The Black diaspora holds a unique position in our society, invisible yet hyper-visible: With our style, swag, and steeze often co-opted by the same individuals who would prefer we were seen and not heard, imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery. Even the powers that be have struggled to ca tegorize us. First, we weren’t even people, only three-fifths. Then, negro, colored, and now we’re Black or African American; and despite our differences, our Blackness is still seen as inherently a monolith.  The Colored Museum, a 1986 play by George C. Wolfe, is a satirical dramedy, a conglomerate of drama and comedy, that explores themes and identities that make up African American culture. True to this, the Silver Spring Stage production (directed by Nayanna Simone) opens with a call-and-response, a practice with deep roots in African musical traditions in which a speaker calls and the audience responds.  Ezinélia Baba, Brinden Banks, Tiera Wright, Mark Roberts, Yatta Lymas, and Syd Johnson in ‘The Colored Museum.’ Photo by Kelci Friend of Freckled Fox Photography. We see call-and-response play out beyond musical settings. Perhaps the most common variation now is “1,2,3, all eyes on me; 1,2, eyes on you,” which teachers often use to get their students’ attention. And despite a lack of instructions, the audience immediately followed along to the drumbeat (Spike Dickerson, music director). For a people that is often misinterpreted as a lost, stolen people, this response to the drumming felt natural, like it’s our blood, always present, like a steady hand guiding you as you take your first steps, even if it feels like we’re disconnected. Then we’re transported aboard a fictional “flight” and told to “fasten our shackles” by Woman 1 (Tiera Wright). While the shackles are metaphorical — a reference to the burden of constantly having to put on a performance or act, while we’re in a never-ending fight to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and out from underneath the man, a concept explored by Man 2 (Jay Hunt) — the shackles also serve as a nod to the history of the Black diaspora, as property enslaved and bounded by shackles and chains to a life of involuntary servitude. While The Colored Museum explores heavy themes from religious trauma, to Black death, assimilation, and even the weight of the family girl child, it balances the ominous, twisted history of Black life and “the pain of having to feel no pain at all” (Woman 1) by blending it seamlessly with sass, such as with the standout performance by Man 1 (Mark Roberts), clad in a flamboyant outfit (costume design by Kimmel Garner), and humor. Yatta Lymas (Woman 2) embodies the mammified Black woman archetype, bringing the maternal figurehead to life with theatrical dramatics. There’s also a humorous moment in which Woman 1 (Tiera Wright) and Woman 3 (Syd Johnson) tease Woman 4 (Ezinelia Baba) for wearing hair “made in Taiwan,” which comes off as a nod to the fact that a lot of goods and materials in the U.S. are made in China. And yet, the hilarity wore off when I remembered the rampant cultural appropriation of all things Black from our music to our hairstyles, and our sound.  TOP LEFT: Mark Roberts; TOP RIGHT: Tiera Wright, Ezinélia Baba, and Syd Johnson; ABOVE LEFT: Syd Johnson; ABOVE RIGHT: Brinden Banks, in ‘The Colored Museum.’ Photos by Kelci Friend of Freckled Fox Photography. The scenery is rather simple, a plain backdrop often illuminated with real, historical figures in the Black community from Malcolm X to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Supremes (set design and projections by Douglas Becker and Mia Martinez), allowing the characters to come to life as they tackle grief, family matters, and other facets of Black life through social commentary. This commentary, while satirical, is meant to shed light on the complexities of Black people, rejecting the ideology that, more often than not, wants to put us in a neat little box.  And in this same society that tends to prop itself up as a melting pot of cultures, a world that has moved beyond the ill will and misfortunes of the past, this commentary still holds true.  Because, after all, as said in the play, “the pain of having to feel no pain” is a double-edged sword, one that forces Black men, women, and children to navigate the world constantly performing and code-switching, for a world that tends to forget that just because we carry it so well, that doesn’t mean it isn’t heavy.  Running Time: 90 minutes, no intermission. The Colored Museum plays through July 19, 2026, at Silver Spring Stage, 10145 Colesville Road, Silver Spring, MD. Purchase tickets ($28; $25 for students and seniors) at the door, online, or by contacting the Box Office at [email protected] or 301-593-6036. The cast and creative credits are here.The Colored MuseumBy George C. WolfeDirected by Nayanna Simone ...read more read less