Live & Local: The Hot Wing King actors visit KUVO – “Chaos in the Kitchen”

Excerpts from the Interview

About the Play

ABI: So, we want to talk about this play. The Hot Wing King. I've worked in a lot of kitchens myself, and the kitchen is a lot like life, you know? You balance following the recipe, following the advice, with following your own intuition. And when life happens, you just have to pivot, bring us into the story with The Hot Wing King, cause a lot of that's going on in that kitchen. Chaos.

CURTIS: You're absolutely right. You know, you plan for one thing, and then life just sort of unfolds the way it unfolds. And a similar thing happens in this play. We're preparing for, you know, this competition that we're going to, you know, finally win this year.

And then circumstances change, and you know, a family member needs help. And then what happens when that person walks into the room unexpectedly and all the plans blow up and everything becomes really complicated? But that is the flip side of that is the cooking and the preparation and the —

TERENCE: And the comedy that’s infused.

CURTIS: The comedy. Oh, my goodness.

STEVE: Cordell, you're just trying to make some wings. Your ambition is to win this thing.

TERENCE: Of course. It’s to win this thing, but it’s also to enjoy the company of my friends and my loved ones, and to really have these moments of confrontation that lead to peace of mind, you know. And that’s happening through all these characters in and out throughout the show. We’re constantly confronting each other and revealing ourselves and being vulnerable and invasive at the same.

ABI: Much like a cast and a kitchen staff. 

CURTIS: Exactly.

STEVE: I'm wondering if the similarities are more prevalent than we thought. It’s, uh, lots of opinions in the kitchen. 

CURTIS: Lots of opinions. Lots of people are wrong. 

STEVE: Which recipe is it here? Is it Cordell’s or Dwayne’s?

CURTIS: Exactly.

TERENCE: It’s a debate, yeah.

STEVE: Okay, there is another family twist because fatherhood is a part of the story as well.

TERENCE: Of course. Fatherhood, responsibility. What does it really mean to be a man? You know, to be a man who respects himself and is respected by others.

CURTIS: That’s actually one of my favorite plot points in this play: watching these men figure out how to love each other and hold onto each other. You know, The Hot Wing King is a comedy, but I always tell people it’s also a family drama. Situated in the center of that, it’s just this unconventional family trying to figure out the best way forward for themselves, and it’s really compelling, really beautiful.

ABI: Sounds real, you know?

CURTIS: She earned the Pulitzer Prize with this play. For sure. Its structure is really remarkable. And one minute you're, you know, situated in the kitchen, laughing. It’s hysterical. And then the next moment —

TERENCE: The next moment, you’re highly uncomfortable.

Certain Show Days Have a Post-Show Talk Back

STEVE: I was telling Abi, usually you leave the play or the film, and then you go out to eat or drink, and you talk about if it told the compelling stories. That was the conversation. So, to be able to ask the actors, “What was happening? What about this? Why did they do that?” So, good luck on that part. Coming up May 13, 20, and 22.

TERENCE: Absolutely. And we look forward to all those questions, and we look forward to all the interest in seeing this wonderful show.

CURTIS: Yeah, I love talk back.

STEVE: Really?

CURTIS: I do, I love it. Because what you just said is exactly what happens. The audience leaves, and they go and they talk about it. They have some drinks, they unpack it. But in those moments, we get to unpack it with them a little bit. And I love it because that's the real — that’s often the only time we hear that feedback, you know, and I really love it.

TERENCE: It’s a great continuation of the performance because you're still relating to them in the way where they can say, “Wow, I am you, too. I can relate in the same way that I could relate to you when you were on stage. We can relate off stage, too.” It's a continuation and overflow of that conversation. 

ABI: How special is that? Cause you're sitting with that with that play, you're embodying it. You're bringing your own personal experience. But then to extend that hand and bring people in…

CURTIS: I think the beautiful gift about theater, man, and music as well is that we’re all telling human stories. And you can see yourself in every part of this play. Everybody can see themselves in every part of this play. It’s really beautiful.