As American’s original art form, jazz may not be as publicly prominent as country & western and hip hop genres are in popular culture today, but theatrical productions like ‘Billie’s Blues’, written by diannetucker and directed by Sheran Goodspeed Keyton, are keeping the uniquely improvisational musical genre alive and KICKING for renewed recognition and adoration.
Set in New York City 2011 in a little dive where Billie Holiday once performed, now managed by new owner Donathan James, played gracefully by Tyrone King who serves as the show’s narrator, we experience Lady Day played exquisitely by Dallas singer Tamara S. Peterson, who comes back to the present to set the record straight about who she is and to tell her story in HER words, no holds barred. And tell us she does, in word and song.
On a set that was simple, yet ornate with delicate structural touches that instantly create a feeling of intimacy, the production opens with a musical interlude played by Alejandro Serrano Ayuso in the role of Piano Man, who was filling in for Grammy nominated recording artist Lucky Peterson. The substitution worked very well because as the native Spaniard’s fingers glide across the ivories, you know and understand why jazz as an art form has no racial boundaries.
At the end of Piano Man’s number, Lady Day saunters onto the set effortlessly, looks the audience squarely in the eye, and in typical Holiday sassiness and bravado proclaims, “Well, here I am! Damn, I been dead for over 50 years and yawl trying to conjure me up for one more tune!” She quickly adds, “I never thought of myself as no victim. I didn’t want nobody feeling sorry for me!”
Billie then begins a verbal and melodic journey into the heart and soul of herself, with some stories familiar, others not so familiar.
One of those familiar stories is the childhood sexual abuse she endured, which ironically began with her innocently working at a local brothel as an 11-year old girl running errands for the ‘working girls’, only to find herself becoming one of them, subsequently raped, and sent to a home for delinquent girls. With firm and steely determination, Billie is emphatic the experience didn’t bother her, exclaiming, “I wasn’t going to sleep with anybody and get my ass kicked too!”
Other stories, despite her flippant attitude of ‘survival of the fittest’ at all costs, reveal the singer was more emotionally fragile than her onstage persona would let on.
The origin of her hit song 'God Bless The Child' was one of those instances in which she shares how she repeatedly lent her mother Duchess money in support of her restaurant, only to be rebuffed by Duchess during a dire point of need.
When Peterson broke out in a gutsy rendition of the song, the pain Holiday must have felt at this betrayal was evident, such that it would indelibly set the tone of the mother-daughter relationship for a lifetime.
Likewise, Billie’s first marriage to Jimmy Monroe, which led into infidelity issues and started her lifelong struggle with drug addiction was painfully highlighted in a rendition of Holiday’s hit song 'Don’t Explain'. Peterson sings the song with such beautiful, emotional gravity that it resonates with any person who finds themselves in the role of the jilted lover.
Vocally, Peterson’s range surpasses Holiday’s limited musical scale but she expertly balances the delicate nuances of Billie’s distinctive sound and vocal styling with necessary audience satisfaction. The distinctiveness in Peterson’s stage presence and voice made it clear she understands her role in serving as a musical conduit of the renowned singer, which results in a wonderful portrayal of the famous singer.
Billie then turns the emotional waterfall abruptly OFF and asks the audience jokingly, “you probably heard I was bisexual, right?” To which she flirtatiously coos “let’s just say I’m very sexual”, accompanied by a slow, sexual grind which was met with audience laughter. She then teases the audience by dropping names of legendary Hollywood starlets she was linked to, like Greta Garbo and Tallulah Bankhead, and which one was the object of her affections, to which she playfully exclaims “since I was drunk, let’s just assume it was both”, which elicited more audience laughter. Peterson then rounds out the scene with a playful rendition of 'Taint Nobody’s Business', which had the audience in stitches.
After launching into continued conversational banter about her relationship with the famous Orson Welles, with whom she ‘balled with’, Billie gently leads the audience back into the emotional terrain of her despair with the genesis of her cult classic 'Strange Fruit.'
It is in this scene where Peterson disappears and Billie Holiday is completely channeled. As Billie recounts her difficulty singing the song as requested, due to tales of racism, Jim Crow, and the death of her father in the Dallas VA hospital, you find yourself being haunted to the core and completely drawn into her rollercoaster ride that you can’t get off of.
Included in the amusement park ride was Billie’s recollection of the death of her long-term musical collaborator Lester Young, affectionately called “Prez”, whose ex-wife wouldn’t allow Billie to sing a final musical goodbye to at his funeral, which the singer was led out of cussing and shouting.
In the final number 'Lady Sings The Blues', we find Billie enveloped in a smoky, golden heavenly haze, explaining the meaning behind her music and her life in a way that was touching and spiritually ethereal.
‘Billie’s Blues’ runs through Sun. Nov. 20 at DVA Productions permanent performing space, the Pantagleize Theater, located at 1400 Henderson Street, Bldg #3, Fort Worth, Texas 76102 (click HERE for map to theater). Please note that the theater is located off the I-30 service road ramp past the 4-way signal light. If you are traveling west on I-30, exit the Henderson Street exit. If you are traveling east on I-30, exit the Summit Street exit and make a U-turn.
Individual tickets are $15 for matinee productions and $20 for evening shows. For show dates/times, season subscriptions, and additional information about the company and theater, please visit www.dvaproductions.org.
Continue reading on Examiner.com DVA Productions opens Inaugural 2011-12 Season with ‘Billie’s Blues’ - Dallas Theater Company | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/theater-company-in-dallas/dva-productions-opens-inaugural-2011-12-season-with-billie-s-blues#ixzz1dcWtwzpH
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