The San Jose Rep starts its 30th season with a leap of faith.
Director Rick Lombardi bravely throws down the gauntlet with a
controversial plot and a work that presents two women on stage for
the duration of a play that is a challenge for its actors.
‘Black Pearl Sings’: The San Jose Rep starts its 30th season with a leap of faith. Director Rick Lombardi bravely throws down the gauntlet with a controversial plot and a work that presents two women on stage for the duration of a play that is a challenge for its actors. Lombardo exquisitely draws on the characters intellect and emotions to make this production strong, funny and – at times – a little bawdy in presentation.
Playwright Frank Higgins took a situation from real life, changed the gender of the characters and produced this powerful, expressive, moving story that is also engaging. His story came from the life of musicologist John Lomax, who recorded the songs of Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter. He met Ledbetter in a Texas prison and recorded songs and melodies that slaves passed to their families.
Susannah Mullally (Jessica Wortham) is an educated, determined white woman – a musicologist working for the Library of Congress in the early ’30s. Her job is to record songs the slaves created to describe their lot of the times. She meets Pearl Johnson (Jennie Jones) in a Texas prison. Pearl is a feisty, spirited, bright black woman with a purpose. She is a fount of the information Susannah needs. The relationship that develops is the base of the story.
Jones’ voice has so much authority and power as she sings a cappella the songs of the slaves. She mesmerizes the audience with the pain that resonates from her like a dark cloud before a hurricane for most of the songs; some are lighter, with bitter joy, humor and earthiness. Wortham has a less dynamic role but holds her own in voice, delivery and command of the stage.
Lombardi paces the nooks and crannies of this emotional piece with the dexterity of a conductor leading a symphony orchestra.
“Black Pearl Sings” will touch the sensitive soul with thoughts of what was and what should not have been. They will hover in a mist in the corner of the mind. Meanwhile, the exceptional direction, acting and delivery of the songs will saturate the theatre lover.
‘Burn The Floor’
Fasten your seat belts as Broadway San Jose starts its second season with a bombastic program of the best of every type of dancing gathered onstage at one time. Director and choreographer Australian Jason Gilkison has a multi-talented cast from various parts of the world that moves faster than a shopaholic riding a racehorse through a shoe sale after doing a triple shot of espresso. Get the picture? If you have a pacemaker, be sure to get a tuneup before attending this production because once it starts, it evolves into an energized performance that doesn’t stop.
The cast is made up of instructors and finalists from the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”. They deliver a sizzling, colorful performance that holds your attention and will leave you with an accelerated high.
Mary Murphy heads up this scintillating band of some of the finest dancers in the business.
Fresh from a sold out run on Broadway, “Burn The Floor” takes a stimulating tour through the ardent world of dance, from the streets of Harlem where the lindy, foxtrot and Charleston were born, to the smokey clubs of the Latin Quarter where cha-cha, tango and salsa heat up the atmosphere.
This is a tremendously attractive, truly gifted group of tirelessly energized dancers boasting 100 championship dance titles among them. To dance lovers everywhere, here is your chance to see how it really should be done. To anyone that loves the joy of watching people doing what they love to do at the top of their game, “Burn The Floor” is the ticket.
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‘Black Pearl Sings’
Where: San Jose Rep, 101 Paseo de San Antonio, San Jose
Through: Sept. 26
Tickets: $33-$74
Details: (408) 367-7255 or visit www.sjrep.com
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‘Burn The Floor’
Where: San Jose Center For The Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose
Through: Sept. 26
Tickets: $20-$69
Details: 866-395-2929 or visit www.BroadwaySanJose.com
