The Washington Savoyards are giving the best possible 100th birthday present to “Treemonisha”, Scott Joplin’s rarely seen ragtime opera -- rousing performances.
They make audiences at the Atlas Performing Arts Center "happy as a bird in June", wanting to "hop and skip and do that slow drag", as the delightful Savoyards sing and dance and prance to the ragtime beat.
The "Drag" finale is worth the whole evening, especially two women's brief duet.
One of the most endearing, and surprising, moments is the a cappella song, "resting is very fine". The standout voice by far is Marilyn Moore, who plaintively sings Monisha, Treemonisha's mother.
It's a true ensemble show which, definitely in the second act, demonstrates what earned Joplin the titles of "Father of Ragtime" and "King of Ragtime".
One audience member summed it up by shouting simply, "Beautiful".
The beautiful show is on again February 27 and 28, March 5, 6, and 7 -- as part of "INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival".
"Treemonisha" so outdoes that overdone theme to "The Sting", the 1973 Redford-Newman movie in which Joplin's tunes sound like rags on 'roids.
The 1910 opera combines Joplin's famed ragtime rhythms with European opera -- okay, more Bizet than Bellini -- and obvious themes of the importance of education and forgiveness.
The libretto, which Joplin also wrote, is the tale of the adopted daughter of former slaves Ned and Monisha. Because they found the baby under a tree, they named her Treemonisha.
It addresses conflicts in African-American culture in the late19th century -- the desire to move into mainstream American society, countered by the pull of African superstitions.
As the Washington Savoyards sing, "Treemonisha is the only educated person and will break to hold of superstition."
For this, Treemonisha is kidnapped by "conjure men" who are about to throw her into a snake pit. But her love Remus, disguised as a dancing devil, rescues her and brings her home.
As Remus warbles instructively, "Wrong is never right."
When the conjure men are captured and about to be lynched, Treemonisha sings successfully for them to be spared.
Joplin was never able to raise the funds to produce “Treemonisha”, which contributed to ill health at the end of his life.
It was not staged until 1972, by Morehouse College in Atlanta, directed by the legendary dancer-choreographer Katherine Dunham, and conducted by Robert Shaw of chorale fame. Although produced soon after at Wolf Trap outside DC, its real premiere was at the Houston Grand Opera in 1975.
Joplin was awarded a special Pulitzer, “bestowed posthumously in this Bicentennial Year, for his contributions to American music,” according to the citation.
The current "Treemonisha" performances are among many highlights of "INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival" through March 7.
Award-winning playwright and director Mary Hall Surface is Curator and Artistic Director of INTERSECTIONS.
The dynamic Atlas Performing Arts Center includes four theaters, three dance studios, a café, in a historic movie theater complex on the H Street corridor of Northeast DC.
For more info: "Treemonisha" and Intersections Festival, including full schedule, and purchasing tickets or festival passes, www.intersectionsdc.org. Atlas Performing Arts Center, www.atlasarts.org, 1333 H Street, NE, Washington, DC.
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