BWW Reviews: NCT's THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM 1963 Takes A Trip to the Civil Rights Era

With the thoughtful and sure-handed direction of Scot Copeland and the superb technical support of Nashville Children's Theatre's team of designers and artisans, the cast of The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 are given the ideal platform to bring Christopher Paul Curtis' book to life onstage. In an emotional, moving adaptation by Reginald Andre Jackson, the story of an African-American family's summer trip to the south from their northern home is heart-wrenchingly and vividly told, evoking a shameful period in our shared American history that is made all the more relevant by the remaining vestiges of racism we all experience today.

Although the events of the story are nearly 50 years old, they resonate deeply-particularly for us Southerners in whose memories they continue to reverberate-and they offer younger audiences a sepia-toned look back at the not-so-distant past that we still must strive to overcome. In short, The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 is a theatrical event that is not to be missed and which, again, spotlights NCT's extraordinary accomplishments and its gift for compelling storytelling.

With a stellar cast enacting the story-a lower middle class family struggles to maintain their dignity and sense of self amid the changing mid-century turmoil of the 1960s and makes the decision to bring their oldest son to spend the summer with his strict grandmother in hopes of instilling in him a respect for his elders, but perhaps most importantly, respect for himself-you'll find yourself deeply moved by the events, laughter mingling with your own heartfelt tears, as the milieu of the civil rights era is brought so effectively to the stage.

Colin Peterson's excellent multi-media design, which captures images both shocking and expected to frame the onstage action, and Daniel Brewer's evocative, pitch-perfect sound design, which provides an underscoring of songs from the period, give a firm foundation upon which Copeland's talented cadre of actors create their startling and frankly honest characterizations.

Brewer's music gives audiences the aural surrounding that places them right smack in the middle of the whites-only south, while Peterson's visuals provide the shocking backdrop for the family's supposedly light-hearted family journey (no matter how you try to divorce yourself from the onstage action, you cannot help but think that at least part of their deceptively harrowing journey takes them through the hills of Tennessee).

You will find yourself drawn into the story, savoring each moment filled with heartfelt warmth and appealing humor, but then you'll see the horrific images of police and their snarling dogs attacking peaceful demonstrators, firehoses turned against citizens asking for equal treatment and the climactic bombing of the Lord's house on His day that resulted in the deaths of four little girls in Birmingham. In an era filled with terror, perhaps it is that incident that helped spotlight the continuing atrocities across the south. It's the imagery and symbolism of that episode that strikes closest to the soul in The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963.

And now, in 2012, you cannot help but reflect upon the notion that while much has changed, so much prejudice and injustice remains in America, both north and south, and it is that knowledge that renders The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963 such an important and vital theatrical work.

Shawn Whitsell, quite possibly the busiest actor/director/playwright/producer/multi-hyphenate to be found in Nashville, leads the cast as the troubled and troubling Byron, the oldest teenaged son of the Watson family. Whitsell perfectly captures the tenor of the times in his performance, expressing barely contained rage as he struggles to define himself and to find his place in a changing world. Whitsell has never been more focused or more stunningly genuine onstage and it is his performance which sets the tone for the rest of The Players, each of them ideally cast in their challenging roles.

David Chattam and Aleta Myles are just as genuine and as believable as the elder Watsons, the parents struggling to create a better future for their three children. Chattam, with a resume filled with winning portrayals, fairly disappears into his character, proving himself even more adept as a character actor than you might imagine. With his leading man looks and carriage, he somehow cloaks himself in the persona of a hard-working family man. There's nothing Myles can do to cloak her striking beauty, but she is able to take on her working class mother's role with grace and ease, delivering her lines with confidence and conviction. That she later sings the haunting spiritual, "Trouble of the World," with such glorious skill is just the icing on the cake that is her performance.

As the younger Watson son Kenny, Jessica Kuende delivers a well-modulated performance that is on-target and convincingly played. Kuende captures Kenny's emergence from boyhood, his own personal struggles and admiration for his older brother resonating throughout her thoughtful performance. Nikkita Staggs is lovely as little sister Joetta, a blend of sugar and spice with a refreshing outspokenness that belies her sensitivity and love for her brothers and parents.

Jacqueline Springfield is family matriarch Grandma Sands, the much-feared grandmother in Birmingham, whose reputation, however ill-conceived it may be, precedes her. Springfield's performance of the older woman is impressive, her youthfulness used to full advantage to create the older woman's onstage persona.

Tony Morton is quietly effective as the principal of Kenny's school and gives a genuinely charming performance as Mr. Robert, Grandma Sands' "best friend." Patrick James completes the terrific ensemble as Byron's pal Buphead and with his performance as "Wool Pooh," the physical manifestation of the "whirlpool" that drags young boys to their watery grave and plunges the whole community into the horrors of the race-baiting hatred that pervades the Jim Crow South.

Patricia Taber's lovely costume designs clearly evoke the time period portrayed in The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963, and Scott Leathers' exquisite lighting design is ideally plotted for the onstage action, while Michael Sanders' scenic design provides the perfect backdrop for the events taking place in the play's time frame.

-The Watsons Go to Birmingham 1963. Adapted by Reginald Andre Jackson, from the novel by Christopher Paul Curtis. Directed by Scot Copeland. Presented by Nashville Children's Theatre, through February 12. For details, visit the company website at www.nashvillechildrenstheatre.org.; for reservations, call (615) 254-9103.

pictured: Jessica Kuenda and Nikkita Staggs

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