‘Glitter in the Glass’: A nimble, nerdy, and very funny play that tries to answer some very tough questions

What is the opposite of a Confederate monument?

Theatre Exile’s regional production of R. Eric Thomas’ Glitter in the Glass seeks to answer this and other impossible questions.

Glitter in the Glass, then titled Nightbird, had its world premiere in 2023 at Austin Playhouse. It starts off by introducing us to Chelle (Jennifer Nikki Kidwell), an artist who has been commissioned to create a new work to replace a monument for the Confederate general Robert E. Lee in Baltimore.

Chelle, who has just moved back to town and has repurchased her childhood home, is experiencing a creative block and leans on her brother Willard (Danny Wilfred), who is planning an upcoming Juneteenth festival where Chelle’s new work will be unveiled. The spitfire dynamic is rounded out by Chelle’s new interior designer, Thalia (Kishia Nixon).

Through the course of the play, we watch Chelle’s artistic struggle infect Willard and Thalia’s processes, and the trio begins to interrogate how they reckon with the paradoxes of being a Black American. How does one learn to love a country that has only taught them to hate themselves?

One might think how this play moves thereon is predictable.

But unless they predicted an appearance of a 1960s Afropunk Harriet Tubman and a bit of Star Trek trivia, they would be wrong. Glitter is equal parts earnest debate, metaplay, nerdy fan fiction, and all-out sketch comedy.

Kidwell and Wilfred’s banter is so witty and rhythmic, it begins to give you a glimpse of how fast Thomas’ mind must move. Director Ontaria Kim Wilson has conducted a lively pace to the play that is only heightened by Nixon’s electrically-charged presence, as she swiftly chews through jokes and moments of wisdom with equal portions of levity and ferocity.

While the cast offered much visual intrigue on their own, Theatre Exile has attempted some ambitious stagecraft in the ways they bring Chelle and Willard’s childhood home to life.

Scenic designer Chris Haig employs black mesh to sit between wood planks to construct see-through walls of the home. While this effect, along with some strip lights fixed into the walls to serve for some funky scene transitions, is pretty to look at, it does not pull its weight in furthering the whimsical, otherworldly vibe of the text.

There is rarely a moment in the play that is not directly in conversation with one of the three characters’ current art projects and the ever-growing mess of art surrounding them. Perhaps, it’d have served the design team better to fill the home with more artwork.

Barring the humble stage dressing, Theatre Exile’s production of Glitter in the Glass is nimble, nerdy, and packs an emotional punch. Audiences will enter with their opinions already formed and will leave asking themselves entirely new questions.

(Community/Arts)

Some may think the tale of Black artists working through the paradoxes of existence may be a bit predictable. But unless they predict an appearance of a 1960s Afropunk Harriet Tubman and a bit of Star Trek trivia, they would be wrong. Glitter is equal parts earnest debate, metaplay, nerdy fan fiction, and all-out sketch comedy.

⌚️ Through June 22,📍 1340 S. 13th St., Phila. 🌐 theatreexile.org

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