A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Last Night at Mikell’s’

There is a special kind of joy to be had when I learn about a theatre company for the first time mixed with a certain kind of strange embarrassment when that said theatre company has been around for over thirty years. This is the case with The Robey Theatre Company, which was organized in 1994 and co-founded by Ben Guillory and Danny Glover.

With their latest production of Last Night at Mikell’s written by Larry Muhammad, this exhilarating play is powered by a supreme ensemble cast, an intimate and crackling script, and the undeniable presence of history and soul that courses through it.

James Baldwin is writing himself into bad health. After two heart attacks, the author returns to New York City for some rest, relaxation and much-needed TLC. First on his itinerary is the iconic jazz club Mikell’s, a favorite hangout, where his brother David tends bar. But things have changed. Mikell’s is closing, and his entourage this night consists of just Maya Angelou and Miles Davis. What’s intended as a celebration turns into an Irish wake for the not-yet deceased, instigated by Miles as James impulsively, on the spot, starts writing an elegy to his beloved old joint. It’s time to par-taayy!!

The set design by Grant Gerrard is a character all onto itself as we are immediately taken in by the world of Mikell’s, a real life jazz club which existed from 1969 to 1991 that attracted many of New York’s most prominent musicians and artists. From there, we are shown the many excellent Black artists throughout history displayed throughout the stage walls (which could have been condensed as the intro took a considerable amount of time with the Mikell’s theme song created by Cydney Wayne Davis that was played in its entirety). Once the introduction was finished, the play establishes its four core characters of David Baldwin (James T. Lawson II), Maya Angelou (Raquel Rosser), Miles Davis (Nick Gillie), and James Baldwin (Julio Hanson) in a what-if scenario where these four met together during the last night of the Mikell’s bar before it closed for good.

The ensemble cast is the pinnacle driving force of what makes this play sing but the standout is Julio Hanson as James Baldwin who commands the entire show with such a spectacular performance homage to the writer who was often considered ahead of his time, a forward thinker who managed to cut through the noise and provide an honest frame work to question politics and power when it came to race, identity, and social justice. But for most, Baldwin would have been considered an infuriating eccentric and Hanson utterly nails the chaos of this historical figure while still imbuing the character with such compelling humanity.

James T. Lawson II is the steadfast heart of this play as David Baldwin, Nick Gillie is phenomenally wild as Miles Davis who provides so much of the play’s humor, and Raquel Rosser injects so much soul and compassion into Maya Angelou, particularly her rousing rendition of I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings that is worthy of a price admission on its own (even if the manner of when it was delivered seemed a bit on the nose). With four distinctly different and vivid characters, playwright Muhammad is able to make their dialogue with each other crackle with such dynamic ferocity that it does cover up the fact that not much happens dramatically in the play other than old friends hanging out.

While things take a significant turn when they all learn of James Baldwin’s terminal stomach cancer, the strength of this play is driven from the passion the actors have for their characters and director Ben Guillory‘s eye in making sure to always finding the intimate humanity for such a dialogue-heavy driven piece. By the end of it, I found myself invested in all these characters and particularly wanting to know more about them than what I already do, now that Maya Angelou’s autobiography has been banned by the Trump administration and that James Baldwin was one of the very first prolific Black American voices to criticize Israel and adopt an anti-Zionist stance.

Last Night at Mikell’s is a terrific play that exemplifies Black Excellence not only with their historical characters but with the actors that inhabit them. Along with a Black theatre company that I eagerly look forward to seeing more of their works in the future, I am reminded of how rich and talented the Los Angeles theatre scene is and in a time like this, we need such expressions like these to keep pushing the narrative forward that this country of ours is only great because of the people of global majority that weave its fabrics.

Last Night at Mikell’s is being presented by The Robey Theatre Company through May 11 on Thurs., Fri. and Sat. at 8 p.m., and Sun. at 3 p.m. at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring Street, Los Angeles 90013. For info and tickets, call (213) 489-0994 or go to the company website.