Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth. Booth killed Lincoln. It’s a tale so memorized, so historical, stripped of any affect outside of its facts. But there is nothing stale about Suzan-Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog. The latest revival of the Pulitzer-prize winning two-hander is hysterical, tragic and above all sincere.
It’s a play on the history lesson, Cain and Abel-style. Two brothers, Lincoln (Corey Hawkins) and Booth (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), live in a skint apartment (artfully designed by scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado; cracked mirror, single hanging lightbulb and all).
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