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About
Give and Go: Learning from Losing to the Harlem Globetrotters is a semi-autobiographical, multi-character, solo show by 6'6" writer/performer (and former professional power forward) Brandt Johnson. First a hit at FringeNYC 2007, Give and Go has been newly revised for this February production.
As the story begins, basketball is pure fun for Billy Tyler, whether he is playing with his beloved Nerf hoop or just shooting around on his backyard court. But when he tries out for his ninth-grade team (and just barely makes it), he is confronted with coach Krinko's severely disciplined approach to the game. Neither fun nor fatigue is tolerated; work and winning are paramount.
It's a bit of a shock for Billy, but before long he embraces coach Krinko's creed. And it serves him well. While his hard work through high school and college doesn't get him to the NBA, it does put him on Wall Street, where the mantras of work and winning continue.
But the lure of basketball never dies for Billy, and he finally flees investment banking in search of a spot on a professional team in Europe. He accepts an offer to play on a European tour against the Harlem Globetrotters (of course, he loses every game). On the tour he discovers that true success is not about winning; it's about loving the game you play.
Brandt worked as an investment banker, played on tour against the Harlem Globetrotters (losing every game), and played professional basketball in Europe. He now pulls these disparate experiences together in Give and Go. He has appeared in many New York stage productions, including Pitchfork Disney (Off-Broadway), Walt Disney's workshop of Hoopz (directed by Savion Glover and Kenny Leon), and the workshop of Joe Fearless (with Matthew Broderick and Rosie Perez).
The play is directed by Ron Stetson, whose work has been seen at LaMama, Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Atlantic Theatre Company, Playwrights Horizons, and the Kennedy Center. He is a member of both the Ensemble Studio Theatre and The Players, and teaches at the Neighborhood Playhouse.
The show features original music by Keith "Wild Child" Middleton, a performer with the Off-Broadway hit Stomp in New York and across the globe. Keith produces and performs with his rap group, Hydra, and composed for the Off-Broadway productions Spine and Joe Fearless.