Dobama Theatre’s ‘The Hot Wing King’ examines modern family dynamics

Truth...sometimes the truth can get complicated as in the case of Dobama Theatre’s production of Katori Hall’s “The Hot Wing King”. It is about family, but a new modern order of the term.

Cordell Crutchfield (Wesley Allen) is a master of hot wings. All of his friends tell him so therefore it must be the truth. While he has had success in other contests there is one crown that has eluded him for the past five years. That trophy is the top prize of “The Hot Wang Festival” in Memphis, Tennessee. Some years has seen him come so close that he could taste it only to be awarded a third place.

It has not been for lack of trying. Each year Cordell comes up with new ideas “guaranteed” to win only to go down in flames. Such delicacies as Wings Parmesan, Wings Blueberry, Wings Lemon Pepper Wet, Wings Lemon Pepper Dry, and Wings Suicide: HOT-hot and HOT! But this year is his greatest idea yet with his development of a spicy Cajun Alfredo with bourbon infused crumbled bacon.

He has assembled a team of lovers and friends he calls “The New Wing Order” to help him take the crown. There is his beau Dwane (Corin B. Self) who manages a Memphis hotel but today is in charge of soaking the wood chips and adding the measured spice to the slow cooking marinade. It is at Dwayne’s house that Cordell currently lives having lost everything in a divorce settlement. Cordell is also a father to two sons whom he has little contact with.

Big Charles (Syrmylin Cartwright) deftly separates the whole wings into the drumette, the wingette (aka “the flat”) and the wingtip (saved for later to make soup) while also grilling the flats on the stove for the contest. Isom (Charles Mayhew Miller) is in charge of stirring the all important pot of marinade in a clockwise manner, scraping the bottom after every five minutes of rotations. Big Charles and Isom are a one night stand trying to become an item.

As the quartet is feverishly working at their various tasks they are visited by TJ, short for T-J (Prophet Seay) who is looking for his son Everett, EJ, (Da’von Angelo) in order to pass on some cash. TJ is Dwayne’s brother who lost his wife Jelissa two years ago. All of the men in her life (TJ, EJ and Dwayne) blame themselves for her untimely death at the hands of the police after she suffered a “psychotic episode”.

TJ is a street hood totally out of place in the well appointed mid-town Memphis home. He has problems with Dwayne and Cordell’s gay lifestyle and is trying to shield his son from them. Everett on the other hand is a straight 16 year old basketball phenom who wants a life better than scrapping on the streets.

Soon after TJ leaves, Everett arrives looking to stay the night. Dwayne agrees without consulting Cordell which causes friction because of a past bit of thievery by Everett. The lad is soon put to work carefully adding spice to the marinade sauce pot and the practice sauce pan (12 small taps on the spice jar in the pot and five small taps on the pan after five minutes of stirring).

With everyone distracted Isom takes a taste of the marinade and finds it lacking in Cajun fierceness, not realizing that the chicken wing pieces will soak over night in the mild sauce. He goes over to the spice pantry and finds a container of Peli Peli that Cordell smuggled back from Uganda following a missionary trip. Cordell had been careful to only add a pinch of this fiery spice to the entire pot of marinade. Not knowing the potency, Isom dumps the entire contents into the pot.

The next day, Dwayne comes downstairs and although against the rules to “never get high on your own supply” samples the marinated and cooked wings. He suddenly finds his eyes, ears, nose and throat on fire as he goes into a Saint Vitus Dance groping for the universal cure-all...milk. Cordell realizes what has happened and sees that his dream of a crown are now dashed. TJ arrives looking to get the money back from his son so he can perpetuate a new con. Everett had left the house with Cordell combing the neighborhoods all night while Dwayne stayed home hoping for the youth’s return.

TJ is challenged by Isom to eat some of the fire wings with $1,000 on the line. TJ takes the bet but after only three wings is on the floor gasping and begging for milk with good reason. The Peli Peli wings are a quarter million Scoville units compared to 4,000 for an average jalapeno. Instead of tossing the entire batch a decision is made to still enter the contest challenging all judges, participants and citizens to try their dragon breath recipe.

First off I need to mention the stage set by Cameron Caley Michalak. It is wondrous as are the numerous props supplied by Vanessa Cook. A wooden garden shed on the left with a basketball hoop leads to a screen door entrance to the spacious and very modern kitchen with steps on the far right leading up to a small bed room. Everything is in fine detail. Josee Coyle’s lighting helps us focus our eyes on each important scene. The sound design by Nicholas Drashner is crisp with some sound effects thrown in for good measure. The production was smartly and compassionately directed by Sheffia Randall-Nickerson.

The show is an absolute delight. These are men who became friends before becoming lovers. There is a strong feeling of brotherhood and family as they watch each other’s backs. At any point they can break out into a Luther Vandross song while taking selfies of each other. There is a mocking jocularity of frat house humor that is interspersed with deep drama.

There is one small problem. This is a dialogue driven show that relies heavily on what could be defined as Black Beat Poet Slang. The rapid fire patter sometimes gets stuck in the actor’s mouths. It should also be noted that the show lasts two and a half hours long with a fifteen minute intermission.

Wesley Allen and Corin B. Self make a believable gay couple who studied under intimacy director Colin Anderson. Charles Mayhew Miller as Isom and Syrmylin Cartwright as Big Charles are the comic relief needed to keep the show fresh. Da’von Angelo as Everett plays the confused youth well and ends up the hero in the end. Prophet Seay is great as the street hardened TJ, especially during the wing eating segment.

While some may be offended with this “in your face” portrayal of new family values it is a window as to the changes being made in regards to the nuclear family. In the end, someone must bear responsibility for the children. The balance of high drama and comedy bordering on the ridiculous makes for a very entertaining evening of theater. If you are a person who would take a dare (especially concerning spicy chicken wings) then by all means buy a ticket and have fun. What he said.

The Dobama Theatre production of “The Hot Wing King” will be on stage at 2340 Lee Road in Cleveland Heights, Ohio through February 26, 2025. For more information and to purchase tickets go to http://www.dobama.org or call (216) 932-3396.