BWW Reviews: BESSIE'S BLUES Bless Audiences

Some plays are so good, or so popular with audiences, that their return to the stage is inevitable. But some plays, like high velocity music revue Bessie's Blues, take quite awhile to flow back from their ebb.

Twenty years ago, as a new musical by Thomas W. Jones II, Bessie's Blues was universally praised, garnering 6 Helen Hayes and rave reviews from every outlet. Now, top-notch songstress Bernadine Mitchell makes a triumphant return to MetroStage, where she was recently seen in Three Sistahs, to reprise her role as lead in a show that was literally built to showcase her extraordinary talents.

You can tell the subject of the play the moment you walk into the space. Set designer Robbie Hayes has dominated Metrostage's relatively petite playing space with 8 foot tall letters spelling "BLUES." And when the show starts with Bernadine Mitchell exclaiming "Give me a downbeat!" the audience is off on a musical rollercoaster ride covering the influence of the blues throughout the 20th century.

Ostensibly, Bessie's Blues is the story of Bessie Smith, legendary singer called "The Empress of the Blues" during her illustrious but tragically shortened career in the 1920's and '30's. The show connects with Smith's life via short vignettes between multitudinous songs, showing her growth from impoverished Tennessee through vaudeville acts to a record deal with Columbia. In these vignettes, Bernadine Mitchell sometimes embodies Smith during her life and sometimes plays herself as a singer inspired by Bessie Smith's work. But her most effective acting moments come when the plot unhitches from Smith's historical life and Mitchell gets to express Smith through gorgeous slam/dub poetry, often with the aid of dancer Nia Harris, who often plays a young Bessie Smith.

If you aren't familiar with Bessie Smith's life (in which case, you should do yourself a favor and read Chris Albertson's biography Bessie), that's okay, you can still enjoy this show. The intention of the show appears to be not so much a biography of Bessie Smith but a biography of the entire orbit of the blues of which Smith is a barycenter. The musical stylings of the play (smartly directed by William Knowles) stretch backwards and forwards in time from the ring shout and broad ragtime to swing, doo-wop, and hip-hop. So, you might walk into MetroStage expecting a history lesson about Bessie Smith, but you might walk out with an entertaining music lesson about the influence of the blues.

The characters in the play not played by Ms. Mitchell or Ms. Harris alternately play peripheral characters in her life (i.e. one of her lovers or friends) or abstract elements of the blues/Bessie's personality. For example, Roz White reprises her role from the Studio production as Rhythm, in which she gets a roof-raising hip-hop number in addition to playing pitch-perfect support throughout the play.

The other supporting actors do well. TC Carson plays Lover (not surprisingly taking the role of Smith's first husband) and his enchanting bass voice adds much needed depth to the vocal score. Lori Williams' Passion is exactly that, standing out on the scat jazz number "Swing" with Carson. Second tenor (though still a stretchingly high part) Djob Lyons plays a nice mix of cool and hot as Midnight pushing beyond what seems to be the top of his range in his numbers, which, to be fair, elicited big cheers from the audience.

Stephawn Stevens as Blood and LC Harden Jr. as Bluesman round out the cast as Baritone and high tenor respectively, each making the most of their moments in the spotlight. Stevens gets a heart-breaking number toward the end of the second act (I won't spoil it for you, but it's a great example of acting through singing). Meanwhile, Harden shines best as a dancer, showing a crisp and complex step that I would love to see more of.

The whole production is brought together under the direction of Thomas W. Jones II, longtime MetroStage collaborator and creator. His theatrical intelligence is brought to bear in Bessie's Blues, for which he wrote many of the songs and under whom the original Studio production was directed. Jones is obviously a creative powerhouse and the stylistic range of his credited songs is immense. Somewhat less successful was his direction of this particular production. The staging felt unsuited to the small size of MetroStage's space. Much fun action happened in barely visible wings (you want a seat in the center section, midway up if you can get it), and the stage felt overcrowded at times, both of which tell me that this remount may have needed more tweaking to fit its new location.

But the takeaway here is that there is a very good reason that MetroStage is putting on Bessie's Blues, which I haven't yet mentioned so far. Simply put, Bernadine Mitchell's voice is a gift from the gods. She plays Bessie Smith so well because her singing can reach the heights and depths of the blues legend. Mitchell and her voice are the best reason to see Bessie's Blues and the reason I recommend you head down to MetroStage to catch it.

BESSIE'S BLUES is playing at MetroStage in Alexandria (1201 N. Royal Street, directions here) from now until March 15. It runs approximately 2 hours with 1 intermission. Tickets may be found here.

Photos courtesy of Chris Banks.

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