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arts entertainmentPerforming Arts

Tense, tough, timely: A boxer fights racism in historically inspired 'The Royale' from Kitchen Dog 

The show is inspired by the true tale of Texan Jack Johnson, the black boxer known as the "Galveston Giant."

It's not always the person in the ring with you that knocks you out, you learn in Kitchen Dog Theater's regional premiere of The Royale at Trinity River Arts Center. Sometimes it's a person who gets inside your head.

Marco Ramirez's play was inspired by the true story of Jack Johnson, the Galveston-born and Dallas-trained, turn-of-the-20th-century black boxer who demanded his shot to fight white men in the ring and live his life as if race didn't matter.  This regional premiere of  the intermissionless work was produced by Lincoln Center Theater in 2016.

Jaquai Wade Pearson (left, playing Nina) and Jamal Gibran Sterling (Jay) star in the...
Jaquai Wade Pearson (left, playing Nina) and Jamal Gibran Sterling (Jay) star in the regional premiere of The Royale by Kitchen Dog Theater at Trinity River Arts Center. (Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)
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The problem, of course, is that race did matter — a lot. Jay Jackson, the fictionalized name Ramirez gives to his boxer, eventually learns he's been getting death threats.

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What shakes Jay even more is when his sister, Nina (an anguished and angry Jaquai Wade Pearson), warns him of the price she and other black people will pay when white folks seek revenge for Jackson defeating their white champion.

The action, tautly directed by Christopher Carlos, unfolds on a square stage that resembles a boxing ring, with visible chairs and props on either side for those in the ensemble who move "off" stage. The characters move in tight rhythm with each other as if they're dancing, with stylized movements of boxers facing the audience, their feet stamping the floor  to suggest punches that hit their mark.

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(From left) Marcus M. Mauldin, Lee George, Jamal Gibran Sterling and Adrian Churchill in the...
(From left) Marcus M. Mauldin, Lee George, Jamal Gibran Sterling and Adrian Churchill in the regional premiere of The Royale by Kitchen Dog Theater at Trinity River Arts Center.(Nathan Hunsinger / Staff Photographer)

Jamal Gibran Sterling keeps Jay at the center of the action, his layered emotions lending suspense to whether he will follow through with his intention to take down the white heavyweight champion of the world. Adrian Churchill gradually reveals a vulnerability beneath the bravado of Jackson's manager, Max, for whom Jay isn't a meal ticket, but a mission.

Marcus M. Mauldin's trainer, Wynton, grounds Jay with world-weary but caring, paternal wisdom. Lee George's Fish, Jay's young sparring partner, looks up to Jay with hope, like a son to a father.

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The story lends context to the travails of Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, who would follow and continue the real Jack Johnson's fight for black rights.

The Royale is also a timely reminder of the high price people pay for demanding justice from a resistant society. One can hear echoes of Nina's arguments in 2015's Mississippi Goddamn by Dallas playwright Jonathan Norton, who wrote about black individuals who pushed back against the battle for civil rights because they feared repercussions.

The fears, as real-life tragedies have demonstrated, are justified. It takes incredible strength to persevere when those doubts fight for space in your head.

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Continues through March 18. Kitchen Dog Theater at Trinity River Arts Center, 2600 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas. $20-$30. kitchendogtheater.org. Performance reviewed was Thursday. Running time: 1 hour, 24 mins.

CORRECTION, 5:34 p.m., March 2, 2018:  An earlier version of this review left out the full name of Jamal Gibran Sterling.

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