Picture it! September 2020, COVID rages around the world and a group of hearty stalwart artists, creative people of every calibre and an intrepid audience meet on the top level of the Morris Museum parking structure. Backlit by the setting sun, a 1920s dressing room, replete with costumes and loungwear, props and shoes, give us the sense of going back in time. We are here to see Josephine.
How much do YOU know about Josephine Baker? Are you familiar with the famous, or infamous, banana costume? Do you know about her Rainbow Tribe? About her battles for civil rights, or her personal struggles and triumphs? Whatever you know or think you know, Tymisha Harris, in "Josephine--The Play," is a chanteuse and a storyteller and there hasn’t been one like her since Scheherazade! Harris created the show with Michael Marinaccio, who also produced and directed, and Tod Kimbro who wrote the book and provides musical direction.
Brett Wellman Messenger, Morris Museum’s Curatorial Director of Live Arts, is a man with a mission. When many other lively arts organizations went pivoted and went online, he thought outside the box, or in this case–outside the Museum’s walls. Limned on the asphalt of the topmost deck of the parking structure are two-person pods with an aisle in between. When you and a companion are seated in the middle, you are more than 6 feet away from other patrons on every side! Al fresco theatre for many means a picnic and Messenger said, “Some of the patrons have been here from the very beginning. Initially, they just brought chairs and a snack. Over time, though, I’ve seen the set ups get more and more elaborate!” On the evening I was there, some brought zero gravity lounge chairs, which, when reclined, permitted easy viewing for pods behind them. Some had tables, bottles of wine and even a candle! And in the late Summer air with just a hint of Autumn, the weather was sheer perfection.
"Josephine–The Play" is a brilliant piece in this one-woman show edition. Usually performing with a live band, here Harris sings, dances, cartwheels and transports us on a journey that takes us from turn-of-the-century St. Louis, Missouri, to gay Paris and everywhere in between. We see how differently people were treated just due to the color of their skin and, when Josephine takes Paris by storm, it is her heart they see. How full is a life when one is an outcast, a dancer, a lover and a spy. Josephine and her blazing talents were fanned to stardom in the burgeoning center of genius where artists--Picasso, Kahlo--and writers--Hemingway, Cummings--and a host of handsome men--Pepito, Jean, et al.--swirled into orbit around Josephine. Harris puts body, soul and heart into the performance and before her final triumphant bow, after our laughter, tears and standing ovations, she promised us a return with a sequel! What more could you ask for? I’m certain Messenger has already made his calendar for next year.
Where can you see what’s in store for the rest of the season? Check out www.morrismuseum.org–I’ll see you up on the roof!