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hop thA A  By  cover art

hop thA A

By: James Anthony Tyler
Narrated by: Ronald Emile,Jayme Lawson,Kareem Lucas,Portia
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Publisher's summary

New York, 2013. During his late-night commute on the A train, Harlem native Tyrone tries to impress Niesha, his coworker at a nightclub, who just wants to read her book and pass the ride in silence. But as they travel uptown, the two forge an unlikely connection that extends beyond the confines of the subway car. 

Directed by Stevie Walker Webb (Ain’t No Mo’, Public Theater; one in two, The New Group) and written by James Anthony Tyler (Artney Jackson, World Premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival), hop thA A is an Emerging Playwrights Commission about finding love in an unexpected place and humanity in a society designed to leave people behind.

hop thA A was directed by Stevie Walker-Webb with sound design by Justin Ellington.

Portions of this audiobook contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised.

Playwright James Anthony Tyler was awarded a commission through the Audible Emerging Playwrights Fund, an initiative dedicated to developing innovative original plays driven by language and voice. As an Audible commissioned playwright, he received funding and creative support to develop hop thA A.

©2020 James Anthony Tyler (P)2020 AO Media LLC

About the Creator

James Anthony Tyler is an award-winning playwright who holds an MFA in Film from Howard University, an MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University, and is a member of The Juilliard School’s Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program.
His honors include the Paul Robeson Award and a John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting from NYU. He is a proud member of Harlem’s Emerging Black Playwrights Group and a 2014-2015 Dramatists Guild Fellow. A perpetual student of the form, Tyler is mentored by Tanya Barfield and was a playwriting intern on Tracey Scott Wilson’s play Buzzer, which was presented at The Public Theatre, directed by Anne Kaufman. He was also awarded The Playwrights Center’s Many Voices Fellowship and accepted to the 2016 Ars Nova Play Group.

About the Performer

Ronald Emile is a Haitian-American actor born and raised in New York. His credits include Actually by Anna Zeigler (Theaterworks Hartford) and Feeding Beatrice by Kirsten Greenidge (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis). He received his MFA from NYU Tisch Graduate Acting.

About the Performer

Jayme Lawson was named one of Variety's 10 Actors to Watch for 2020. She was cast in Matt Reeves’ The Batman starring opposite Robert Pattinson, Colin Farrell, Paul Dano, and Zoe Kravitz. Her feature film debut Farewell Amor, from director Ekwa Msangi, premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at Sundance in 2020 and was released in December by IFC Films. Lawson was featured as one of LA Times’s and Variety’s breakouts of the festival, cited for her “inhabited, flawless performance.” She made her New York stage debut in The Public Theater’s 2019 revival of Ntozake Shange’s seminal play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf. She is also a 2019 graduate of the Juilliard School.

About the Performer

Kareem M. Lucas is a Brooklyn born and Harlem based actor/writer/producer/director whose work has been performed at The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Repertory Theater, The Greene Space, Aaron Davis Hall at City College, The Town Hall, The Fire This Time Festival, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, HERE Arts Center, Hi-ARTS, JACK, IRT Theater, The Brick Theater, Teatro Circulo, Judson Arts Wednesdays, AFO Theater, and The Slipper Room, among others. His solo show Black Is Beautiful, But It Ain’t Always Pretty premieres in the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s 2020-2021 season. He’s in a residence at the New Ohio Theatre that culminates with a world premiere production in Fall 2021. He’s an inaugural Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and a NYTW 2050 Playwriting Fellow while also a teaching artist with the Classical Theatre of Harlem and The 52nd Street Project. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting Program.

About the Performer

Stew (Walkerspace, World Premiere); The Rose Tattoo (Broadway/American Airlines Theatre); Rinse Repeat (Pershing Square Linney Theatre); Ruined (MTC/Geffen Playhouse); McReele (Roundabout Theatre Company); The Way West, Our Lady of 121st St., and In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (LAByrinth Theatre Company)
Regional: Sweat (Mark Taper Forum), Artney Jackson, The Rose Tattoo (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Fences (Longwharf & McCarter Theater), Our Town (Ford’s Theatre)
Film: Lapsis, All The Little Things We Kill, Skin, From Nowhere, The Greatest, The Messenger, Please Give
Television: The Enemy Within, She’s Gotta Have It, The Blacklist, Big Dogs

What listeners say about hop thA A

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Typical transference of burdens

As a woman, I’m so exhausted with these stories of men putting women in unfair and impossible positions.
He literally used his dead mother to get a woman to care about him. It’s unfair to the woman, and is juvenile at best.
He emotionally used this woman and she is left cleaning up the pieces. Why do so many stories include women that have to clean up men emotionally? We see this transfer of burdens, when he tells her of the mother. She is now burdened to respond in a socially acceptable manner.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Impeccable...

The writing pulls you into the train with the actors, immerses you into the New York spirit and forces you to journey with the characters literally and emotionally. A must listen. A must feel. A must learn.

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Really Painful as a Woman

This had a good story but the way it was written was really painful to listen to as a woman because it centered around unwanted attention from a male coworker. Even as their relationship advanced and they became friendly, he then asked her out and it was unfathomable to him why she would say no, we're just friends. And then after that, a depressing but slightly poignant ending. This painful set up I mentioned went on pretty solid until 40 minutes in. The story addressed some important cultural realities of black people living in NYC but I could not get over the conversational set up that dominated the piece.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing Dialogue and Connection between the Actors

I was pleasantly surprised how artfully this play was performed. I felt like a fly on the wall listening to these amazing actors. Very recommended short Audible play.

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5 people found this helpful

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Hop thA A

This story took me by surprise. It was a beautifully written tale. Poignant, harsh and poetic at times...... it truly touched my heart.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Relatable and nostalgic

I felt like I was the character and I used to ride the trains growing up in Brooklyn. It felt like a blanket comforting me as I listened to the story!

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4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Thought provoking

Very immersive performances, like I was sitting on the subway eavesdropping on their conversations. I was so caught up in getting to know them I almost forgot they were fictional characters. Very honest and real.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Hilarious/meaningful!

I enjoyed this from beginning to end! James Anthony Tyler did an amazing Job writing this and the performers did a great job bringing it to life. Would love to see it on the stage!

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Such a good start

I enjoyed the story until the end. It was abrupt and felt like it went against the way the story was unfolding. Kind of disappointed.

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Horrible communication issues!

I got too frustrated with the horrible communication patterns displayed here. Neither character was actually listening or responding with active listening at all. Terribly frustrating to listen to. Story was good, acting was great. I just couldn't tolerate the poor communication skills of the characters.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Ga
  • 11-04-22

Good performances, but nothing happens

A sweet little love story, but nothing actually happens at all. Waste of an hour really

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1 person found this helpful

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  • ecojanie
  • 09-04-23

Excellent short play

Enjoyed this. Good storyline. Believable characters. Well written good performances and insight into different lives

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 07-09-23

Worth a listen, Simple but interesting story.

An insight into the characters lives through direct dialogue. Strong performances and an unexpected ending.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • moira s.
  • 03-30-22

ok

not very impressed. the lady voice was annoying l couldn't listen to it anymore di

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