Black Nerd
Dad’s Garage Theatre
through August 4, 2018

Dad’s Garage regular, Jon Carr, penned this scripted wildly eruptive saga about a guy trying to find himself in today’s world. The nerd is played by Avery Sharpe, who is an actor, improve artist and a writer, whose play will premier at Essential Theatre next month. He is NOT a geekish type of nerd, no does he relate to the rock band who come on as N.E.R.D. some years ago.

He has to play off against family members including a cousin and a grandmother, and the daily angst of how to fit in. Is he black enough to be in the hood? Does he get into all the everyday stuff going on; or is he more into weirder and maybe more intellectual stuff? He doesn’t know, but he is on a trip through life to find out. And while the clock is ticking, he controls what happens timewise.

The show really hits big time in Act II, when they go to Dragon Con and some of the attendees may not be posed as the characters one might expect.  It is hilarious. Andrene Ward-Hammond, Freddy Boyd, Cole Wadsworth, Mandy Butler, Jon Wierenga and Candy McLellan round out this hyper-active cast, all directed by Tiffany Porter.

Some of the themes being dealt with are the friendship of two men of different color, racial profiling, and parental guidance. The show runs about one hour 45 minutes with an intermission. Plenty of nice stuff at the concessions stand, including drinks of your choice if you are over 18.

Having said that, the show is more for Dad’s Garage regulars and those who may attend Dragon Con, come Labor Day Weekend; and probably not for kiddies or those who wouldn’t get the drift of the story or don’t understand what WTF may mean. Theatre is located at 569 Ezzard Street in the Old 4th Ward and has plenty of free parking. If you go on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, you can even hang in for their improve gig which starts about 10:30