Lost Nation Theater presents Antoinette Nwadnu’s ‘Pass Over’ April 13-30

April 6, 2023  |  By Waterbury Roundabout 

DIJI as Kitch In "Pass Over" at Lost Nation Theater. Courtesy photo

Brandon Burditt as Moses in Pass Over. Courtesy photo

Legendary singer, songwriter and Civil Rights activist Nina Simone once said that “An artist’s duty…is to reflect the times.” 

Playwright and actor Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu puts that message at the heart of the play “Pass Over,” on stage in Montpelier as Lost Nation Theater’s 2023 season opening show, April 13-30. 

Called “blazingly theatrical and thrillingly tense” by the New York Times, “Pass Over” is a theatrical mashup of Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” the Bible’s book of Exodus, and Spike Lee’s iconic “Do The Right Thing” as it examines the cyclical ravages of racial injustice and violence on two young black men.

In “Pass Over,” the play’s characters Moses and Kitch talk smack, pass time, and hope that maybe today will be different. “As they dream of their promised land, they’re interrupted by an aggressive policeman and a stranger who disrupt their plans. Evoking heartbreak, hope, and joy, ‘Pass Over’ crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, illuminating the unquestionable human spirit of young men looking for a way out,” according to the play’s announcement.

Lost Nation Theater brings artists in from across the country together for this project. They are led by award-winning director Taneisha Duggan, an artist, activist, and educator, who has directed at Juilliard, Hartt, and is the former artistic producer of TheaterWorks. “One of the questions the play asks is ‘What Does It Really Mean to Be Free?’ I have to agree with Nina Simone: ‘No Fear, that’s freedom’,” Duggan said.  

Moses and Kitch are played by Brandon Burditt and DIJI, respectively, joining Lost Nation Theater for the first time. Burditt has his MFA in Acting and has performed across the country including Alliance Theatre, American Stage, and Illinois Shakespeare Festival. 

DIJI, an actor, writer and director from Washington, D.C., offered this observation on the production: “My love for storytelling drives my hunger to create work that heals and incites change. This piece personifies the fear and hope a Black man can bear trying to survive America. I am both excited and afraid to expose the burden of feeling trapped by white supremacy.”

Rounding out the cast in the dual role of Ossifer and Mister, Orlando Grant returns “home” to Lost Nation Theater and Vermont, after embarking on his professional career and earning he BFA in Acting at Fordham University. 

Founding Artistic Director Kim Bent, who handles the scenic design said: “The question I’m asking myself is, ‘How can an urban street corner most effectively evoke Anywhere USA? My hope is that we make our space recognizable to our audience, not one they see as some other place.”
Lost Nation veterans are involved as well: Costumes are by Cora Fauser; Samuel J. Biondolillo designs the lighting; William Pelton serves as stage manager and props designer. New Vermonter Marc Gwinn handles the sound.

The first show to reopen Broadway in 2021, “Pass Over” performances will run Thursdays through Sundays for three weekends in the wheelchair-accessible home Montpelier City Hall Arts Center which employs a state-of-the-art Synexis Air Purification System.

Special note: This play employs liberal use of profanities and the n-word as key to its linguistic landscape. Gunshots are also present. Masks are preferred and strongly recommended, but not required.

Performances are April 13-30 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets: $10-$35 depending on ticket type. Guaranteed reserved seating is available for an additional fee. Purchase online anytime; by phone (802-229-0492) Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; or in person at the Montpelier City Clerk’s Office, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Email any questions to: info@lostnationtheater.org.

“There are crucial moments of intentional joy, of choosing to be hopeful as a means of survival. The radical nature of that act, of that choice, is a form of resistance—of continuing to promote and honor your own humanity… Moses & Kitch’s promised land is in each other, in their friendship and love for one another, and the joy they find there.” - Antoinette Nwandu