JBroadway said: "(Speaking as a white person with limited perspective)
I didn't get the sense at all that Harlem itself was the butt of any joke. In many ways, it struck me as a loving ode to the culture, diversity, and humanity of the people who lived there. Some of the characters and circumstances were ridiculous in nature, but that ridiculousness seemed to come from a human place: Falstaff is ridiculous because of his brash personality,whereas Madam Ford and Madam Page are ridiculous because they're so savvy, and so eager to have fun, and Mama Quickly is ridiculous because she has her fingers in too many pies, and gets caught up in intricate schemes, in which she has a large amount of agency. None of that seems to me to be at the expense of the community, its people as a whole, or their Blackness.
Were the accents and mannerisms stereotypical though? Possibly. I can see a case for it, but if so, I would defer to a lot of what macnyc said: it was executed by artists with African heritage, and I don't personally know very many African immigrants, so I can't really say if it was authentic enough. But like macnyc said, I would alsobe curious to hear other African perspectives on the production, because it's true that marginalized artists are still capable of inadvertently indulging in problematic tropes about their people."
You pretty much nailed it on the head. As a black person I thought they kept it very authentic. Also, the drummer did that whole call and response about different ethnicities and pronunciations. (That was fun!) And I think there was mention in the beginning of all the cultures within the community. Saw it tonight.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The two hours flies by. We actually got out before 10:00 even with the pre-show speech. That final park scene was just spectacularly gorgeous. I would gladly see it again. The Falstaff understudy was wonderful.
Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder