By Julie-Anne Whitney
‘Marie and Rosetta’ – Written by George Brant, Directed by Pascale Florestal; Music Direction by Erica Telisnor; Scenic Design by Baron E. Pugh; Lighting Design by Kathleen Zhou; Sound Design by John Stone; Costume Design by Michelle Villada. Co-Produced by Greater Boston Stage Company and The Front Porch Arts Collective at 395 Main Street Stoneham, MA through November 10, 2019.
In collaboration with The Front Porch Arts Collective, Greater Boston Stage Company (GBSC) continues their 20th Anniversary Season with the New England premiere of George Brant’s Marie and Rosetta. This 90-minute biographical play with music follows the revolutionary American gospel rock musician, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and her protégée, gospel singer Marie Knight, on the eve of their first rehearsal before embarking on a concert tour that would change their lives forever.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973) has been hailed as “America’s first Gospel Rock Star,” and the “Godmother of Rock & Roll.” Thrilling audiences with her soul-stirring vocals and innovative guitar playing, Tharpe was a bona fide superstar. Between the late 1930s and mid-1950s, she was the only popular American musician brave enough to cross in and out of gospel, swing, jazz, blues, and rock music. Her pioneering and often provocative artistry inspired some of music’s most legendary artists (many of whom even covered some of Tharpe’s biggest hits) such as Johnny Cash, Little Richard, Nina Simone, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, and Bonnie Raitt, among others. Yet, amazingly, Tharpe remains a mostly unrecognized musical legend.
Playwright George Brant was the first to place Sister Rosetta’s story on the stage with the world premiere of Marie and Rosetta at Atlantic Theater Company in 2016. Before that there was Gayle Wald’s 2007 biography “Shout, Sister, Shout!: The Untold Story of Rock-and-Roll Trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe,” which inspired the 2011 PBS documentary, “The Godmother of Rock and Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe,” and Cheryl L. West’s musical Shout, Sister, Shout! which premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in 2017. While it is exciting that Tharpe’s influence on the music industry is finally being recognized, it is upsetting to think that she was nearly forgotten altogether. However, with productions of Marie and Rosetta cropping up in more than half a dozen U.S. cities this season, and with the musical Shout, Sister, Shout! continuing its journey with a new production at Seattle Rep later this fall, it seems that Sister Rosetta is headed back into the spotlight where she belongs.
GBSC’s modest production of Brant’s play gets its wings from the two leading players. Dazzling audiences with their powerhouse vocals are Lovely Hoffman as Sister Rosetta and Pier Lamia Porter as Marie. Hoffman’s energy is infectious, bringing a natural vitality to the bigger-than-life character of Sister Rosetta. While Hoffman’s speaking voice can be a bit grating, her singing is positively scintillating. Hoffman really soars during her bluesy, melancholy solo of “I Looked Down the Line” in which she cries, “I looked down the line and I wondered / …And the line looked sad and lonesome / Just to see how far that I was from God…” Porter’s unfeigned, grounded performance of the earnest, starry-eyed Marie Knight is elevated as she becomes transformed and transported by the music. The deep, low ache in Porter’s voice seems to hint at hidden pain, adding a darker, complex layer to an otherwise bright and cheery character.
Pascale Florestal’s restrained direction leaves plenty of space for Hoffman and Porter to play off of each other, but I do wish more time had been spent exploring the (rumored) romantic side of Tharpe and Knight’s relationship. Perhaps it is Brant’s script that limits this possibility, but the potential was there. Baron E. Pugh’s set design seems, at first, a bit perplexing with a small raised platform complete with a faux proscenium arch, an upright piano, and an old dressing trunk – all flanked by four closed caskets – but the intention for this set up becomes clear in the final scene of the play. Kathleen Zhou’s unobtrusive lighting design creates a tranquil, focused view of Tharpe and Knight, who seem to glow from a kind of heavenly light – as if their voices are the very things that bring God into the room.
When Marie tells Sister Rosetta, “It’s not right – people not remembering your name,” I wondered how many other stories have been forgotten, ignored, or erased from history. I wondered how many white men and women have benefited from the courage and genius of the black men and women who paved the way for them. I wondered how Sister Rosetta would feel about this room full of black and white people, gay and straight people, artists and non-artists, believers and non-believers being brought together by her music, being changed by her story. I hope she would be proud. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.greaterbostonstage.org/
