Harvesting the creme de la crème of the burgeoning poetry slam circuit, producer Russell Simmons and director Stan Lathan have honed a new theatrical format that uses rap and performance art as its twin launching pads. The result is nothing like a musical. Moving unpredictably from silly self-absorption to revolutionary rage, from topical comedy to meditations on the poets' cultural roots, the Def Poetry Jam somewhat resembles Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls... But instead of a half dozen actresses alternately performing a single poet's writings, Def brings us nine poets performing their own. While the same high level of poetic sophistication isn't sustained, the diversity of the performers -- and their perspectives -- is breathtaking. Start with Beau Sia, of Chinese descent, raised in Oklahoma City. Move on to gay Jamaica national, Staceyann Chin. There's a Palestinian wench from Brooklyn, Suheir Hammad. A Latina from Chicago, Mayda Del Valle. An angry Afro dude from Philly, Black Ice, and a jolly Afro dude from LA, Poetri. So in a way Shange never could, this troupe can audaciously claim to "write America." They do it from the vantage point of outsiders -- youthful, creative, sometimes bemused and often angry. Alienated, yes, but also determined and upbeat. Except for Ice -- the most abrasive and off-putting of the poets. Denouncing his young brothers, he liberally sprays them with the N-word. Then from his Broadway pulpit, boasting a new contract with Def Jam Records in his bio, he hypocritically derides blacks whose aspirations rise no higher than a record deal. Poetri, on the other hand, is an irresistible delight in the mock lament inspired by his "Krispy Kreme" addiction. Del Valle delivers the most lyrically fervid of the rants, "Descendency." Steve Colman, cleverest of the slam troubadours, rhymes and puns resourcefully, the only Def Poet guilty of any detectable literary erudition. Audiences for Def are younger than typical Broadway crowds -- more diverse and communal. The Jam experience is a provocative, uplifting change of pace, perhaps a peek at how theater will evolve in the coming decades.
