Dorsey High musical looks at race

I went to a musical at Susan Miller Dorsey High School in South Los Angeles last night and left humming. And I generally hate musicals.

The song? "Expectations," an original piece composed for ""Phi'La," a new musical about a black student from Philadelphia who moves to L.A. and falls in love with a Latina classmate. Imagine "West Side Story" with a backbeat, Spanish-language raps and step-team choreography against a graffiti-scrawled backdrop.

Writer/director Jamal Speakes, a Philadelphia native and Dorsey drama teacher, said the show can be seen as a response to recent interracial violence in the city, such as the brawl at Alain Leroy Locke High School last week or the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Jamiel Shaw Jr. on March 2.

"The message we’re looking to send is that the students who are part of that community are willing to do whatever they can to make a change," Speakes said this morning. "We stereotyped our roles to show how silly this is. We really want people to see that if we don’t do anything about it, this madness will really hurt people."

As student Walter Catalan raps in Spanish during the show, playing Eastside gangbanger Eddie Perez, "Why hide the truth, it has to be confronted, it exists in a city that's out of control."

Performances are scheduled for tonight through Sunday, with a red carpet walk tonight at 6 p.m. for the musical's stars and special guests, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilman Herb J. Wesson Jr. and Los Angeles Unified School Board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday’s show will be at 7 p.m., Sunday's at 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, available at the door or by calling Speakes at Dorsey High School, 3537 Farmdale Ave., Los Angeles, (818) 482-1120.

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske

Comments

[Alisha Westby]

Hi my name is Alisha. I was part of the ensomble in this production and trust me when I tell u, this show has been such a touching story and I kno it has touched many lives. We have been scheduled to perform during the summer, if anyone is interested in seeing the show contact Mr. Jamal Speakes at (818) 482-1120.