By David Greenham

Few could doubt this satire’s relevance, given the alarming results of November’s election: a convicted felon, whose minions lean into racist and sexist tropes, is back in the White House.

Ain’t No Mo’ by Jordon Cooper. Directed by Dawn M. Simmons. Choreography by Juanita Pearl, fight and intimacy choreography by Brandon G. Green. Scenic design by Mac Young, costume design by Rachel Padula-Shufelt, lighting design by Aja M. Jackson, sound design by Aubrey Dube, props design by Isaac West. Produced by SpeakEasy Stage and Front Porch Arts Collective. Performed at the Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, Tremont Street, Boston, through February 8.

De’Lon Grant in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of Aint No Mo’. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

We know we’re in for an in-your-face adventure even before the stage lights rev up and shine at Ain’t No Mo’ — the obligatory recorded welcome speech begins, “Welcome your ass to the Front Porch at Speakeasy Stage.”

Jordon Cooper’s scathing sketch comedy show about racism and Blackness in America premiered in the aftermath of the Obama administration when America took a sharp right turn into the Trump circus tent of chaos. Now that the tent (and its attendant freak show) is once again open for business, the script is even more relevant today. Could there be any doubt, given the alarming results of November’s election: a convicted felon, whose minions lean into racist and sexist tropes, is back in the White House.

For those who cry ‘this isn’t the America I know,’ Cooper’s Ain’t No Mo’ underlines the fact that, if you are Black, this is an America you know all too well.

“Set in 2008, somewhere beyond now, and today,” the show’s location is at an airport departure lounge next to an appropriately numbered gate, 1619. The ensuing tragicomedy focuses on the days leading up to the final chance for Black people to escape American carnage: an apparently humongous plane has been scheduled to transport Black Americans ‘back’ to Africa. The US government is providing the service free of charge.

The opening sketch, one of evening’s strongest, is set on November 4, 2008. The election of Barack Obama brings Pastor Freeman (De’Lon Grant) and his four over-the-top mourners (Dru Sky Berrian, Kiera Prusmack, Schanaya Barrows, and MaConnia Chesser) to the funeral of a “pillar of our community,” the “right to complain”. “After today, promises the cleric, “we will have no reason to ever walk around with the weight of our ancestors’ tears guiding our face down to the ground.”

Schanaya Barrows in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of Aint No Mo’. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

Another powerful sketch, ahead of its time when it was written, takes place a couple of years prior to the overturning of Roe v Wade. Damien (Grant) and his partner Trisha (Sky Berrian) are in a waiting room at a community center. Meanwhile, “millions” of others are standing outside for a chance to have an abortion. An announcer notes that they’re now serving patient number 73,543. A superficial news reporter (Chesser) cheerfully interviews Zamata (Prusmack) about the (upcoming?) medical event. Zamata’s been in line for 40 days. “This isn’t protest, this is fear,” Zamata responds. She equates American life to a competitive race between Black people and white people. “We’re at that point in the race where our opponent’s greatest hope is to either kill us or be us,” she concludes.

Later, the ensemble of supporting players is found in a TV studio set recording an episode of the popular TV show “Real Baby Mamas of the South Side”. The absurdity of the concept and the characters the performers play slowly disrupts showbiz normality. Of course, the ensuing anarchy is what passes for ‘great television.’

Weaving throughout the various sketches is Peaches (Grant Evan), a flight attendant who is trying to ensure that her family, along with the hundreds of others who are waiting, get on the plane – the last flight out. There are consequences for any Black person who doesn’t take this opportunity to fly the friendly skies.

A futuristic (or not so futuristic?) skit supplies a delightfully funny set-up. A wealthy and successful Black family is waiting for their dinner to be served, but their Black servants have all left to catch their flight. The patriarch Jonathan (Grant) orates that the whole idea of going ‘back’ to Africa is ridiculous. His father, whose regal portrait hangs on the wall, earned his fortune by “pulling himself up by the bootstraps.” He declares, “The whole plan is just insane. I mean, you all have no idea where your people come from because they were slaves, that’s just a reality.” When their daughter Katie (Barrows in a Harvard sweater) suggests that they should all get on the flight, her mother Susan (Prusmack) dismissively snaps, “Oh please, just go see The Lion King.”

The scene moves into nightmare viciousness when Black (Chesser) emerges from the basement where she’s been chained for years to announce, “I’m free, bitches!” Jonathan’s father chained Black in the basement 40 years ago and crammed dollar bills down her throat. He “prayed to God that I’d start to ooze some other color than what I am.”

From left: Kiera Prusmack and MaConnia Chesser in the SpeakEasy Stage Company production of Aint No Mo’. Photo: Nile Scott Studios

Not every grenade in Cooper’s grab bag goes off, but the sum of the show’s parts is powerful enough to compensate for the duds. Luckily, the excellent SpeakEasy Stage/Front Porch cast and director Dawn M. Simmons keep the action careening along: an hour and forty minutes (without an intermission) flies by.

Mac Young’s bold and colorful scenic design provides a constant reminder of the show’s central concept (of an impending final flight to Africa), as it seamlessly hops from location to location. Likewise, Padula-Shufelt’s costumes are terrific — and she deserves special kudos for the wigs — they’re fabulous. Jackson’s lighting, Dube’s sound, and West’s props aid and abet the stories by adroitly supporting the fast-paced action.

The most compelling moment of Aint No Mo’ comes near its end. The skit features Chesser as Blue, an inmate who spent 15 years behind bars. She’s being released from jail so that she can catch the ‘freedom’ plane. Much of the play’s narrative focuses on the (ironic) excitement promised by getting a new beginning in a new place. Blue recognizes that there’s also deep loss involved, the banishment of times and memories that can’t be recaptured.

One imaginative aspect of this surreal farce is the presence of a gold bag set by the gate entrance. That’s where departing passengers place their histories of America. The ‘magic’ bag contains all the progress, fight, and heartache of being Black in a country where the color of your skin matters more than the content of your character. Cooper’s drama makes you laugh and nod in recognition, but underneath there is a sense of foreboding. Given the current hunta’s desire to ditch Black history, chances are the gold bag is slated to be tossed into the trash.

David Greenham is an arts and culture consultant, adjunct lecturer on Drama at the University of Maine at Augusta, and is the former executive director of the Maine Arts Commission. He can be found at https://davidgreenham.com/