The Fortress of Solitude is based on a book of the same name by Jonathan Lethem. It's about a young boy named Dylan Ebdus and his best friend Mingus Rude growing up in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The show chronicles their lives as they grow up through the music styles of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Fortress played at the Public Theatre and the Dallas Theatre Center.

Plot

(There's little to no plot synopsis online, so this is all based off of the book.)

Dylan opens the show by introducing his mother, who had a strong influence on his eclectic music taste but left when Dylan was young. Dylan's father, Abraham, basically ignores Dylan and sits alone painting film cells for a movie all day.

Meanwhile, Dylan meets Mingus, who to Dylan's surprise happens to be the son of Barrett Rude, Jr., a famous soul singer. Mingus also lives with his grandfather, Rev. Barrett Rude Sr., who disapproves of his sons drug-filled post-fame lifestyle.

One day, a homeless man named Arthur X. Doily gives Dylan a ring with the power to make him fly. He and Mingus team up to fight crime, albeit somewhat unsuccessfully.

Act one ends on Mingus's 18th birthday, where Barrett Sr. comes home to find Barrett Jr snorting cocaine. He threatens his son at gunpoint, and when Mingus tries to save his father, he ends up shooting his grandfather.

Act two begins with Dylan, who is now a writer of liner notes, giving the audience a short summary of Barrett Rude Jr.'s musical history. Dylan now lives in Berkeley with his girlfriend, Lisa, in an attempt to follow his mother out west. When he gets news that his old friend Mingus moving to a prison near his childhood home, Dylan returns to Brooklyn. He visits Mingus and hears about how he has been in and out of prison his entire life. Using the ring, Dylan tries and fails to break Mingus out.

This really is a well written show, and I wish more people talked about it.