Compellingly written, it isn’t surprising that the themes explored in Moonlight are present here, as Oscar-winner Tarell Alvin McCraney penned both.
Unusually for musicals, we have in-depth conversations about the meaning of spiritual music and legacy for enslaved and formerly-enslaved people. More standard musical theatre themes are also explored.
McCraney says in the programme: “I was bullied as a student and found a way through it, but what about the students who couldn’t?” It wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine his way through it was writing.
But, I am getting ahead of myself.
Nancy Medina directed Choir Boy at the Bristol Old Vic back in 2023 as her first show, and thanks to a very productive relationship, East London gets it next.
The setting: an exclusive private school in the US, where five Black students navigate growing up, sexuality, race, class division and choral music.
The main draw is both the writing and the a cappella work throughout. Femi Temowo’s musical direction and arrangements are ambitious and, on the whole, successful.
Starting dry, without an instrument and straight into five-part harmonies, is like a plane taking off without a runway - tough, but not impossible.
When it works, the boys meld musically - utterly transformative and transcendent, especially in classics such as “Trust and Obey”, “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize”, and a particularly touching moment of vulnerability in the showers, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child”.
Terique Jarrett has so much fun as the precocious yet persecuted lead, Pharus. Returning from the original production with a string of accolades under his belt, he manages both the sass of the character - breaking into Britney Spears, then snapping into religious rhetoric - but also the vulnerability: sitting on his bed, bruised and crying in a friend’s arms.
He moves beyond the stereotype of the bullied gay kid, weaving in elements of religion, ambition and desire. With a vocal range of Mariah and a trill like Whitney, it is Jarrett’s show from start to finish.
Freddie MacBruce is AJ, the best friend - a solid and heart-wrenching performance with some lovely musical moments.
Michael Ahomka-Lindsay (also of the original cast) showcases quite the pipes as the conflicted future pastor David, and Khalid Daley is the mirthful comic relief, JR.
Among the adults, Martin Turner - as the Robin Williams-esque, off-beat and inspirational teacher Mr Pendleton - is the most grounded. Daon Broni is the stern but inwardly empathetic Headmaster Marrow.
Max Johns’s school hall set is surprisingly flexible, with wheeled beds and a communal shower block unveiled by a curtain upstage.
The subject matter is vital, ranging across lines of race, class and sexuality.
However, Medina’s direction occasionally has the cast pushing too hard, an understandable desperation to land the lyrical prose that sometimes nudges reality out the door.
The blocking throughout could be sharpened, as characters routinely gaze off into the middle distance, sacrificing interpersonal interaction for good sightlines. A breakpoint is lost due to some messy proxemics, which is a missed opportunity for the second act to truly climax.
Choir Boy shines a light on institutional homophobia and harassment, extrapolating outwards to question what we expect from our young people.
Jarrett throughout quips, belts and bleeds with such emotional capacity, then slides back into the harmonies with ease.
Some minor tweaks could easily earn this piece a cheeky West End transfer and allow the cast to expand and soar. You saw it here first, East London - snatch those tickets now.
Choir Boy
Until 25 April 2026
Stratford East
Gerry Raffles Square
Stratford
E15 1BN
