BWW Reviews: Nashville Children's Theatre's BUD, NOT BUDDY

Director Scot Copeland has once again ushered a winning and winsome tale onto the stage of Nashville Children's Theatre with the production of Bud, Not Buddy, the Reginald Andre Jackson adaptation of the Newberry Medal and Coretta Scott King Award-winning book by Christopher Paul Curtis. It's a sweetly sentimental and poignant tale of a young boy on a trek across Michigan to find the man he supposes to be his father.

Clearly, Bud, Not Buddy is a promising opening to NCT's 2010-11 season and it sets the bar high for what is to follow in the coming year. It is a superbly acted production, featuring a number of Nashville actors making notable NCT debuts, and it is augmented by the tremendous design capabilities of NCT's imaginative artisans.

As young Bud takes his journey - which is as life-changing and challenging as any ever brought to life onstage before - he learns so much about himself, allowing the audience to become more acutely aware of their own selves and the world around them. Yet, while the story is sentimental, it is by no means maudlin or mawkish; rather, Bud's story is told evocatively and in a very matter-of-fact, straight-forward manner.

Certainly, you feel for the boy (here played with charm and forthright honesty by Nikkita Staggs) who's still dealing with the aftermath of his mother's death, going from orphanage to foster home and enduring various indignities. But Bud retains his integrity, clutching the memories of his mother's abiding love and retaining her stories in his heart.

When his journey finally ends at a blues club and Bud believes he has finally found his birth father (David Chattam, one of Nashville's finest actors, in an altogether stellar performance as blues musicIan Herman E. Calloway), we learn the truth of his story and his beloved mother's story in a genuinely moving way that somehow (thanks to Curtis' original story, Jackson's adaptation, Copeland's always on-target direction and the ideal portrayals of the cast) never becomes predictable or even expected.

Staggs is perfectly cast as Bud and in her scenes with Chattam, their palpable chemistry is apparent. Chattam, a handsome forty-something man, transforms into the elderly bluesman with an ease and grace that is amazing; his characterization is completely unforced and natural. The pair's final scene - when Bud and Herman E. Calloway come to terms with their real relationship - is powerful and honest.

They are given excellent support by the rest of the ensemble, including the luminous Alicia Haymer as Bud's devoted mother, and Aleta Myles as the singer in Herman E. Calloway's band whose thoughtful kindness show's Bud what is possible in life. As the various other characters in the piece, primarily as Calloway's bandmates, Shawn Whitsell, Jon Royal, Patrick James, Peter Vann and Tony Morton give strong, well-rounded performances, each man moving effortlessly from one character to the next with obvious ease and confidence. Whitsell, one of the most versatile actors on any stage anywhere, gives a particularly noteworthy performance, adding to his already burgeoning resume with this production, and Royal's Steady Eddie is simply pitch-perfect.

Erica Edmonson's scenic design provides an artistic, evolving backdrop for the play's action, it's sepia-toned color scheme adding to the play's period flavor. Patricia Taber's costumes are wonderful evocations of the play's time frame and Scott Leather's moody lighting helps to further draw audience members into the play's onstage action, while Dan Brewer's sound design gives the play further resonance. Credit is due, as well, to Paul Carrol Binkley for his original score, inlcuding "My Eyes Don't Cry No More," which sets Bud's own emotional journey to music with stylish aplomb.

- Bud, Not Buddy. Adapted by Reginald Andre Jackson. Based on the book by Christopher Paul Curtis. Directed by Scot Copeland. Presented by Nashville Children's Theatre, through October 17. For further information, visit the company's website at www.nashvillechildrenstheatre.org.

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