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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Timbuktu!
The singing is great, and the show's con-men and -women add plenty of delightful twists and turns. It's the all-Black version of the 1953 musical Kismet, a Golden Age show that was co-written by Luther Davis and Charles Lederer using the melodies of Alexander Borodin, with lyrics and additional music by George Forrest and Robert Wright. The musical Kismet was based on the original 1911 play of the same name, a tale of exotic romance by Edward Knoblock. (My Middle Eastern spouse pronounces it "Ghesnmat," which roughly translates as "your portion," or perhaps "the hand you were dealt.") Anyway, both of the subsequent musical versions feature great songs like "Stranger in Paradise" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads." And the 1978 all-Black version is now getting a melodic new staging (thanks in large part to great singers and music director Colin Healy) at the Edison Theatre at Washington University. The 1953 songs, carried forward in 1978's Timbuktu!, gain dramatic intensity with the addition of African folk music and striking tribal-style percussion live on stage by Caph P. Guei. And from artful, intense dance specials choreographed by Haley Rhiney. The original Timbuktu! ran just six months on Broadway, but earned four Tony Award nominations, including one for Luther Davis (bookwriter) for Most Innovative Revival (of his own 1953 show). That said, 46 years after the first Timbuktu!, the night I went, there were a lot of tiny little dead spots in the production, in between all the bright spotlight moments. And the two young lovers, played by the very likable Evann De-Bose (as Marsinah) and Dereis Lambert (as The Mansa), suffered grievously from dead microphones at the beginnings of each of their songs. But they both sound like beautifully trained singers, and their tenacity proved triumphant: their voices build and twine and come to complex climaxes every time. Overall, the show looks great, with a beautiful storybook set by Dunsi Dai, and costumes to match by Kristie Chiyere Osi. Duane Martin Foster is fine as The Poet, who's also the con-man father of Marsinah. And, like the two ingenues, he sings with remarkable artistry. But the show's comedy is not in his key. More broadly, the supporting cast is terrific, in spite of the fact that there's almost always a tiny breath or pause between all the dozens of entrances in new scenes. These, collectively, are the source of the many little dead spots that bedevil the action. The strings were wobbly in the overture in this weekend performance, but otherwise the band played beautifully. Once things get going in each scene or song, Timbuktu! is great. But, on stage, any time the show has to rely on smooth entrances, there's a tiny little pause. It's very odd, because there are three stage managers credited. And yet we somehow end up with the opposite of director Himes' (or any director's) intended result: a smooth-flowing show. None of these criticisms (of delayed entrances or of phantom limb humor, or those heartbreakingly somnambulant mic cues) apply to the great Drummond Crenshaw as the comical bad guy, the Wazir of Police. His histrionic machinations (especially in Act Two) add a powerful sense of relief to the term "comic relief." Likewise, Amarachi Kalu is terrific as his wife Sahleem-La-Lum, a deliciously stagey presence. By her side, the delightful Kimmie Kidd is a pleasure to watch, and vastly overqualified to play Sahleem's clever lady-in-waiting, Najua. Keith Tyrone Williams is grand and imposing as the pirate, and tireless in a long list of ensemble roles himself. Timbuktu! runs through June 9, 2024, at the Edison Theatre, on the campus of Washington University, 6300 Forsyth Blvd., St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.theblackrep.org Cast: Ensemble: Musicians: Production Staff: * Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association ** Denotes Member, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Inc. |
