by Jess Hoffman
The Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York is beginning its 2025-2026 season with I Just Stopped By to See the Man, a play about a supposedly dead blues musician and a young British rockstar. Set in the American South in the 1970s, the play is an excellent portrayal of a time and place in American history that can nevertheless speak to a modern audience. It touches on themes of art, politics, race, and addiction, but more than anything it tells the story of three very different people coming together at pivotal moments in their lives. The latter is by far the most compelling part of the show.
The show’s 3-person ensemble consists of Hayes M. Fields II, Kendra L. Neal, and Gabriel Klingler-Horn, who all give spectacular and nuanced performances. Klingler-Horn plays a good-intentioned but out-of-touch rockstar named Karl. Karl is looking for the long lost blues musician, Jesse, played by Hayes M. Fields II. Karl’s band has risen to fame and fortune playing covers of Jesse’s songs. Then again, Jesse has let the world assume he’s dead and adopted a quiet life in the Mississippi Delta, for reasons that are revealed throughout the show. The two musicians are joined by Jesse’s fiery daughter Della, played by Kendra L. Neal, whose political ties help remind us of the volatile world outside Jesse’s home. All three cast members give superbly layered performances.
I Just Stopped By to See the Man is presented in Capital Repertory Theater’s second floor Iselin Family Studio. The small stage lends itself to the play’s setting, which takes place entirely in Jesse’s modest home. The set is decorated like a cramped and humble house with furniture that is unmistakably ‘70s. The costumes are similarly of-an-era; I especially enjoyed Karl’s wardrobe, each ensemble more colorfully ostentatious than the last, that could only belong to a rockstar in the 1970s. The delightfully nostalgic aesthetic of this show is thanks primarily to Sheilah London-Miller, who designed the costumes, hair, make-up, and properties for this production.
I must say the first act of the play does drag. The first half of the I Just Stopped By to See the Man suffers from problematic pacing that may bore some theatergoers. Luckily, this production has an exceptional cast that makes the first act enjoyable even as it crawls along. Slow though it is, the first act ends with a show-stopping musical performance from Klingler-Horn (on guitar) and Fields (on vocals), promising more excitement to come in the second half of the show, and after intermission, the rest of the show does pick up its pace.
As I said, the play touches on larger themes like art, politics, race and addiction, but I wouldn’t call this a political play. Both Karl and Jesse are musicians, albeit from different eras, genres, and backgrounds. Karl is White, while Jesse and Della are Black, and Della is revealed to be on the run from her involvement with a radical group. Karl is from a more privileged background, but he, too. is “on the run,” in his case from drug addiction. All these things are present in the lives and motivations of the characters, but the play doesn’t try to dig too deeply into any of these issues. This works to the play’s credit, because, as I said, the play is a very effective snapshot of the lives of three very different people as their paths intersect. The result is poignant and real.
Despite its slow beginning, I highly recommend I Just Stopped By to See the Man for its stellar performances and its raw portrayal of very real human foibles in a very specific time, place, and culture. Sensitive audience-members should be warned that this portrayal extends to the language of the time, and that the cast casually throws around several slurs that were much less controversial in the 1970s. But for anyone who can handle an unflinchingly human story about two musicians and an activist, I Just Stopped By to See the Man will not disappoint!
Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York presents I Just Stopped By to See the Man, by Stephen Jeffreys, directed by Benita Zahn, runs from October 30-November 9, 2025, at theREP, 251 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207. Assistant directed by Don Paul Shannon and Mariah Sanford-White. Produced by Jean-Remy Monnay and Mariah Sanford-White. Cast: Hayes M. Fields II as Jesse, Kendra L. Neal as Della, Gabriel Klingler-Horn as Karl. Stage managed by Shay Allen. Set design by David Zwierankin. Costumes, hair, make-up, set decorations, and props by Sheilah London-Miller. Lighting design by M Pomazal-Flanders. Sound design by Chad Reid.
Performance dates are Thursday-Sunday, October 30 – November 9. Thursday and Friday curtains are at 7:30pm; Saturday and Sunday curtains are at 4pm. Tickets are $27.50; senior, military, and veteran tickets are $19.50; student tickets are $12. Runs approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. Contains course language and slurs. Tickets are available online at https://attherep.org/, by phone at 518-346-6204, or at the door for any performance. For more information, visit https://www.blacktheatretroupeupstateny.org/, email BTTUNY518@gmail.com, or call 518-833-2621.