‘Jump’ play confronts grief and family drama with magical realism

When she read the script for the play “Jump,” actor Jazzma Pryor said the themes of grief and family drama spoke to her.“[They’re] topics that everybody can relate to, will go through, have seen,” Pryor said.“Us looking at grief in a really open way in a Black family in Chicago, I just feel is a really necessary conversation to have,” said AmBer Montgomery, who directs the production for the Shattered Globe Theatre Company. “I think there's something about grief in Black communities here, and just talking about it and looking at it and seeing the different colors of it and even in the different stages of life. To make people feel a little bit less alone in that experience in the city felt really exciting for me.”In this episode, Rundown podcast host Erin Allen talks with Pryor and Montgomery about how “Jump” brings forth everything that comes with grief: the shock, the family drama, the unexpected moments of laughter, and the continuation of everyday life.Performances of “Jump” are running through June 1 at Theater Wit in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.