Theater: ‘Welcome to Arroyo’s’ at Rose Marine hits the perfect beat

The wild success of the Broadway musical Hamilton might have casual theatergoers thinking that the concept of hip-hop theater is new, but it most certainly is not. More than a decade before Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first hip-hop musical, In the Heights (2008 on Broadway), hip-hop theater — often rooted in the same elements as hip-hop culture (DJing, rapping, breakdancing, graffiti) — was growing on the fringes of the national theater scene. Like hip-hop culture itself, it has bolted from the underground and into everyday conversation, and is hugely influential on an art form that has continually reinvented itself for centuries.

When theater historians look back at the genre of hip-hop theater (there have already been books and scholarly essays), Kristoffer Diaz’s 2010 Welcome to Arroyo’s — currently onstage by Artes de la Rosa at the Rose Marine Theater, directed by Adam Adolfo — will be seen as a vital moment in the trajectory not just of hip-hop theater, but also of theater. It’s a terrific example of contemporary playwrights eschewing well-made conventions of American drama and Aristotelian guidelines, feeling fresh while still employing classical references.

It’s fun, too.

It uses the concept of a Greek Chorus, two DJs and six dancers set in the Lower East Side New York lounge of Arroyo’s. The place was built by owner Alejandro Arroyo (Kyle R. Trentham), whose family started out with a bodega, with the help of his sister Amalia “Molly” Arroyo (Emma Leigh Montes).

One of the subplots involves brainy student Lelly Santiago (Elizabeth Thresher), who’s on a quest to learn more about an early pioneer of hip-hop, Puerto Rican DJ Reina Rey, who has been forgotten among the names of Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa.

Rey might have a connection to Alejandro, and Lelly finds one herself. Another plot is the initially antagonistic relationship between graffiti artist Molly and cop Derek Jeter (Matthew Perry Smith) — the fact that he shares a name with the famous shortstop does not go unjoked.

Adolfo, a lover of big ideas, goes for the pure joy of telling overlapping stories with a hip-hop backdrop. The DJs, Trip “Trizzy” Goldstein (Jordan Justice) and Nel “Nelly” Cardenal (Magdiel Carmona), serve as a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action with the ability to do something we all wish we could: Rewind, replay and fast-forward it. Or, as DJs do, mix it.

It’s a simple story with surprising depth. As with great rap, the references range from the intellectual to pop culture; here that includes Kierkegaard, Edward Said, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, alongside Sugar Hill Gang, Mariah Carey and eBay. (The play is set in 2004.) It has much to say about embracing roots, telling your own story and enjoying the life you make for youself.

Along with scenic designer Bradley Gray, lighting designer Kyle Harris and sound designer Mark Howard, director Adolfo (who also handles costumes) creates a nightclub vibe in the Rose Marine, with the DJ booth on the floor in front of the proscenium stage. Choreographer Austin Ray Beck and the six b-boy dancers, known as The Crew (not in the script but cleverly added by Adolfo), add another dimension to the Greek Chorus idea, and serve not only to interlope and entertain, but also to fill in as set pieces, such as a wall. The music used (some of it suggested in the script) includes Blackstreet’s No Diggity, Janet Jackson’s Joni Mitchell-sampling Got ’Til It’s Gone, and LL Cool J’s Mama Said Knock You Out.

Acting performances are mostly solid, although accents could be more specific to New York’s Lower East Side. Smith is a bit too stiff, even as he’s supposed to play the unwavering authority figure who falls for Molly, the girl whose graffiti art is often in the art-or-crime debate.

Diaz specifies the role of officer Derek as black; here he’s white, but the idea of two people from different backgrounds falling in love still comes through. On opening night, the first act lulled a few too many times for a concept in which dancers and music should fill in the empty spaces.

Overall, it’s the most fun to be had at a North Texas theater right now. It’s a smart, structure-riffing play, and Adolfo and crew give a sexy, playful production. Welcome to Arroyo’s is best explained a paraphrase of its final line: “You can do your own research. … I’m here to party.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2016 at 3:13 PM with the headline "Theater: ‘Welcome to Arroyo’s’ at Rose Marine hits the perfect beat."