ff1

CINDY STOVALL

Perhaps we take for granted just how challenging it can be to stage a professional theater production – to conjure up, in believable fashion, character development, cast chemistry, compelling presentation of the material, set, sound and costume design, lighting cues, blocking and on and on. So many things in this delicate balance dictate the difference between “wow” and “meh”. 

It’s especially challenging when there are only 2 characters. The weight of the show falls on them.

Add music with vocals, choreography, oh, and guitar and piano playing by the lead duo as well.                                                                                                                                               

Add the fact that it’s a biographical piece – there is no small amount of pressure to turn in a performance that honors a legend (or two).  

Think about it. You could stop right there and have renewed appreciation for just how lucky we are to be so rich in quality theater offerings. We have certainly come to expect such quality from freeFall. 

But wait. What happens when one of the leads must be recast just ONE WEEK before opening? And just for good measure, it’s a show that is being done in partnership with another theater in another city in an innovative sort of “show swap” that requires it to run twice! Just imagining it as I write creates “sympathy knots”.  

Well that’s just what happened with freeFall’s production of Marie & Rosetta, which opened last weekend at freeFall Theatre Company.

Actor, Illeana Kirven, a veteran of professional productions all over the country, bravely agreed to take on the role of Sister Rosetta Tharpe just one week before opening. She drove straight through from Texas, with her Mother in tow, and began the daunting task of transforming into a music icon. She did it in 4 days.ff2

“Somehow, I knew she could do it,” relates Matthew McGee, community outreach & marketing director for freeFall. “Some people just have theater in their bones and can meet these challenges. Illeana is one of those people.” 

Artistic director, Eric Davis and director, Lydia Fort had their work cut out for them too. Bringing a performer, no matter how experienced, up to speed in 4 days and making particular staging accommodations  for the instrumentals was no small task. 

“We had to forgo the previews,” said McGee, “but we were ready for opening night.”

Kirven, in her freeFall debut, delivers a performance that conveys all the attitude and sexy sass of Gospel disrupter Sister Rosetta Tharpe, along with powerful vocals. Sister Rosetta knew who she was, knew where she wanted to take her music and made no apologies for it. Kirven channeled that perfectly.

Veteran of Stage, TV and commercial appearances, Hillary Scales-Lewis, also makes her freeFall debut – though you may have seen her locally in last year’s Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. She portrays Marie Knight – the buttoned-up, slightly repressed protege of Sister Rosetta who would become half of the duo that changed music and influenced such rock ‘n’ roll pioneers as Elvis and Jimi Hendrix.

ff5

Through Lewis’s nuanced performance, you feel the evolution of a talented but reserved young woman, conditioned by familial guilt and church doctrine, into the open and courageous partner Sister Rosetta needed her to be. Yet somehow, she remains true to herself. Lewis plays piano and has a truly lovely voice. The Yin and Yang here is miraculous considering the time frame.

George Brant’s beautiful (and from a historical perspective, long overdue), tribute to Sister Rosetta Tharpe makes it clear why she was considered by many to be the “Godmother” of Rock ’n’ Roll. The story is set on a single night – the rehearsal of Tharpe and Knight’s first performance together. It’s a prescient view into the  forging of a transformative bond – and of future greatness.

ff3                         (Promotional photo of the real “Marie & Rosetta”) 

Lydia Fort, a seasoned and award winning stage director, crafts Brant’s words with bold subtlety, including alluding to Sister Rosetta’s rumored penchant for same sex relationships, despite multiple marriages, and her attraction to Knight. 

The story takes an unexpected turn that adds richness and context, while tugging at the heart and tear ducts. Marie and Rosetta is a fitting tribute to a faded star who now rises to her rightful place in music history.

*My Takeaway: I measure my appreciation of any character driven production by the degree to which I believe the performers ARE who they are portraying. 

I believed them. 

Runs through February 16                                                                                         freefalltheatre.com