Co-Founders: The Musical
Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts
Oakland
Closed
I admit a little trepidation when I added Co-Founders: The Musical to my itinerary. A quick glance at its description, “a live concert and pitch contest,” gave me flashbacks to a similar mashup – Snarktank, with its combination, stand-up comedy/entrepreneur/networking vibe. Despite some freelance turns in Silicon Valley and SF, I’m not a tech or a biz guy, and I hate reality TV, so such things hold a little appeal for me. But the event was at the Henry J Kaiser, which I love. Its coming to Oakland was initiated by Mayor Barbara Lee with support from Oakland’s own HiiiWav. I was interested.
The musical staged at the Kaiser Center was a truncated variation on the original play, with a new game-show/ prize element add with real-life contestants added to the fictional story. The pitch part of the musical came with a cash incentive, $30,000, to be divided among first, second, and third place winners. Lee said she was inspired to bring Co-Founders to Oakland after seeing a performance at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Lee tapped Kapoor Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, the Doris Duke Fund, and Google Startups as sponsors.
I was pleased to see the orchestra at capacity. Two o’clock ticked past, as did 2:15 and then 2:30. I’m not sure what the holdup was, but by 2:45 we were finally underway.
The basic story: set in West Oakland, a young coder Esata, is trying to make a go in Silicon Valley. She teams up with Dhameer, a fast-talking slickster. Esata tries to stay true to her roots while Dhameer is all about results. Esata somewhat reluctantly joins him in his venture/scam, bringing entrepreneurs and investors together in a game show setting.
It was a high-energy environment, which routinely broke the fourth wall. The set was reminiscent of a '70s game show, with a massive analog television at the back of the stage. Logos and clips were projected onto the TV screen, which was a scrim of sorts. Periodically it revealed live action movement and dance from performers inside.
Scenes were punctuated by musical numbers. A live band at stage left and a chorus at stage right provided musical accompaniment and interludes. The music and song were nothing short of phenomenal. The cast, coming as they were from A.C.T.’s run of Co-Founders, was well rehearsed and in fine voice. The music, contemporary R&B and hip-hop, suited the play and the audience well. There was even a 2Short reference.
The aspiring entrepreneurs, chosen from a day-long HiiiWav hackathon, were Jazz Hudson with Urban Oracle, a food wellness company, Sam Wilkinson and Kev Choice of Choice Scores, a music organization started up, and Chloe Hughes and Fatima Hussein of Finney, a service connecting college students to financial aid.
The panel was composed of Monica Pool Knox of Good Trouble Ventures, Nate Jones of Kapor Center Investments, Eric Ries and Sheel Mohnot. Each of the contestants had their allotted pitch time, followed by a one minute per panelist speed round of questions. As Esata (now, Vanna White-ed…er…blacked up in a glamorous gown) walked each contestant off to the wings, she would ask a funny aside: “I want to go to Harvard. But remotely. Y’all help me with that?”
Street tough and funny, Ryan Nicole Austin as Esata was perfect. Hearing her bust rhymes in an evening dress and gloves is one of the funniest, most unexpected juxtapositions I can remember. Equal parts, nervous as a long tailed cat and cooler than a polar bear's toenails, Jordan Covington‘s, Dhameer charms and annoys in equal parts. Tommy Soulati Shepherd rounded out the main cast as Daduatar, a kind of MC/coryphaeus character.
Co-Founders crackles with energy. It’s loud and fast-paced without being annoying. I would be curious to see the play in the original non-Shark Tank edition. More than that, I would love to see more plays at the HJK. But at $50 a ticket (a fair price), I don’t see them filling out the house in this economy.
