THE ROYALE by Marco Ramirez.
Pauline Adamek – ArtsBeatLA
A ferocious cast giving their all in a powerful play—Marco Ramirez’ The Royale is a tremendously satisfying evening of theater, now playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Set in the world of boxing during the early 1900s, we meet a tough young fighter Jay “The Sport” Jackson (David St. Louis). He’s battled his way to the top of his game, having earned the title of black Heavyweight champion. But he feels he deserves the honor of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and to win that crown, he needs to face off against the reigning white heavyweight champion—an unheard of event in this racially divided era.
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Dany Margolies – ArtsInLA
Oh, how playwrights have tried to explain why we behave the way we do. Marco Ramirez takes his audience on that exploration in this world premiere. And even though a play about boxing might not sound universal enough, this one is tremendously satisfying in its intellectual and emotional study of the psychology of sports and racism.
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