The Old Vat Theatre at Washington's Arena Stage is home through Mar. 22 to the The Hip Hop Nightmare of Jujube Brown, a production of the African Continuum Theatre Company written by and starring Psalmayene 24 (sic).
The play is about a bright African-American inner-city student who gets a scholarship to a private all-white boarding school where he feels isolated -- so much so that he drops out returns to his old neighborhood and takes up with a violent gang.
The tale is told as a series of monologues and poems spoken to the hip-hop music of Brent "Munch" Joseph.
Psalmayene 24 plays Jujube and his half-brother, Peanut, and actress Tony Blackman portrays Jujube's mother and a childhood friend named LaKesha.
Performances are Fri. at 8 PM, Sat. at 3 and 8 PM and Sun. at 2 and 7:30 PM at Arena Stage, Sixth and Maine SW. For tickets, call (703) 218-6500 or (202) 488-3300. -- By Rebecca Paller