Josephine, the off-Broadway biographical musical co-created by Tymisha Harris, Michael Marinaccio, and Tod Kimbro, looks back to the early twentieth century and recounts the life and career of the remarkable and talented, Josephine Baker. Harris performs in character throughout, as Josephine tells her own life story.Josephine Baker was born on the 3rd June 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri. She grew up in poverty, moved to France in 1926, and died on 12th April 1975, in Paris. She was what we refer to as a triple-threat, a dancer, singer, and actress, equally talented and skilled in each discipline. She had numerous husbands, and lovers of both sexes. She was a spy with the French Resistance during WWII, for which she was awarded the French Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) and the Légion d'Honneur with the Rosette de la Resistance (Legion of Honour with the French Resistance Medal), and she became a civil rights activist after a brief return to America in 1936 hoping to establish her career there and facing racism and discrimination. She adopted twelve children from all around the world, calling them her "rainbow tribe". She was given a state funeral.
Aside from being the co-creators, Tymisha Harris is also the costume designer and choreographer, Michael Marinaccio is the director and producer, and Tod Kimbro is the playwright and musical director. This is a most impressive production for the work of just three people. Her costumes are stunning, the soundtrack, both dialogue and music, is crystal clear, and the lighting is both elaborate and highly effective.
Like Josephine Baker, Harris is a serious triple-threat. Her every move, right down to her fingertips, captivates, her vocals are rich and varied, and her storytelling, as Josephine, enthralls. The music covers a wide swathe of Josephine's career. Cab Calloway's Heebie Jeebies sits alongside ballads, such as Blue Skies, and French chanson. Her rendition of Billie Holiday's Strange Fruit, recalling the racial prejudice that Josephine faced in America, is incredibly poignant, and the closing version of Bob Dylan's The Times, They are A'Changin' takes on a new and even more powerful mantle. Yes, the Danse Sauvage, Josephine's iconic dance routine in a skirt of artificial bananas, and little else, is also replicated.
Tymisha Harris is an outstanding performer and does full justice to Josephine Baker in this sensational production brought to the Fringe, thankfully, by Dynamite Lunchbox and Hartstone-Kitney Productions. Be sure to book quickly, as last night was sold out, and you won't want to miss this performance.
Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Tuesday 18th February 2020.