Celebrating the start of their fourth season under the artistic direction of Ari Roth, Mosaic Theatre gifts us with a standout DC premiere of Marie and Rosetta, the story of a unique collaboration between Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her younger protégée, Marie Knight.
Ayana Reed (Marie) and Roz White (Rosetta) in ‘Marie and Rosetta.’ Photo by Stan Barouh.
The drama and hilarity focus on a period when Rosetta’s meteoric Gospel career had gone off track. After years of pioneering a Gospel sound with a strong back beat, she fell from the church’s good graces, and that of her fans, for straying outside the strict lines of Black Gospel music. Her hope is that Marie, a younger, prettier singer, can revive her earlier successes and challenge her rival, Mahalia Jackson, another Gospel singer of enormous fame.
Director Sandra L. Holloway brings out the extraordinary relationship between the two women which later developed into an abiding love. And Set Designer, Andrew R. Cohen places the scene in Mississippi amidst satin-lined coffins in the reception area of a funeral home – an incongruous place where many African Americans were forced to sleep and eat in the racially-divided Jim Crow South where Rosetta was often compelled to perform in front of a plantation backdrop in black face. Yes, shockingly, Blacks were often made to wear blackface too.
Marie is a prudish, preacher-raised girl who won’t abide by no hip-shakin’ or blasphemy. Raised to sing with a church quartet she is reluctant to be a featured performer with the likes of a woman who performs in warehouses and barns and sings with her whole body and soul rattling the rafters. “When they clamped down on my hips, they’d be stopping my metronome,” Rosetta admits. It takes all of Rosetta’s sly manipulations to loosen up Marie’s parochial notions, but when she does the duo tear the house down. “God don’t want the devil to have all the music!” she exults.
From left: Ayana Reed (Marie), Ronnette F. Harrison (Piano), Roz White (Rosetta), and Barbara Roy Gaskins (Guitar) in ‘Marie and Rosetta.’ Photo by Stan Barouh.
Roz White, a hugely successful and mesmerizing actor with a formidable, soul-shaking voice, plays Rosetta. White has been featured in numerous MetroStage productions Cool Papa’s Party, Ella Fitzgerald – First Lady of Song, Blackberry Daze, Gee’s Bend (Helen Hayes Award), Josephine Tonight and more. And if you’ve been following these reviews we have raved about her fierce talent for years. We discovered the joys of Ayana Reed (Marie) in the aforementioned Blackberry Daze and Master Class, both at MetroStage, as well as in The Gospel at Colonus at WSC Avant Bard.
Legendary singer and guitarist, Barbara Roy Gaskins, fills in for Rosetta’s guitar playing as it moves from Gospel into Rock and Roll – a genre Tharpe is credited with creating and which was later copied by Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles. The multi award-winning Blues and Gospel artist, Ronnette F. Harrison, plays the piano – and shows it a thing or two about a hip-shakin’ back beat.
Roz White (Rosetta) and Ayana Reed (Marie) in ‘Marie and Rosetta.’ Photo by Stan Barouh.
Filled with the sounds of Blues, Gospel, Boogie-woogie and Swing, with a little funky chicken thrown in for good measure (Rosetta worked with Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway at the Cotton Club), playwright George Brant’s feel-good, musical journey is a panacea for the soul as well as the spirit with unforgettable performances by both White and Reed.
Highly recommended.
Musical Direction by e’Marcus Harper-Short, Lighting Design by Jonathan Alexander, and Costume Design by Michael A. Murray.
Through September 30th at The Atlas Center for the Performing Arts – 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002. For tickets and information call 202 399-7993 ext. 2 or visit www.MosaicTheater.org.
Weeks ago, I began to think about Natascia Diaz in the role of Fosca after I saw her perform one of the numbers from Passion at Signature’s Annual Open House. I wondered how this actress would inhabit a character not known to garner sympathy from female audiences. Having witnessed her in many different roles and seen how certain roles became her – others that would not allow her to shine as optimally as I know she can – I am thrilled to report that this is the role for both her superb acting as well as her beautifully controlled and emotionally riveting voice. It is a triumph for Diaz in a role she reportedly was not keen on taking.
Natascia Diaz (Fosca) and Claybourne Elder (Giorgio) Photo by Margot Schulman.
Stephen Sondheim’s Passion is certainly one of his finest efforts with a sing-through libretto more operetta than standard musical. Its story of a love triangle between Giorgio (Claybourne Elder in a peerless performance), Clara (Steffanie Leigh in a seemingly effortless portrayal) and the invalid Fosca. Set on a provincial military outpost near Milan, it is based on the 1869 novel Fosca by Ignio Ugo Tarchetti. In 1981 it was adapted into the film Passione d’Amore by Ettore Scola before opening on Broadway in 1994 with music & lyrics by Sondheim and book by James Lapine, the show’s original director.
Steffanie Leigh (Clara) and Claybourne Elder (Giorgio) Photo by Christopher Mueller
The opening scene between Giorgio and Clara affords us a scene of amorous coupling in Clara’s bed. There is nudity involved but it is sensuous and tasteful, and yes, passionate, as you would expect, as the rhapsodic lovers declare their undying adoration for each other. The story unfolds to reveal a complex and untenable power play between the three central characters.
Frail Fosca becomes the third wheel and supplicant to the handsome and dashing officer, Giorgio, who insists he is devoted to the beautiful (but married!) Clara. But Fosca is undaunted, “If you never have expectations, you never have disappointments,” Fosca insists as she calculatingly manipulates him with both threats to his career and callousness towards her frailties. This is where audiences audibly groan at her actions. Think Glenn Close’s character in the movie Fatal Attraction. But Giorgio challenges her affections, “Is this what you call love – your relentless pursuit?” On top of this corrosive behavior, he is further humiliated by his fellow officers who claim he is sucking up to Fosca’s cousin, Colonel Ricci, for a promotion. Imagine this as a modern-day romance. You want to stop the madness but cannot wait to see what unfolds.
Claybourne Elder (Giorgio) and Steffanie Leigh (Clara) Photo by Margot Schulman.
Visceral and uncompromising with compelling performances and flawless voices with music written around their exchange of letters. Highly recommended.
Skillfully directed by Matthew Gardiner with Music Direction by Jon Kalbfleisch with a 14-piece orchestra, Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, Scenic Design by Lee Savage, 19th century Costume Designs by Robert Perdziola, Lighting Design by Colin K. Bills and Sound Design by Ryan Hickey.
Claybourne Elder (Giorgio) and John Leslie Wolfe (Doctor Tambourri) Photo by Margot Schulman
With Will Gartshore as Colonel Ricci, Ian McEuen as Lieutenant Torasso, Bobby Smith as Major Rizzolli and Fosca’s Father, Lawrence Redmond as Lieutenant Barri, John Leslie Wolfe as Doctor Tambourri, Gregory Maheu as Sergeant Lombardi and Ludovic, Christopher Mueller as Private Augenti, Rayanne Gonzales as Fosca’s Mother and Katie Mariko Murray as Mistress.
Through September 23rd in the MAX at Signature Theatre (Shirlington Village), 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206. For tickets and information call 703 820-9771 or visit www.sigtheatre.org.
So many plays and musicals on the African American human condition during slavery in America have been written since The Color Purple made its thunderous debut 13 years ago. Based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, the heartbreakingly poignant musical returned to Broadway in 2016 earning it a Tony Award for “Best Revival of a Musical”. And in 2017, against some mighty stiff competition, it garnered a Grammy Award for “Best Musical Theater Album”. The musical’s arrival at Kennedy Center last week showed audiences that a story of women fighting for their survival against the tyranny of sexism and racism still has relevance. Though set in the Deep South in 1909, after more than 100 years of oppression, we are still fighting against these very -isms with the rise of the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements.
Carla R. Stewart (Shug Avery) and the North American tour cast of THE COLOR PURPLE. Photo by Matthew Murphy, 2017
Director and Set Designer John Doyle utilizes a simple wooden backdrop hung with chairs to depict the harshness of the characters’ personal landscapes. Using nothing more than those chairs and African woven baskets as props to tell the story of a young girl’s treacherous path to freedom and self-actualization, Doyle places these colorful and sympathetic characters into a tempestuous story featuring young Celie. Played exquisitely by Adrianna Hicks, Celie steals our hearts from the start with her love for her sister, Nettie, and the heartless abduction of her babies.
Gavin Gregory (Mister) and Adrianna Hicks (Celie) in the North American tour of THE COLOR PURPLE. Photo by Matthew Murphy, 2017.
The show’s memorable songs by Allee Willis, Stephen Bray and Brenda Russell are sung by an excellent ensemble who present this complex crystallization of life-on-the-edge-of-nothing with Blues, Gospel and tender ballads intricately woven into this tender tapestry. “I’m Here” Celie’s redemptive ballad and the notable red hot mama number “Push Da Button” sung by Shug, are guaranteed to thrill audiences.
The North American tour cast of THE COLOR PURPLE. Photo by Matthew Murphy, 2017.
Starring Adrianna Hicks as Celie, Carla R. Stewart as Shug Avery, Carrie Compere as Sofia, N’Jameh Camara as Nettie, Gavin Gregory as Mister, Jay Donnell as Harpo, Mekhai Lee as Grady and Erica Durham as Squeak. With Darnell Abraham as Adam, Gabrielle Reid as Olivia, Amar Atkins as Guard, Kyle E. Baird as Bobby/Buster, Angela Birchett, Brit West and Bianca Horn as Church Lady, C. E. Smith as Preacher/Ol’ Mister and J. D. Webster as Pa.
Book by Marsha Norman, Associate Director Matt DiCarlo, Musical Director/Conductor Darryl Archibald, Costume Designer Ann Hould-Ward, Lighting by Jane Cox and Sound Design by Dan Moses Schreier.Through August 26th in the Eisenhower Theater at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information for future shows call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
Frustrated with the current administration’s wackadoodle politics and its daily grind of mean-spirited tweets? Then let Dave be your panacea. This uplifting story is drawn from the 1993 eponymous movie written by Gary Ross and starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Remember that? Well, it’s now a musical written by Tony Award-winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal, If/Then, Bring it On: The Musical, Freaky Friday and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical) and book writer/lyricist Nell Benjamin (co-writer with her husband Laurence O’Keefe of Legally Blonde, Mean Girls, Life of the Party, Huzzah!). We need this. We really, really need this!
Drew Gehling (Dave Kovic/President Bill Mitchell) in Dave, running July 18-August 19, 2018 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Photo by Margot Schulman.
Director Tina Landau (SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical and many more) has achieved an astonishing assemblage of A-Plus experienced cast, crew and creators to produce a musical that soars in every category – choreography, sets, actors, musical numbers and lighting. Set Designer Dane Laffrey and Projection Designer Peter Nigrini have conceived a sensational, floor-to-the-rafters cyclorama embedded with LED projections that changes scenes at the proverbial drop of a hat. It’s not just cleverly conceived, it’s mind-blowing.
Set in Washington, DC, our hero, Dave Kovic (Drew Gehling) is a recently fired liberal-leaning, Abraham Lincoln-loving high school teacher who decides to take up posting YouTube videos of himself doing impressions of the current President, Bill Mitchell (also Gehling). When POTUS suffers a stroke whilst in flagrante delicto with his girlfriend, Randi (Rachel Flynn), Dave is summoned to act as his secret stand-in. He’s so convincing that FLOTUS, Ellen (Mamie Parris) and VP Nance (sounds like… oh, never mind… played by Jonathan Rayson), can’t tell it’s not Mitchell. The only ones in on the ruse are the Secret Service, his Director of Communications, Susan Lee (Bryonha Marie Parham), and his devious Chief of Staff, Bob Alexander (Douglas Sills).
(L-R) Drew Gehling (Dave Kovic/President Bill Mitchell), Bryonha Marie Parham (Susan Lee) and Douglas Sills (Bob Alexander) in Dave, running July 18-August 19, 2018 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Photo by Margot Schulman.
Up till the switcheroo, Lee and Alexander had been serving a President who was a self-consumed, self-aggrandizing idiot, demeaning to his wife while unceremoniously wrecking the country. Sound familiar? Meanwhile, Dave becomes more and more irreplaceable as his poll numbers continue to soar and the country (along with the audience!) cheers on his progressive agenda. While POTUS is still in a coma, Dave feels guilty continuing the subterfuge until the ghosts of former Presidents – Buchanan, Taft, Harding, Harrison, Johnson, Hayes and John Quincy Adams – appear to him in the Lincoln Bedroom to convince him otherwise in one of the show’s most hilarious scenes. Imagine the Secret Service as an armed-and-dangerous chorus line fronted by the President’s Chief of Staff. Now, you’ve got the picture.
It’s a feel good, validating, change-the-world, political comedy musical with a flawless cast that will have you cheering all the way home.
Highly recommended. A total hoot from beginning to end.
Drew Gehling (Dave Kovic/President Bill Mitchell) and the cast, in Dave, running July 18-August 19, 2018 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Photo by Margot Schulman.
With Jenny Ashman (Reporter, Ensemble), Jared Bradshaw (Reporter, Harding, Ensemble), Josh Breckenridge (Duane Bolden), Dana Costello (Reporter, Montana Jefferson, Ensemble), Trista Dollison (Reporter, Harrison, Ensemble), Sherri L. Edelen (Tour Guide, Mrs. Smit, Taft, Ensemble), Kevin R. Free (Murray Stein, Adams, Ensemble), Adam J. Levy (Mr. Wheeler, Ensemble), Erin Quill (Reporter, Hayes, Ensemble), Jonathan Rayson (Gary Nance, Johnson, Ensemble) and Vishal Vaidya (Paul, Ensemble)
Book by Thomas Meehan and Nell Benjamin, Set Design by Dane Laffrey, Choreography by Sam Pinkleton, Orchestrator Michael Starobin, Music Director Rob Berman, Costume Design by Toni-Leslie James, Lighting by Japhy Weideman, Sound Design by Walter Trarbach, Projection Design by Peter Nigrini.
In the Kreeger Theater through August 19, 2018 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St., SE, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information call 202 488-3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
When composers Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber brought their controversial musical sing-through to the Broadway stage in 1971, four-and-a-half decades ago, it wasn’t heralded by critics. In fact, the mixed reviews didn’t bode well for the young men who at the time had only one successful musical to their credit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. But after thousands of national and international productions, a film and a recent NBC TV staging starring John Legend, Sara Bareilles, Brandon Victor Dixon and Alice Cooper, this musical hasn’t missed a beat or an audience.
Rishabh Bajekal (Jesus of Nazareth) and Thea Simpson (Mary Magdalene) in Jesus Christ Superstar, now playing at the Little Theatre of Alexandria. Photo by Matt Liptak.
You know the story. A gentle, charismatic carpenter from Nazareth with a devoted following is betrayed, abandoned, tormented and ultimately crucified by King Herod’s army. His only faithful supporter remaining is a former prostitute, Mary Magdalene, played by Thea Simpson. Director Jim Howard interprets the setting as INRI Inc., a subsidiary of Genesis, Ltd., a corporate headquarters where cell phones, laptops and iPads are the preferred mode of communication for text updates on Jesus’s status, and where millennials celebrate with fist bumps and high fives.
Carlos Antonio Ramirez (Judas) – Photo by Matt Liptak
Notwithstanding some mic glitches in Act One on opening night (“blessedly” corrected by Act Two), we could easily hear the powerful and chilling voice of Rishabh Bajekal as Jesus of Nazareth. Bajekal, had at first been cast as Judas when Howard asked him if he would like to play Jesus. That left Howard to find his Judas, which he did when he discovered Carlos Antonio Ramirez, a local radio traffic reporter and sometime local band member who has an emotional, raspy, rock-and-roll voice that reaches far beyond the theater’s front door. His star turn commences in the second number with “Heaven on Their Minds”, and from that moment on every time he solos, he rattles the theater’s foundations. Sweet Jesus, this boy can rock out!
Thea Simpson (Mary Magdalene), Cody Boehm (Simon Zealotes), Theo Touitou (Ensemble), Rishabh Bajekal (Jesus of Nazareth), Tyrone Brown Jr. (Ensemble), Michael Gale (Peter), Hilary Adams (Ensemble), Tracey Lucas (Ensemble) – Photo by Matt Liptak
Another pitch perfect belter is Cody Boehm who plays Simon Zealotes. In the eponymous song from the middle of Act One, she sets a thunder-and-lightning tone that only Bajekal and Ramirez, and the fathoms-deep bass voice of Ryaan Farhadi as the evil Caiaphas can meet. And Andy Izquierdo, coming off his success as Elwood P. Dowd in LTA’s recent production of Harvey, stuns in his role as the campy/snarky King Herod with a hilarious second act surprise in the number, “King Herod’s Song”.
Cody Boehm (Simon Zealotes) in the center with the ensemble in Jesus Christ Superstar, now performing at the Little Theatre of Alexandria. Photo by Matt Liptak.
The excellent 24-member cast is choreographed by Michael Page, veteran of five previous productions at LTA of which this one has the most dance numbers. How, you may ask, can so many performers dance and sing on a relatively small community theater stage? Very well! Music Director Christopher A. Tomasino, a six-time WATCH Award winner, all for six LTA musicals, conducts this jammin’ 21-piece band (including ten horns!). Kudos to guitar soloists Ben Young and Danny Santiago who are outstanding.
Highly recommended, even if you’ve seen it a dozen times or more.
Additional cast members – Michael Gale as Peter, Amy Lapthorne as Annas, Emmy Kampe as Priest, Hans Dettmar as Pontius Pilate and a fifteen-member ensemble. Lighting by Ken and Patti Crowley, Assistant Choreographer Liz Colandene and Set Design by Matt Liptak.
Through August 11th at The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe Street. For tickets and information call the box office at 703 683-0496 or visit www.thelittletheatre.com.
I’m not taking sides on this hot button generational debate. But I am splitting my sides over The Second City’s latest gift to comedy at the Kennedy Center. Breaking News: “Shear Madness” is on hiatus until late August after a 60 million-year run. Ever since the Kennedy Center expanded its comedy offerings, big things have been happening on its storied stages and Second City is one of the most reliable comedy troupes the theater has ever produced.
(l-r) Frank Caeti, Asia Martin, Cody Dove, Holly Walker ~ Teresa Castracane Photography
Generation Gap…, a new series of hipster skits by a six-member cast, will agelessly rock your funny bone with its trendoid lingo and physical comedy shenanigans. But woe betide to the boomer who isn’t up to speed on pop culture (Beyoncé, emojis, Tinder, G-Chat, Snapchat and sexting, to mention just a few), though it appeared this all-ages audience caught on quickly. They certainly caught the spirit of it. The Generation X kids were in hysterics.
The show is geared to poke fun at the divide between the older generation and today’s youth culture – getting awards for showing up, video dance games vs actual couple dancing (Egads! Touching while dancing!), fear of newspapers and preoccupation with selfies are just a few of the topics ripe for spoofing. Here SCOTUS is replaced by Alexa and Twitter is described as a modern-day walkie-talkie.
There are audience participation skits, something Second City is well known for. In one, a young woman is invited on stage and challenged to write in cursive and, much to nearly everyone’s surprise, she actually nails it. Kind of makes you want to go back every night just to see how that goes. Another game brings up a semi-senior audience member to see if he understands emojis. He doesn’t, and it’s hilarious to see what he thinks some of them are meant to represent. Another reason to see it again. It’s “on fleek”, as they say, meaning super cool or looking great. Okay, that one I had to look up.
Show stoppers: A wildly accurate impression of one of those ridiculous wiggly balloon men at car dealerships. Another scene where a mother tries to get her daughter to listen to her pleas, but is ignored by her serial texting child.
Top Row LR Frank Caeti, Asia Martin, Maureen Boughey Bottom Row L_R Holly Walker, Evan Mills, Cody Dove photos taken by Teresa Castracane Photography
It’s a funny, frenetic, comedy that touches on issues every generation grapples with. But, notwithstanding our differences, there is one thing we can all agree on, nobody wants to hear about their parents’ sex life, especially if they enjoy it! TMI!!!
Created by Asia Martin, directed by Anthony LeBlanc, written by Carisa Barreca, Asia Martin, Jay Steigmann, Jamison Webb, and the Casts of Second City.
Starring Maureen Boughey, Frank Caeti, Cody Dove, Asia Martin, Evan Mills and Holly Walker.
A fun night out. Bring the teens. Anybody’s teens.
The Kennedy Center’s upcoming District of Comedy Festival begins July 19th and runs through the 25th. Check the website for listings and stay tuned for the upcoming featured solo acts by Jeff Foxworthy, Miranda Eisenberg, Colin Quinn, Lily Tomlin, Maz Jobrani, Brian Regan and more.
Through August 12th in the Theatre Lab at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC. For tickets and information for future shows call 202 467-4600 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
