Review Fix Exclusive: Robert F. Bradford Talks ‘Sons of Johnny Johnson’

Review Fix chats with playwright Robert F. Bradford who discusses his production at the Midtown International Theatre Festival, “Sons of Johnny Johnson.” Breaking down the inspiration for the performance, as well as his goals for the future, Bradford lets us know exactly why we should check out the production.

For more information on the production and the MITF, click here.

Performance Dates: Sun 7/19, 4:30pm; Mon 7/20, 8:30pm; Sat 7/25, 4:30pm; Tues 7/28, 6:30pm; Sat 8/1, 8:00pm

Review Fix: What was the inspiration for this production?

Robert F. Bradford: Seeing August Wilson’s Fences, then the other plays in his canon, made me wonder how he would extend his work into the 21st century, and how the travails of one family might reflect the contemporary African-American experience.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Bradford: I am most fascinated by characters. Once I have a bit of a plot — the hard part — the characters in my head start yakking at each other, and it’s almost like taking dictation. It usually comes in asynchronous fragments, but eventually, the pieces start to fit together.

Review Fix: What makes you different from other playwrights?

Bradford: I was in my fifties before I started writing for the stage, but my journalism background (much of it before portable tape recorders) gave me a handle on capturing the speech patterns of realistic dialogue, and my experience as a singer/songwriter in dozens of bar bands taught me to be succinct. Working full-time for many years with disabled students at College of Marin gave me some insights into the human condition. So has the day job — actually a night job — of my later years, teaching a class at Dominican University of California wherein returning adult students get credit for writing about their life experiences. I’ve red-inked a lot of soul-baring. “Psychology of Personal Trauma and Crisis” is a popular topic — everybody’s got at least one.

Review Fix: What makes this production special?

Bradford: Ask me again after opening night! It was my play when I wrote it, and it will be mine again after this production closes, but for now, it belongs to the director and the actors — they’re the ones doing all the work. I’ve given them some notes on the characters, and I’ll cheerfully speculate on any questions they may have, but the beauty of this collaborative process is to see what they bring to the characters they are inhabiting. I learn from them.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process?

Bradford: I’ve been learning more about the nuts and bolts of theatre production than I have about myself, but I certainly hope for some post-production insights that will make me a wiser person and a better playwright.

Review Fix: How does it feel to be a part of this festival?

Bradford: I’m getting an education.

Review Fix: What are your goals for this production?

Bradford: We hope that the Midtown International Theatre Festival will introduce Sons of Johnny Johnson to theatre companies in New York and the world, and that this will be just the first of many productions.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most

Bradford: Although it’s set in an African-American community, the family dynamic themes in Sons of Johnny Johnson are universal. Father-son rebellion, sibling rivalry, unacknowledged relationships, sacrifice, redemption, the long-suffering mother with a secret, — everyone who cares about people can love this play.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Bradford: M’Sai Productions, with my creative partner Omar M’Sai (who also plays Johnny Johnson), plans a film version of this play. We also have a lot of scripts that we’d like to bring to the stage and the screen. Theatre is the best — nothing equals the live experience — but it would be a challenge to bring our work to the whole world.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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