday Blue is an able companion to Njikam, even if I wished she had more of a voice in the show. Your enjoyment of A Freeky Introduction likely depends on your appetite for dropping inhibitions and handing over the reins to the show (get ready to do your Kegels). If being called up to dance with Freeky Dee sounds like your cup of tea, you’ll enjoy your introduction to this sensual spirit.
