SC Phil presents a Brilliantly Collaborative Holiday Event with Some of SC's Finest Vocalists, Dancers, and of course, the SC Philharmonic!

SC PHILHARMONIC BRINGS SINGERS, DANCERS AND SANTA TO KOGER CENTER FOR “HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS”

Collaborative creation from Music Director Morihiko Nakahara and Director Chad Henderson promises to be an extravaganza

Vocalist Kanika Moore

Kanika Moore

Katie Leitner

Catherine Hunsinger

Samuel McWhite

Columbia Repertory Dance Company

Santa

Morihiko Nakahara

& the SC Philharmonic

In a brilliantly collaborative act The South Carolina Philharmonic presents Home for the Holidays on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Koger Center for the Arts under the baton of Music Director Morihiko Nakahara. After years of sold out holiday concerts at Harbison Theatre, The SC Philharmonic is bringing their holiday-themed event to the Koger Center this year for one night only and making it truly grand. The show itself is a collaboration between SC Phil Maestro Morihiko Nakahara and award-winning theatre director Chad Henderson, the former Artistic Director of Trustus Theatre and current Marketing Director of the SC Phil. Tickets may be purchased by visiting 

scphilharmonic.com or by calling the Koger Center Box Office at 803-251-2222.

More from our friends at the SC Philharmonic – 

Home for the Holidays is positioned to be one of the last large-scale holiday-themed events of the season, with the performance scheduled on December 21st. The orchestra anticipates that this concert will be appealing to families who have gathered for the holidays, and to those who are looking for new traditions. “We wanted to create a large-scale concert event due to our move to the Koger Center,” says theatre director Chad Henderson. “Audiences are going to get a traditional orchestral experience in the first act, and then in the second half we’re going to enjoy the alchemy of multi-disciplinary work with uplifting, moving and energetic performances from amazing singers and dancers alongside the SC Phil.” 

Singer Kanika Moore is known internationally as the lead singer of Doom Flamingo (Charleston, SC) and Tauk (Long Island, NY). This Charleston native’s original tone and seamless effort is almost impossible to ignore, and this is quite possibly the reason she was named the Charleston City Paper Soul/R&B Act of the Year in 2019. Joining Moore are Columbia singers Katie Leitner of Say Femme, Catherine Hunsinger of Rex Darling, and the magnetic musical theatre veteran Samuel McWhite. 

Wanting to dive deeper into multi-disciplinary work, the SC Phil invited The Columbia Repertory Dance Company to collaborate with the orchestra. In its fourth season, The Columbia Repertory Dance Company’s mission is to broaden the experience of professional dance artists and patrons in Columbia, SC through multidisciplinary collaborative performances year-round. Led by Artistic Director Stephanie Wilkins and Managing Director Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, the company is bringing emotional and athletic work to the Koger stage – a trademark of this company which performed at the DUMBO Dance Festival in NYC in Summer 2023.  

The concert will boast two arrangements by Columbia’s Dick Goodwin, famed jazz artist and composer. Goodwin’s arrangements of “All I Want for Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” will be featured in the second act, with the latter serving as the finale of the evening. Audiences can also expect to hear classic orchestral fare like Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride,” alongside popular songs like “White Christmas” and “Santa Claus is Back in Town,” and readings of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the famous editorial by Francis Church “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” All of these elements combined with production design from Chad Henderson and Koger Center Technical Director Steve Borders will make for a sensational evening of symphonic spectacle that will entertain the whole family. 

“In the end, we want audiences to have a fulfilling and rich experience,” says Henderson. “We want people to feel a range of emotions while they’re with us. We’re using the undeniable universality of music, dance and, at times, theatre to provide audiences with a joyful evening that will be uplifting, energizing and powerful. Hopefully this will become a signature event for the SC Phil where friends and families join us every year to ignite their celebrations.” 

The SC Philharmonic’s Home for the Holidays will take the Koger Center stage on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 7:00 PM at. Concert ticket prices range from $10 to $40 currently, and they can be purchased at scphilharmonic.com or by calling the Koger Center Box Office (803) 251-2222.

Student Rush tickets are available for $10 starting thirty minutes before the concert, and group rates for 10 or more are available by writing kathryn@scphilharmonic.com. 

REVIEW: Chad Henderson's HUNDRED DAYS at Workshop Theatre

This is a show for those who love live music. Even if you don’t typically like musicals this is a show for you. Honestly if you have ears and a heart this is the show for you. I’m only partially kidding, but I have a hard time imagining anyone not enjoying themselves. Hundred Days feels like a concert, but better, and tells the real-life love story of Abigail and Shaun Bengson through songs they wrote as a family band. I won’t go into details, but their love story, like most, is not easy. This musical memoir illustrates well what happens when past trauma and anxiety go head-to-head with true love. 

Director Chad Henderson consistently delivers great theatrical productions to Columbia, and this was no exception. He has pulled together an excellent cast of local musician-actors, and it was obvious he had been thinking about producing this show for years. Well-known local actress and musician, Katie Leitner, was the perfect choice for lead, Abigail Bengson, and probably one of the few actors in Columbia with the vocal chops to play her. Katie along with the band elevate Abigail’s songs and put a polish on them that make them sound more modern than the original cast recordings. Her incredible voice and magnetism on stage draws you in so much so that this could have easily become the Leitner show. Thankfully, Henderson balanced the show well and cast co-star, Taylor Diveley, to play Shaun Bengson. Diveley held his own next to Leitner with equally exceptional vocal ability and a number of endearing qualities.  

Making up the rest of the family band we have singer and cellist Catherine Hunsinger, front-woman for local band Rex Darling, and multidisciplinary director and performer, Bakari Lebby, on bass. Both have speaking roles throughout the show, providing levity where needed, and sing harmony on the majority of songs. At times, the harmonies in these songs were overwhelmingly good – chill inducing and magical. USC professor, musician and musical director for the show, Tom Beard, sings, speaks, and plays accordion as well as synthesizer throughout the show. Drummer and vocalist, Patty Boggs, rounds out the band with near perfect dynamics. Both are stellar musicians and great in their roles.  

Musically the songs in this production run the gamut from Indie folk to electronica with several more traditional musical numbers sprinkled in. Be warned you will leave with songs from the show stuck in your head.  

The hour and a half performance kept the audience’s attention the whole time, and in the age of TikTok with our ever-shortening attention spans this is an impressive feat. Patrick Faulds the lighting and set designer did an impressive job of making the stage feel like a music venue, while also keeping it interesting. There were constantly little things I noticed on stage throughout the show, and like any good modern concert, video was a big part of the performance. Screens on the stage complemented each song and reinforced major themes throughout the show.  

100 Days runs through May 27th and is definitely worth the ticket price and your time. It is moving, fresh, and thoroughly entertaining. Learn more about the show at Workshop Theatre’s website.

Workshop Theatre Premieres Contemporary Musical Memoir Hundred Days Directed by Chad Henderson

“It's Columbia. We are better served by seeing something for the first time rather than a variation on what we've seen before. We've all seen that. We need new, we deserve it. We deserve the newest things now.”

- Chad Henderson

Hundred Days is a musical memoir based on a true story that premiered for the first time in 2018. This fresh, contemporary take on the goal of loving and living fully is coming tomorrow to Workshop Theatre. Running from May 12 – May 27, the show is directed by Chad Henderson with music direction by Tom Beard and a cast that features Katie Leitner, Catherine Hunsinger, Taylor Diveley, Kari Lebby, and Patty Boggs. 

The show has been described as “luminous,” “exhilarating,” and “raw,” and Leitner herself asserts that “people can expect to be immersed in a multi-media, emotionally gut-wrenching story accompanied by powerful folk- blues ballads, dense and haunting harmonies, uplifting folk pop toe-tappers, and clap-along rock tunes.” 

Jasper sat down one-on-one with director Henderson to get more details on the show.

JASPER: How did you decide to direct this show? 

HENDERSON: This show has been a three-year journey for me. My friend and collaborator Jonathan Whitton sent me an email about this play with a message that read something like "You need to know about this. You're welcome." He was right. It is entirely the type of work I seek and savor. I kept my eyes on the licensing for the show, because in this market you are at the whims of the licensing companies. This was all before the closures of the pandemic. Fast-forward some time later, and Workshop Theatre took my submission seriously. They were willing to produce a "little musical that would be one of the hardest things to achieve." I'm so glad that Jeni McCaughan and the script selection committee committed to this production—they have been absolutely amazing to work with.

JASPER: What makes you excited about this musical, specifically? 

HENDERSON: Honestly, this is the kind of work that I gravitate towards, having spent four years in a rock band and being a lover of live music. I have directed theatrical works like "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "Spring Awakening," "Passing Strange" and "American Idiot." These all have a special place in my heart because they closely align with my personal aesthetic and have an impactful connection to the type of storytelling that moves me as an artist.

JASPER: Why this story here? Why now? 

HENDERSON: It's Columbia. We are better served by seeing something for the first time rather than a variation on what we've seen before. We've all seen that. We need new, we deserve it. We deserve the newest things now. Also, love is timeless—and that is still (somehow) a revolutionary thing to explore presently.

JASPER: How long have y’all been working on this?

HENDERSON: I've been working on this for three years now in my mind. I've been dreaming of a local cast for that long as well. I'm very lucky that two of the original people I dreamed of are working on this production (Katie Leitner and Catherine Hunsinger). Even luckier to have one of my favorite collaborators, Tom Beard, reach out to me to ask, "what are we doing next." Then after a string of auditions and conversations we found the remaining alchemy that this production needed: Taylor Diveley, Kari Lebby and Patty Boggs.

JASPER: Have there been any unique challenges in this show? 

HENDERSON: Once the casting was complete, the challenge fell to the actors. They have to be a band. They have to create that synergy. They also have to be open to the unknown due to the fact that the show is a live set from a band, and the story that arises from their performance must be a sneak attack.

JASPER: What’s special about your rendition? 

HENDERSON: I'm me and this is me doing what I love to do: make it as hard as possible for everyone. So, while the cast is rehearsing tirelessly to become a band with 90 minutes of music and banter to memorize—while also being able to live truthfully in the moment—we have added a film element to the production. We spent three weekends filming auxiliary storytelling that is presented through on-stage media.

JASPER: Have there been any exciting “oh my god this is it” moments? 

HENDERSON: I've had many "Oh My God" moments. They've happened at every rehearsal, which is a testament to this cast. Damn, they're good!

JASPER: The music in this show is described as “anthemic folk-punk music” — what can a not music-savvy person expect?  

HENDERSON: If you have heard the works of Mumford and Sons, Ani DiFranco, Frou Frou, Queen, Jump Little Children, Son Volt, or anything else that sounds totally relatable but also entirely singular—that's what it sounds like. The music lifts your heart because the compositions have that effect. It's also very Americana. There's no banjo or mandolin, but plenty of cello and accordion. It also doesn't sound French. I don't know...the music is singular. It's the Bengsons [group who originally created and performed the show]. Just come hear for yourself or get a taste on Spotify or Apple Music.

JASPER: How would you summarize this story in your own words? 

HENDERSON: It's about love (cue memories of Christian in Moulin Rouge). It's about the rewards, challenges, magnetisms, insanities, and fears of love. It's about the weight of commitment: the work that comes with it, but ultimately the joys.

JASPER: Why should people see this show?  

HENDERSON: Simply put: It's one of the few contemporary shows you can experience in the coming months. To call it a musical is misleading. You're coming to see a band. A very good band. It just so happens they are going to make you relate to their crazy story in 90 mins flat. Also, the bar is open throughout the show because...that's just civil, isn't it? It's a show and space where you'll be comfortable, and you'll leave with plenty to talk about. You might even kiss somebody (if they consent).

It’s hard to describe what to expect, but in attending Hundred Days, you are guaranteed a once-in-a-lifetime story. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll groove. For more details about and to get tickets, visit Workshop Theatre’s website.

REVIEW: The Rocky Horror Show at Trustus Theatre Really Does Have Something for Everyone

What better way to kick off October and Trustus Theatre’s 38th season, “(Un) Familiar,” than with a familiar classic that explores what once were (and sadly for some might still be) very unfamiliar topics?

Cult classic The Rocky Horror Show at Trustus Theatre was, as expected, a great time had by all, and yet very different from the show longtime fans might have come to expect. A sold out showing on Friday, October 7th, the crowd was a mix of veteran fans ready to participate and soon to be new fans squirting each other with tiny water guns. Many viewers were decked out, ready to sing and dance along to the classics they know and love. Director, choreographer, and international award-winning performing artist, Terrance Henderson, has brought refreshing life and transformation to the Rocky Horror legacy.  

With this show, Henderson succeeds at making space for everyone. In his note to the  audience, Trustus veteran Henderson says he looked at the cult classic from his “unapologetically Black and Queer perspective honoring some of [his] own cultural languages and traditions.” Taking inspiration from “Black feminine and gender fluid beings, Black queer, Black trans, Black intersectional and FREE people” Henderson overtly celebrates duality, a classic attribute that is very much at the heart of the show. This blatant duality, arguably the point and purpose of the show, has been criticized for perpetrating harmful stereotypes while also mocking them, both hurting and celebrating the LGBTQ community. But Jasper was not moved toward criticism. In fact, we found that Henderson’s approach, and the alterations he made to the show, felt like a  better, more imaginative Rocky Horror and, most importantly, more inclusive.  

The casting choices for the show were excellent and reflected Henderson’s vision well, with almost every major character in the show being Actors of Color. The vocal talent of the cast members was beyond impressive and well matched by the live band in the theatre’s loft space lead by music director Chris Cockrell.  

Katrina Garvin (Magenta, Usherette), a member of the Trustus Company, mesmerized the audience singing the opening number “Science Fiction Double Feature.” Fellow company member, Samuel McWhite (Riff Raff), induced chills as he descended the staircase singing his solo in “Over at the Frankenstein Place.” It was hard to believe Mel Driggers (Columbia), was new to performing at Trustus, clearly belonging on that stage, and holding their own. Veteran of the role, Walter Graham’s incredible costume changes and perfectly over the top portrayal of Frank N’ Furter received roaring applause and gasps throughout the night while company members Michael Hazin and Katie Leitner kept the audience laughing as Brad and Janet.

 We won’t spoil any other surprises for you, but we can guarantee you will have a great time! 

The Rocky Horror Show will be performed at Trustus Theatre through October 29th.

REVIEW: COMPOSURE at Trustus Theatre, Written and Directed by Jason Stokes

“Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government…” - Jason Stokes, Playwright

Pictured Clint Poston as James Tillman (left) and Jon Whit McClinton as N. G. Gonzales (right)

It’s been a long time coming for Jason Stokes, writer and director of the play Composure, which premiered Thursday night at Trustus Theatre. The inkling of the idea for presenting this story was born almost 20 years ago when Stokes first learned about this particularly sordid excerpt from South Carolina history that, in 1903, finds a white supremacist lieutenant governor, James Tillman, murdering in broad daylight N.G. Gonzales, journalist and co-founder of The State Newspaper, then walking away a free man. Stokes first developed the story as a screenplay before transforming it for the stage. It was scheduled to be premiered pre-Covid in cooperation with Chad Henderson, former artistic director of Trustus, along with Charlie Finesilver’s original production of House Calls, which premieres August 18th.

A larger story to be told than the one incident of the murder, Stokes does an impressive job of integrating the lead-up and aftermath of the shooting and trial into two acts. In fact, the structure of the play is highly sophisticated as the events and dialogue jump logically across place and time in order to explain not just most efficiently and dramatically the events, but the contributing causes of the events that took place.

The cast is, for the most part, stellar, with some of the finest actors Columbia has to offer on the stage in support of their colleague. It was a treat to see such accomplished actors as Hunter Boyle in the commanding role of Pitchfork Ben Tillman, Stan Gardner as attorney Patrick Nelson, G. Scott Wild as attorney William Thurmond, Kevin Bush as journalist J.A. Hoyt, and Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales, brother to murder victim N.G. Gonzales. Libby Campbell Turner displayed remarkable theatrical chops in her multiple cross-gendered roles as C.J. Terrel and additional characters, often changing characters on a dime just by adjusting the fit of her tie and her own composure. Her facial features and posture reminded the audience that she is a cast of characters unto herself. And Katie Leitner, as the long-suffering wife of the murderer, displayed a grace and elegance even when called upon to deliver the rare mellow-dramatic line. It was great, too, seeing Nate Herring back on the Trustus stage as George Lagare.

We were surprised, however, by some of the casting decisions.

With powerhouse artists like Bush, Wild, and Gardner on board, why were some of the most demanding roles assigned to some of the weaker actors on the team? As James Tillman, Clint Poston, though a fine supporting actor, was saddled with an incredibly challenging role, a role that seems made for the likes of G. Scott Wild who could so easily slide into the character of the blustery and entitled white Southern fascist Tillman must have been. Poston doesn’t seem to have a handle on how deluded and despicable Tillman was, sometimes coming off as somewhat sympathetic and misunderstood.

And while Brandon Martin at times rises to the level of contemptibility of future SC Governor and Senator Coleman Blease, a man who embraced white supremacy and lynching and violently opposed miscegenation, his physical appearance, posture, and contemporary hairstyle, as well as his time spent on stage when not speaking, make it difficult to believe him as the robust character of Cole Blease. Stan Gardner, on the other hand, would have soared in this role. (Since writing this, we have learned that Mr. Martin joined the cast at a late date to take the place of Stann Gwynn, an artist inordinately well suited to take on the role of Cole Blease. Jasper wishes the best both to Mr. Martin as he acclimates to the role and to Mr. Gwynn as he fully recovers from his medical procedure.)

But the most poorly cast actor, in a slate of otherwise excellent theatrical artists, was Jon Whit McClinton in the critical role of N.G. Gonzales. While McClinton was able to manage the side-role of judge most of the time, though he did break character and snicker at his own mistake at one point, he was out of his element among the artists with whom he shared the stage. The particularly jarring reality is that McClinton played opposite Terrance Henderson as Ambrose Gonzales in the majority of his scenes. Henderson’s stage presence, professionalism, and experience would have delivered a far more serious, and certainly less giddy, character than McClinton was able to provide.

We’re not sure whether Stokes conceptualized the set or if this was the singular purview of veteran scenic designer Danny Harrington, whose work has been a gift to most if not all theatre stages in the Columbia area, but the set for Composure, though problematic for the actors in places (Damn those pipes!), is a work of art itself. A play as complex as Composure could have required a multitude of scene changes. But Harrington’s innovative design—and the flexibility of the actors—allows for one large multi-use set that presents as something quite beautiful from the audience.

With a cast this size costuming can be a financial challenge and for the most part costume designer Andie Nicks does a fine job and, in some cases—like Katie Leitner’s elegant black and white skirted pants ensemble—an exceptional job. If financially possible, more consistency of style would be appreciated, too, particularly when it comes to pleats and cuffs for the gentlemen’s pants, hats vs. no hats, and the standard three button coat of the turn of the 20th century. And a good fit, no matter what the wardrobe, is ideal. Similarly, standardized hairstyles for men invite no comparison whereas the juxtaposition of a contemporary style, like that of Mr. Martin’s, stands out and begs notice, disrupting the flow of the play.

While kicking off the sound and lights posed a problem on Friday night, which Stokes managed with grace and humor, the lighting design by Teddy Palmer was helpful in guiding the audience’s attention to a stage in which, at times, as many as three scenes moved from frozen to active in a matter of seconds. In the best of all possible worlds (and budgets!) more intense spotlights would have been available, but in this world, this lighting worked fine. Background sounds by Jason Stokes were appropriate and complementary, with music added in places to enhance the setting but not overwhelm it.

Overall, it was a delight to see the vision of local multi-talented theatre artist and writer Jason Stokes become a reality. This play and its production are important to this community and beyond for a number of reasons.

Kudos to interim artistic director Dewey Scott-Wiley for following through on this project, begun by Stokes and Henderson, which could have fallen by the wayside once Covid forced its delay. We see far too little new stage work from an abundance of literary artists in SC and Columbia in particular. But local theatre and literary artists will continue to produce new art if given the opportunity to see it come to fruition, as Composure has. South Carolina and South Carolina playwrights have fascinating—and sometimes barely believable—stories to share, such as this story and that of Dr Ian Gale in next week’s premiere of House Calls: The Strange Tale of Dr. Gale.

Sadly, we are not as far removed from the issues and behavior depicted in Composure as we would like to think—we’re simply better at subterfuge. As Stokes writes in his playbill notes, “Composure brings to light major issues that, after one-hundred and nineteen years, are still prevalent today. Fact versus interpretation of fact, truth versus bias, opinion-based reporting, righteous versus self-righteous, and the checks and balances between the press and the government. Both are vital to American existence, both must keep careful watch on the other; but when these powerful forces become more self-aggrandizing entities than protectors of the people they serve, the American existence is lost.”

The question now is What’s next for Composure? Without question, the play should live on, possibly with a shorter first act, possibly continuing the model of more actors performing multiple roles to condense the cast. Some degree of workshopping might be helpful, but not a lot. This project strikes us as a good candidate for festivals. It’s a fascinating story that despite the passage of more than a hundred years still resonates and begs the same questions today that it did in 1903.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Composure, a new play written and directed by Jason Stokes.

The Jasper Project

Jasper Presents the Staged Reading of the 2022 Play Right Series Winning Play -- Moon Swallower by Colby Quick

MOON SWALLOWER STAGED READING

SUNDAY AUGUST 28TH — 4 PM

at CMFA

TICKETS $10 ADVANCE - $12 AT THE DOOR

The Jasper Project presents the staged reading of a brand-new play, Moon Swallower by novice playwright, Colby Quick.

Quick is the winner of Jasper’s second Play Right Series competition in which he competed with other unpublished playwrights for an opportunity to have his play workshopped and developed by a team of seasoned theatre artists with the end result being a staged reading and the option of further development toward a fully realized stage production.

Moon Swallower will be presented at CMFA on Sunday August 28th at 4 pm with a talk back session and reception following the reading.

Moon Swallower is directed by Chad Henderson with a cast that includes Lonetta Thompson, Stann Gwynn, Becky Hunter, Richard Edwards, and Michael Hazin. Katie Leitner is the stage manager. Veteran playwright Jon Tuttle is the project manager for the 2022 Play Right Series.

The 2022 Jasper Play Right Series is made possible by the contributions of a team of Community Producers, all of whom will have contributed financially to the development of the project and have, reciprocally, been involved in the process from an educational perspective.

They are Bert Easter, Ed Madden, James Smith, Kirkland Smith, Bill Schmidt, Paul Leo, Eric Tucker, Cindi Boiter, Wade Sellers, and Jon Tuttle.

The purpose of the Play Right Series is to empower and enlighten Community Producers by allowing them insider views of the steps and processes of creating theatre art. In exchange for a  minimal financial contribution, Community Producers are invited to attend designated open readings and rehearsals, informal presentations by cast and crew, and opening night performances with producer credits. The result is that Community Producers learn about the extensive process of producing a play and become invested personally in the production and success of the play and its cast and crew, thereby become diplomats of theatre arts.

Community Producers’ names, and that of the Jasper Project, will also be permanently attached to the play and will appear in the published manuscript which will be registered with the Library of Congress and for sale via a number of standard outlets under the auspices of Muddy Ford Press and the imprint of the Jasper Project.

The Jasper Project produced their first Play Right Series in 2017, producing a staged reading of Randall David Cook’s Sharks and Other Lovers under the direction of Larry Hembree. 

About the playwright: Colby Quick is a thirty-one-year-old writer, singer, musician, actor, husband, and father of two. He is the lead singer and guitarist of a Stoner Doom band known as Juggergnome and in the development phase of a rap duo project called Ski & Beige. Colby played Ebenezer Scrooge in Northeastern Technical College’s stage production of A Christmas Carol in 2019 and is currently in his final semester at Francis Marion University as an English Major and Creative Writing Minor. “I have mostly written poems, songs, and short stories, as well as an unpublished novel.: Quick says. “When I was young, I would make stop-motion videos and I wrote scripts for all of them. I think this helped a lot with writing the Moon Swallower.”

About the project manager: Jon Tuttle is Professor of English and Director of University Honors at Francis Marion University, author of THE TRUSTUS COLLECTION (Muddy Ford Press, 2019), which includes six of his plays that premiered at Columbia’s Trustus Theatre, and a recipient of the South Carolina Governor’s Award in the Humanities.

REVIEW: Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill Brings Billie Holiday Back

“… the key to the success of this Trustus show lies squarely at the feet of the women involved in its production.”

Katrina Garvin as Billie Holiday - photo by Jerimiah Greene

Had you asked me last week if I knew who Billie Holiday was, I would have answered, Of course! Who doesn’t know about Billie Holiday? 

But I would have been wrong.

I learned how much I didn’t know about Billie Holiday last Saturday night when I attended the second performance of Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill at Trustus Theatre, the company’s first presentation since quarantine.

Set in 1959 at the seedy South Philly Emerson’s Bar and Grill on a fictional night just before her death from Cirrhosis later that year, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, written by Lanie Robertson, takes the audience back in time and gives Holiday the microphone to do more than sing. Played by seasoned musical theatre artist Katrina Garvin, Billie Holiday tells her life story in provocative anecdotes in between performing more than a dozen of the title character’s classic tunes.

In an almost disturbingly casual manner we learn throughout the evening how the abuses of her childhood, including a rape at age 10, transformed Eleanora Fagan, which was Holiday’s birth name, into the stage’s Billie Holiday who adopted the name of her father, Clarence Halliday, a jazz musician who had abandoned her and her mother when Eleanora was born. We also learn about Holiday’s struggles with addiction and crippling insecurity both likely resulting from the institutional racism that plagued her professional life from the time she began singing in nightclubs in Harlem as a teenager, to her stint in prison by way of Carnegie Hall, until her untimely death at age 44.

Lady Day premiered in Atlanta in 1986 before moving to Off-Broadway and finally to Broadway in 2014 where it featured the incredible Audra McDonald in the title role. It is remarkable how well the play has held up and how fitting it is that Trustus Theatre decided to present it at this time of a renewed dedication to social justice in the country. The fact that it is essentially a one-woman show, with a musical accompanist, makes it a good choice in our quasi post-Covid times, too.

Lady Day opened to a sold-out Columbia audience and the house was almost full on Saturday, followed by another sold-out show on Sunday afternoon. I don’t expect many empty seats in the run of this show, and the key to the success of this Trustus show lies squarely at the feet of the women involved in its production.

Katrina Garvin, who most may remember from previous Trustus performances like Dreamgirls, In the Red Brown Water, and Constance performing under the name Katrina Blanding, was perfectly cast in the starring role as Billie Holiday. To say that Garvin embodies Holiday is an understatement. Keep in mind that Garvin already brings to the stage exceptional vocal skills but fortified with the wisdom imbued via direction from Jocelyn Sanders and backed up with dialect coaching by Marybeth Gorman and vocal coaching from Katie Leitner, Garvin subsequently delivers a performance that literally takes the audience’s breath away. And this is no small challenge given Holiday’s distinctive vocal stylings.

Garvin conveys all the same pain, frustration, and despondency that Holiday brought to the stage as well as the remarkable talent behind her interpretations of such difficult numbers as What a Little Moonlight Can Do and even Strange Fruit, one of the most painfully powerful songs ever written or performed.

Garvin’s stage partner, Shannon Pinkney in the role of Holiday’s piano accompanist, Jimmy Powers, more than holds up his corner of the stage with exceptional musical chops whether he accompanies Garvin or takes over the theatre for an extended solo while Garvin exits for a brief period near the end of the performance.

Terrance Henderson, Garvin’s musical partner in IndigoSOUL (along with Kendrick Marion), served as movement coach to Garvin, and Colleen Kelly served as stage manager for Sanders. Bad Boy Roy Brasley, Jr. styled Garvin’s hair into an elegant updo with a shock of white gardenias wrapped around the back; Abigail McNeely was costume designer; and Curtis Smoak handled lighting and the simple but convincing set for the show, easily creating the feeling that we were all sipping our drinks as we watched Lady Day at the end of her career and, sadder still, the premature end of her days.

Kudos to Trustus Theatre for bringing us back in our roles as audience members with the perfectly timed presentation of a play that reminds us of the power of art to confront the inadequacies of an imperfect culture.

Lady Day will run through June 20th on Thursdays through Sundays. For tickets and more information, visit Trustus.org.

And be sure to visit the lobby for an outstanding exhibit of art by Lori Isom. (See Below)

Art by Lori Isom.

REVIEW: Rock of Ages at Trustus Theatre

Rock of Ages is a musical devoted to the idea of Rock Music as a distinctive character, or caricature, in the popular imagination. And while the actual story of rock ‘n’ roll may be a complicated, complex, and contradictory one, our idea of it is not—it’s sleazy, loud, showy, and, above all, gloriously debauched. It’s about Sunset Strip sleaze, leather-clad excesses, and arena rock choruses that thud through your head no matter how much beer, booze, or other substances threaten to overwhelm. It might occasionally be dumb, but it’s often with a knowing wink and rarely without a double dose of fun.

That, in a nutshell, is what the musical, which was a massive success during its lengthy run on Broadway, and the particular version of it that Trustus is offering, is all about. Artistic director Chad Henderson, who also plays the grizzled club owner Dennis Dupree, points this out explicitly in his program notes, that the troupe’s primary endeavor here is to offer “Nothing but a Good Time,” and they are hell-bent on delivering. How much they succeed though depends, to a certain extent, on how much you are willing to revel in the poppy glam metal songs that are the bulk of this jukebox-style musical. The narrative is more than a bit thin, to the point where the comedic meta-narrative commentary is the only thing that can save it, and it never rises above a sort of rote sense of genre. But that’s not the point—it’s the nostalgic power of these songs, their sound, and their mythos, all of which is difficult to deny.

Luckily, the usually capable casts of Trustus have always boasted standout singers (and crack stage bands), and Rock of Ages is no exception. Songs like “Don’t Stop Believin,’” “Here I Go Again,” and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” prove they were almost built to double as great musical numbers, and when the full cast launches into one of these familiar choruses it’s hard not to feel like things are right with the world. Individual performers may shine or falter at certain moments, but Trustus company standouts like Katie Lietner as the female lead Sherrie or Michael Hazin as the bar manager/ostentatious narrator, make it abundantly clear why they are familiar sights on the Thigpen stage.

But while Leitner is great in her role and the kind of powerhouse singer the part needs, she and the male protagonist Drew (played by Rory Gilbert) end up a little sidelined despite being ostensible leads. The weakness of their romantic plot line—she arriving in L.A. to be an actress but ending up as a stripper, he as an inspiring rock star-turned-fledgling boy band hopeful—makes them a little less memorable compared to the purely humor-driven B and C plots. It’s in those where the real chemistry and spark of the show happens. Henderson and Hazin obviously have some stage chemistry and comedy chops in their bromance friendship and constant fourth-wall-breaking commentary that the fact that they are trying to save Dennis’ rock club almost gets lost in the mix. Similarly, Kayla Cahill’s performance as the protest-leading Regina and Cody Lovell’s German businessman-turned-candy-purveyor sparkle in their own budding romance and brief stage time. Too, Jason Stokes’ turn as the spoiled rock star gone to seed, Stacee, is also quite winning.

But again, focusing on individual performances is a bit of misdirection here, for any lengthy attention to the plot detracts from the blown-own spectacle of the music itself. Director Dewey Scott-Wiley wisely puts the band in serious costumes and places them prominently right up front on stage, so even when not performing the need to keep the music central was apparent. Music Director Chris Cockrell brings plenty of the necessary glam and pizazz to fit the part, and his crew cranks through these tunes with glee. The scenic design itself was also quite clever, utilizing some scaffolding, and a few stairs, doors, and curtains to conjure up a number of different settings in a blink of an eye. So while not strictly necessary, the production notes here rang gracefully.

In the end, though, this is about as critic-proof a play as you can get, with the pure, unfettered (guilty?) pleasure of the songs themselves in the driver’s seat. Henderson notes that there are some parallels to a seedy rock club being challenged by a more bland business takeover has some interesting parallels to the history of Trustus in the now-sleek Vista neighborhood, and it’s tough not to draw some connections between our current growth-hungry (although also arts-supporting) mayor and the one in the play, but leading you down that road won’t be particularly fruitful. Spray that hair up, throw some glitter in the air and, uh, “come on feel the noise?” – Kyle Petersen

Disclaimer: Chad Henderson is married to the reviewer’s sister-in-law. This made his depiction of Dennis no more nor less ridiculous, although it’s not clear whether the same can be said of his ultimate fate.

Rock of Ages runs through July 1—for times and ticket information head to trustus.org.