Alberta Hunter is a legend. Folks who love the Blues know her work and she had a way of putting a song across that you feel decades of emotion behind it, even when she was just beginning. Jewelle Gomez’s latest work, “Leaving the Blues,” presented by TOSOS (the Other Side of Silence), tells the story of a woman who loved women, and one woman very particularly.
Set in a manner reminiscent of a s’hero’s quest, we follow ’Bert (Rosalind Brown) through her life. We meet her as she is exiting her job as a nurse, where the management thinks she’s younger than she is. Back in the day, it was easier for that to occur. Her spirit guide/Angel is Will (Michael Michele Lynch) who is someone she met back in her Vaudeville days and whose niece, Lettie (Joy Sudduth), is destined to be literally the love of her life. The action is set as a train ride through important station stops in ‘Bert’s life and show us many of the facets that made her such a beloved performer and human being and Will frames things for us, as well as being our interlocutor. In these times when people lead with something other than kindness, it is refreshing to see Alberta, who knew hard times and was determined to not perpetuate them for others.
Through Brown, we see that Hunter missed little in what was swirling around her. We see the passionate advocate for others, who only reached down to lift others up. We meet Cal (Benjamin Mapp) and Calvino (Cooper Sutton), who are two hoofers from Louisiana. We soon see that the reason they are so in sync with one another is that they are kissing cousins rather than actual cousins. During these whistle stop days, this couple’s best bet is to keep traveling and heading up North. This puts them away from their families and closer to big cities, where folks are less likely to question. They are a matched lifetime pair and these doves are under Auntie Alberta’s wing. So, too, is May (Tsebiyah Mishael Derry), who is a young and gifted singer who is not yet as sure of herself. Alberta gives her some tough love and May knows who’s always in her corner. When Lettie and Alberta visit Paris, they have their friends Billy (Mapp) and Jean (Erik Ransom) there, and also a frenemy, Blanche (Derry). This neat interlude gives us a broader scope of the influence of an amazing woman. And when 'Bert is an elder lady and we meet her neighbor, Beebe (Ameerah Briggs), you’ll recognize the person in your life that has those same qualities. Smooth, super cool and hot all at the same time, Beebe is someone who wants nothing from ’Bert but her company. Beebe wants nothing for ’Bert but success. And we all need someone like that who knows exactly who they are, and who we are.
I’d like to give a special nod to Ransom as the man of multiple personalities, each with its own accent. Ransom plays Producer Jean, ne’er do well road manager Fred, and Chris, the Danish man, who brought Alberta to so many people, when she gave the final act of her career at The Cookery. He is a chameleon! Special mention also goes to pianist Assaf Gleizner. He glides in like a sylph to take his place at the piano and when the songs happen, the music is magic in David Shenton’s arrangements. This is a play with music, rather than a musical though with the delicious tap dancing from Rapp and Sutton and the nuanced performances in the super intimate downstairs Siggy at the Flea complex, we are part of the action.
We also get front row seats for the frictive delight of the nascent, then long-term relationship of Lettie and ’Bert. Brown and Sudduth are pure delight and, when Lettie meets Beebe, the appreciation is open and immediate and palpable. Mark Finley has directed a beautifully written and beautifully acted piece. And what costumes! Clearly Ben Philipp’s costumes are characters in themselves, they are so well made and time appropriate that the design and fabrics are themselves a time signature.
The show runs two and a half hours with intermission. It’s a bit long to sit in the Siggy seats, yet being THIS close to Brown ,when she sings, is a gift. Don’t delay—this show closes on February 8 and plays Wednesdays through Sundays at The Flea on Thompson Street. It’s just a few steps from the subway from anywhere, so give your Valentine some time travel and enjoy they show. Get your tickets here: http://theflea.org/for-audiences.