As a child progresses through day care, nursery school, and elementary school, passively listening to someone tell stories may evolve into a communal activity that requires play acting as well. Once a child learns how to "make believe," one need only aim for the "second star to the right, and straight on till morning" to arrive in Neverland without the slightest chance of bumping into Michael Jackson. Once someone has made it that far, clapping for Tinker Bell is a given.
Sometimes theatre works best when it enables audiences to go where they could never travel on their own -- through time and space, past any barriers of religion or race. TheatreWorks Silicon Valley is currently presenting the West Coast premiere of George Brant's musical tribute entitled Marie and Rosetta with musical direction by William Liberatore and sound design by Cliff Caruthers.
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| Michelle E. Jordan (Sister Rosetta Tharpe) and Marissa Rudd (Marie Knight) in a scene from Marie and Rosetta (Photo by: Kevin Berne) |
Set in Mississippi in 1946, the action takes place in the showroom of a modest funeral home where Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Michelle E. Jordan) is preparing to perform for a black audience. As the play begins, she is auditioning a nervous young woman, Marie Knight (Marissa Rudd), to accompany her on piano. In his program note, director Robert Kelley writes:
“I played piano in R&B bands in Palo Alto beginning in eighth grade and would bicycle to East Palo Alto's Charm Beauty Salon and Record Store to buy records unavailable in Palo Alto. I loved the music of artists like Ray Charles, Little Richard, and many more, unaware that they had been deeply influenced by a remarkable female guitarist of the 1940s -- Sister Rosetta Tharpe. By the time TheatreWorks began in 1970, the opportunity to combine music and drama into a single artistic pursuit was irresistible. The music of black America -- gospel, R&B, Motown -- has always been part of my life and a major part of TheatreWorks as well. The interweaving of the two art forms has defined us ever since, from our first musical (Popcorn) to the Tony Award for Best Musical (Memphis). I fell hard for Marie and Rosetta at our New Works Festival in 2015. I was exhilarated by the heart and history of two brilliant women who combined to set the music world on its ear.”
“Marie and Rosetta focuses on the power of music to thrill us, to move us, and ultimately to change us. It is the story of a complex and extraordinary woman -- a musician who discovered the potential of electric guitar and influenced generations to come; a gospel circuit standout who often worked in raucous nightclubs; a singer of spirituals who ascended the R&B charts with lyrically suggestive hits. Stunning Marie and powerhouse Rosetta produced many recordings together and several of their interwoven vocals became crossover hits. Marie eventually became an independent gospel star whose career lasted into her eighties. Rosetta was inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Their work together, conceived in a mutual belief that music can change us, is a joyous testament we are proud to celebrate. TheatreWorks’ belief in music is much the same.”
As Sister Rosetta explains why she chose Marie over other women from the local church choir who auditioned for her, the audience comes to understand why Rosetta does not stick to the same repertoire as the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson, who insisted that "I sing God's music because it makes me feel free. It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues."
A bit less holy than Mahalia Jackson, Rosetta is nonetheless a survivor -- a professional musician who understands the power of music to serve as a bridge over the troubled waters her listeners must navigate in their daily lives. Brant's play also depicts Tharpe as a generous mentor with a keen eye for talent, who sees a woman with a powerful vocal instrument that, once freed from Marie's primness, could give Marie the freedom to let her entire body react to the music she performs.
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| Marissa Rudd (Marie Knight) and Michelle E. Jordan (Sister Rosetta Tharpe) in a scene from Marie and Rosetta (Photo by: Kevin Berne) |
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| Marissa Rudd as Marie Knight in a scene from Marie and Rosetta (Photo by: Kevin Berne) |
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| Michelle E. Jordan as Sister Rosetta Tharpe in a scene from Marie and Rosetta (Photo by: Kevin Berne) |
Performances of Marie and Rosetta continue through March 31 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto (click here for tickets). You can watch the BBC's 2011 documentary entitled "Sister Rosetta Tharpe: The Godmother of Rock 'n' Roll" in the following clip:
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The 2019 Berlin and Beyond Film Festival featured a curious documentary which linked together vignettes about the residents living in a 514-unit apartment building (Excelsior-Haus) in Berlin-Kreuzberg which features the panoramic Skybar Solar restaurant on its 16th and 17th floors. Treating the building as a vertical village, filmmakers Erik Lemke and André Krummel visit young people in love, tenants who have lived in the building for 50 years, and some residents who battle loneliness as their health continues to decline. |
| One of the elderly residents featured in Berlin Excelsior |
Once the largest residential and commercial structure in Berlin, the apartment building is showing increasing signs of wear and tear. Among the 40 protagonists in Berlin Excelsior, some are young and full of energy, some are aging and decrepit, and some roam the halls checking for spirits and looking for newcomers they might convert to their religion.
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| One of the spirit seekers in Berlin Excelsior |
Nevertheless, some of the building’s residents refuse to give up on their dreams. Michael, a 49-year-old gay man who lives on the 14th floor, hopes to build upon his earlier success as an escort boy by making Internet videos in which he demonstrates how, with the skillful application of makeup, a man can himself look 20 years younger than his true age. Born in the Netherlands, all Michael wants is to regain the perks of the life he once led "doing great things and having enough money to buy stuff."
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| Michael welcomes a new boyfriend in a scene from Berlin Excelsior |
Claudia is a former showgirl past her prime who works as Skybar Solar’s receptionist. In her spare time she is studying economics and hopes that, with the help of some new fashion photos, she might be able to find her way back to a career on the stage.
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| Claudia poses for a fashion shoot shot in the building's basement in a scene from Berlin Excelsior |
Norman, who lives on the 12th floor, is a 30-year-old tour guide and parenting coach who likes to boast about his hyperactive, fast-paced lifestyle. Together with his friend, Patrick, he hopes to build a career as a life coach by launching a startup named “ChangeU” which will help people gain confidence through better fitness regimens and lots of parties. Without much of a business plan (or any idea that others have already registered the same name for their consulting practices), Norman’s idealistic zeal evaporates when he has to beg his elderly mother for money because he can’t pay his bills.
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| Norman visits his mother in a scene from Berlin Excelsior |
Then, of course, there is Richard (a resident who sells his services as a photographer and business consultant to people like Claudia, Michael, and Norman by claiming to know exactly what they need in order to succeed).
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| Richard shows Claudia some of the pictures he has taken in a scene from Berlin Excelsior |
Scouting out locations and choosing which tenants to film was a fairly easy process. As the filmmakers explain:
“The reactions were varied (from uncomprehending silence to threats of beatings), but it was also fun. We distributed leaflets to all households, organized a Christmas party, met with tenants in a popular bistro, and talked to them in the elevator. Since I myself have lived in the Excelsior for years, every elevator ride was a business trip for me. I know the smells, hear the sounds, and my aluminum window frames have the same ice flowers inside during a cold winter as the other tenants. Maybe that's why the movie can only be the way it has become now. I know exactly what's going on here.”
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| A young couple relaxes in a scene from Berlin Excelsior |
“The Excelsior is also a protagonist of our film. There were soaring plans for this building and then it just became a tenement. The dramaturgy as a special house was important to us because, in the figurative sense, it has a lot to do with the inhabitants. A recurring theme haunts the lives of the residents of Excelsior House. Most are just living 'temporarily' in this faceless concrete tower block, hoping to move on to greater things, but never quite 'arriving.' Without deserving the credit, is there something special about this building that holds the name Excelsior (Latin for sublime)? Or is it more an expression of our time? Documenting the zeitgeist is usually only possible through precise observation. Berlin Excelsior doesn't lose itself in the biographical details of its protagonists, but offers fleeting glimpses and insights (like snapshots within the moments of their lives) -- wanting more, not getting ready, not necessarily remembering what you already have. I know this feeling and found it exciting to finally treat it cinematically.”
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| Poster art for Berlin Excelsior |
Some segments of Berlin Excelsior feel like visiting with old friends, others feel like being a fly on the wall of a lonely person's apartment. Ultimately, viewers might feel as if they've walked through a series of randomly chosen dioramas. Here's the trailer:
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