As a boy from a small rural town in Minnesota, I have had so much to learn. It would take a thick bound tome to write the autobiography, not that anyone would ever care to read it. Along the way I became aware of the blues. As a teenager, I bought a double album of songs by Bessie Smith entitled Empress of the Blues and boy did I grow up fast. Some fifty odd years later I still have the record which I still play from time to time. I learned more about Bessie Smith in college when I was cast in a one-act play called The Death of Bessie, by Edward Albee which opened my eyes to the reality of what it means to be Black in America. The story of how she died after a car crash having been refused entry to a whites only hospital, Wikipedia has just informed me, is false. No matter, it certainly could have happened. It’s great to keep on learning.
Friday night last I had the joy of an evening of the blues at International City Theatre in Long Beach, where a superior cast of actors backed by an excellent jazz combo sang up a storm with twenty-seven numbers from a catalog of some of the best loved songs in the canon, such as “Stompin’ at the Savoy;” “Lush Life;” “Lover Man;” “Kitchen Man;” “Willow Weep for Me; and “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out.” Blues in the Night is a revival of the show that was originally produced in 1980 and was Tony nominated in1982. It has since been revived multiple times over the years.
The cast of singers, three women and one man, are flat out brilliant, roaring through the catalog almost non-stop, save for an intermission. The female trio are presented as “The Girl with a Date” (Jenna Gillespie Byrd); a svelte “Woman of the World” (Karole Foreman); and a take-no-prisoners, fire-cracker of a woman, “The Lady from the Road” (Vivian Reed). The opening night featured Chester Gregory as “The Man in the Saloon,” a slick, smiling roué. Parris D. Mann will play the role in subsequent performances.
Blues in the Night is directed by Wren T. Brown and choreographed by Keith Young. The five member jazz combo is hot, with musical director William Foster MacDaniel at the piano, Del Atkins on bass; Clayton Cameron on drums; Scott Mayo on woodwinds; and Fernando Pullum on trumpet. The creative team includes scenic designer Ed Haynes, Jr., lighting designer Donna Ruzika, costume designer Kim DeShazo, sound designer John Feinstein, prop master Patty Briles, and hair and wigs designer Anthony Gagliardi. The production stage manager is Michele Miner.
Blues in the Night is produced by Artistic Director caryn desai [sic]. Amy and Rich Lipeles and the Port of Long Beach are honorary producers.
Blues in the Night runs through November 7 with performances on Thursdays at 8 pm, Oct. 28, Nov. 4; Fridays at 8 pm, on Oct. 29, Nov. 5; Saturdays at 8 pm Oct. 30, Nov. 6; and Sundays at 2 pm, Oct. 24, Oct. 31, and Nov. 7 (*post-performance discussion with the cast.)
Paul Myrvold's Theatre Notes 