[NEohioPAL] Review of "The Devil's Music" at Cleveland Play House

[Bob Abelman]

'Devil' is given its due at the Cleveland Play House

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review will appear in the News-Herald on 3/1/13

 

Part of the Cleveland Play House's recent formula for success is the seasoning of its seasons with the occasional bio-musical - those concerts disguised as plays disguised as historical documentaries about famous singers.  They are a risky enterprise, but one that pays huge dividends if all the essential ingredients are in place and in play.  They are in the current production of the one-act "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith."

 

The biggest risk revolves around the singers at the center of these endeavors and the quality of their portrayals.  

 

While it is necessary to represent if not resemble these singers' looks, manners, and mannerisms on stage - particularly if their timelines overlap with those of the audience - capturing their defining vocal qualities and characteristics is paramount.  When it comes to singing, mere imitation reeks of imposture and impersonation comes across as cheap cabaret rather than legitimate theater.  Performers must tap the soul as well as the style of the singers in order for a bio-musical to fly.



Those who witnessed Mary Bridget Davies as Janis Joplin in last year's "One Night with Janis Joplin" can still feel the magic and magnetism when the performer vanished and the historical figure ascended.  Tina Fabrique's portrayal of Ella Fitzgerald in the 2007 production of "Ella" left less of a favorable impression.

 

In "The Devil's Music," Miche Braden is a marvelous Bessie Smith.  From entrance to exit, Braden is Bessie in big voice and sassy spirit, and seems wholeheartedly committed to both entertaining and educating the crowd regarding the blues, bathtub booze, and late-night lust.  Braden's singing seems to get more guttural, sexual and relaxed the more intoxicated Bessie becomes throughout the evening.  The first signs of this can be seen and heard in "Downhearted Blues" and hits full stride in the delightfully raunchy "St. Louis Blues."      

 

Bessie's life and times, particularly her hard-won success from the 1920s though the Great Depression, unravel in a running self-disclosure aimed directly at the audience.  It is interrupted only by 13 wonderful songs, her frequent swigs from a flask, and shuttering premonitions of her untimely demise.   

 

It is here, in the running self-disclosure, that another significant risk resides. 

 

Typically the music in a bio-musical speaks for itself in that the songs are a recognized and renowned commodity.  The life and times of the singer are often less familiar and, as was the case with the 2009 CPH production of "Mahalia: A Gospel Musical," less well written.  Without a solid and interesting narrative to hold together and justify the musical numbers, bio-musical productions suffer no matter how fascinating the singers or their portrayals.       

 

Angelo Parra's clever and fluid book makes the 80 minutes of "The Devil's Music" pass by effortlessly and the transitions from talk to song seem fairly seamless.  Bessie Smith's story is intriguing and so filled with abusive men, loving women and heartache that it makes for good storytelling.  

 

The script's one flaw is its frequent reference to Bessie's premonitions.  We are told in an opening voiceover that we are seeing the singer on her last night on earth.  This foreknowledge is a powerful thing, for it places the play in a foreboding context that makes our moments with Bessie all the more valuable.  Her momentary tailspin each time the word "death" comes up in conversation undermines that power and becomes a silly distraction. 

 

Also risky in bio-musicals is their historical placement and the difficulty inherent in transporting the audience to an actual place in a different time.  

 

In "The Devil's Music," it's 1937 and Bessie has arrived with her three-piece band at a private, late-night drinking establishment in Memphis.  Michael Schweikardt's luscious set-draped in rich red wallpaper, layered with red carpeting, and filled with comfortable period furnishings-is so realistic and inviting that it is tempting to saddle up to bar and settle in for the evening.  

 

Of course, the risks just mentioned are well calculated in "The Devil's Music" and significantly reduced considering that the set designer, the director Joe Brancato, Braden (who is also the music director and arranger), her bass player Jim Hankins, and her saxophonist Keith Loftis are all from the play's original 2011 New York production.  Only the pianist, George Caldwell, is new to this Cleveland re-staging.  

 

It is little wonder why the performers, the wonderful musical performances, and the entire production seem so lived in.  In fact, there is little actual risk being taken in "The Devil's Music" and none whatsoever in attending it.

 

"The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith" continues through March 10 in Cleveland Play House's Allen Theatre at PlayhouseSquare.  For tickets, which range from $15 to $69, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com.   


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