Toward the top of the emotionally charged “Antonio’s Song/I Was Dreaming of a Son,” we’re in a studio with co-playwright Antonio Edwards Suarez, who wrote the autobiographical, 80-minute piece with acclaimed dramatist Dael Orlandersmith.
As the scene unfolds, Suarez — playing himself — is unexpectedly put in charge of his five-year-old son for the day when his wife has to go to work. His young son becomes increasingly bored, Suarez becomes increasingly frustrated. The studio where Suarez had planned to spend a joyful day creating becomes the scene of brutal violence as Suarez repeatedly backhands the child in a tirade that devastates both father and son.
