Redemption of a Dogg

When your friend calls and asks if she should get tickets to the Snoop Dogg musical, you say, “YES!” Then once she’s got the tickets all lined up, you ask, “so what exactly are we going to see?”

Turns out that producer/director/playwright Je’Caryous Johnson has created a musical about Snoop Dogg called, Redemption of a Dogg.  Snoop plays himself and Tamar Braxton plays the angel trying to get her wings by helping the D-O-double G set things right.

I would describe the plot as sort-of A Christmas Carol meets It’s a Wonderful Life. Except that it was set at Easter rather than Christmas.  I kind-of would have loved it if it had been set at Christmastime, it could become another holiday entertainment classic like The Nutcracker or Diehard.  But maybe, because we were seeing it just before Thanksgiving that was probably the holiday that I had on the brain.

The inciting action is that rather than going to church with his family, Snoop books a big show for Easter Sunday.  Which of course means that we got a mini concert.  It was so fun, everyone was on their feet.  Then, when Snoop is leaving the gig, he gets shot by some gang members who have had a beef with him for all these years.  As he lays there dying, an angel appears and offers him a chance of going back to change what brought him to that moment.  The best part of this scene to me was the way that Snoop, as he lay there dramatically suffering from a gunshot, was in a very Martha Graham-style posture.  I like the idea that Snoop may have studied Graham technique (he is very graceful).

So, Snoop thinks he knows what he needs to do, and they go back in time to set young Snoop straight.  From here the show gets funny for me in a Scooby Doo kind-of way.  First the designated moment in time will play out, then they (Snoop and the Angel) will arrive and LITERALLY rewind the scene so that Snoop can make the change.  I’m not kidding, the soundtrack plays that cassette tape rewind sound and all the actors move backwards through the scene to where it began.  It is fantastic.  But when they return to the present, it turns out that whatever the change was had unintended consequences.  Snoop’s reactions when this happens are just priceless.  So, they go back again and try something else!

In the end, the moral of the story (my interpretation) is that if you changed your past, you wouldn’t be the person you are today; all you can do is do your best from this moment forward to be the best you that you can be.  Also, to respect your loved ones and not take them for granted.

And then, everyone lives happily ever after!

2 Replies to “Redemption of a Dogg”

  1. Hahaha! Great writeup on the show! Totally made me laugh again to remember this (and I had to google Martha Graham, but from what I remember… you’re right! That talented Dogg…)

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