A white girl in a black tutu pirouettes onstage in a dour apartment, a fantasy vision of Natalie Portman in Black Swan. Reminiscent of other works with movie stars in the name (Being John Malkovitch/ Searthing for Debra Winger), All the Natalie Portmans, an off- Broadway debut by C. A. Johnson at the MCC Theater, the conceit gets a smug laugh. For Keyonna, a queer charter school student who fixates on white actresses—see her vision board where Winona Ryder also has pride of place—the apparition is life-saving, as is the pop-up presence of all the Natalie Portmans, from Queen Amidala to her youthful breakout role in The Professional. Beset by complications resulting from her father’s sudden death, Keyonna copes alongside a beleaguered brother, a family friend girl crush, and a booze-binging mom. The family gets by one way or another, until it doesn’t.
Post a comment
Your Information
(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)
Comments