The television commercial for New York's new theme restaurant makes some big promises: a trip to Mississippi in the 1960's, fun for the whole family and a return to a "place where people knew their place." In the opening monologue of the provocative "Disposable Men," an African-American employee of the restaurant, which is called Supremacy, jovially describes how he dresses up as a slave and invites diners to throw food at him - and worse. "The place is run like a plantation," he says. "But you know, fun."
James Scruggs, who wrote and performs this collection of character pieces, has done something very difficult: he has written an angry play about racism that is also slyly funny. But be warned: the laughs will usually catch in your throat. This multimedia show engages issues of race in the button-pushing satirical style that Spike Lee was aiming for in his film "Bamboozled."
With the help of video on two large screens and several television sets, Mr. Scruggs compares the way African-American men are portrayed in the media to images of monsters in classic horror films like "Frankenstein" and "King Kong." But there is another analogy at work here, between the way that the horror genre invites its viewers to enjoy the pain of others and the way that Mr. Scruggs manipulates his audience, hinting at their complicity.
He often breaks the fourth wall, including, at one point, re-enacting the Amadou Diallo murder by handing out wooden guns with attached flashlights and asking members of the audience shoot at him. Sitting next to the seats is a video of Mr. Scruggs's face playing on a swiveling television set designed to look like the head of a robot. His image comments about what's on the other screens, which often feature Mr. Scruggs. In between, Mr. Scruggs, the live actor who - if you can follow this - is playing characters like Mr. Diallo or a victim of the Tuskegee syphilis experiments.