'American Son': The Broadway Play That Shook Me to My Core

Some shows make you laugh. Some make you cry. And then there are those rare, unforgettable few that shake you to your core, the kind that leave you sitting in your seat long after the curtain falls, processing everything you just witnessed.

For me, that show was American Son.

Starring Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale, American Son unfolds over one intense, emotionally charged night inside a Florida police station. Washington plays a mother desperate to find her missing teenage son. Pasquale plays her estranged husband. What begins as a search quickly unravels into something much deeper, a raw, uncomfortable, and necessary examination of race, privilege, parenting, and the systemic cracks that too often let young Black men fall through.

From the very first moment on stage, I felt everything. The weight. The fear. The desperation. The performances were nothing short of breathtaking. Kerry Washington was a force, delivering heartbreak and fury with such intensity that it was hard to look away. Steven Pasquale brought a layered complexity to a character torn between identity and intent. And Jeremy Jordan, in a role far from his usual charismatic charm, was brilliant as a naive young police officer trying to stay composed in a situation far beyond his understanding. His character’s nervous energy and uncomfortable ignorance added another heartbreaking layer to the already simmering tension on stage.

What struck me most was how real it all felt. The dialogue. The silences. The tension. It wasn’t just a play, it was a reflection of our world. A world where parents sit in police stations, waiting for answers they shouldn’t have to beg for. A world divided by experience, perspective, and sometimes, fear.

This is a very heavy show. It's a punch in the gut and a slap in the face. But in the best way. The kind of theater that should hurt. The kind that sticks with you.

I’m incredibly grateful that American Son was adapted into a film for Netflix, it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. But let me say this: there is nothing like seeing it live. Sitting in that audience, sharing that collective breath, witnessing those emotions in real time, it’s theater at its most powerful.

American Son isn’t just a play. It’s a conversation starter. A gut punch. A mirror. And it’s one I’ll never forget. isn’t just a play. It’s a conversation starter. A gut punch. A mirror. And it’s one I’ll never forget.