←Recommendations of An Igbo Folktale

Love the myth and the music! Great details like the fly attracted to the lightbulb analogy to Robert coming back to Mississippi.

J. Corey's play is a brilliant re-examination of the Robert Johnson legend told through the prism of African and African-American folklore. It's a play that asks, what do artists give up to follow our dreams, and is it worth it?

As a music and folklore nerd, I was blown away by Mr. Buckner's take on the tale of Robert Johnson at the crossroads, its synthesis of Igbo legend and spirituality with this modern American myth is so fascinating and well-rendered. It can be challenging (to me anyway) to write historical figures as fully-fledged dramatic characters, but this play pulls it off beautifully.

An incredible, theatrical, and richly layered telling of this modern mythology. The combination of music, fable, folklore, and dynamic and well-rendered characters kept me engaged throughout the entirety of this piece. The rhythms in Buckner's scenes capture wonderfully natural, human characters, and the use of heightened text, music, and supernatural figures combine with those more naturalistic elements to create an intriguing and coherent aesthetic whole. Robert's journey is compelling and so fully realized. I'd love to see, hear, and experience this staged.

Playwrights Foundation congratulates CROSS ROADS: AN IGBO FOLKTALE as a Finalist for BAPF 2020. This play rose to the top 35 out of 735 plays submitted, and was discussed at length by our Bay Area Literary Council for consideration in our season. We loved how this play uses the language of theater to illuminate challenging perspectives and compelling intersectional questions. This play ultimately moved & inspired us and spoke to the core mission of PF. We hope that once we’re allowed to return to our theaters again, it will be considered for production to reach new audiences.

Buckner has constructed a singular theatrical experience with Cross Roads. This play gets you all tangled up in its hoodoo magic and refuses to let you go. Well crafted characters, an edge-of-your-seat plot, and an emotional resonance that will leave you reeling for days after, this show provides marvelous opportunities for actors and designers. Any theater would be lucky to premiere this show!