Review: BLACK PEARL SINGS! Drama and Music at Its Best in Kansas City

A line from the play best describes Black Pearl Sings! when Susannah Mullally says, "Pearl is a pearl." Black Pearl Sings! opened on Saturday March 7 at the Just Off Broadway Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. The production marks two firsts for Spinning Tree Theatre, the production of a local playwright and the first time the company utilized a director outside the organization.

Frank Higgins, an accomplished Kansas City playwright, wrote the musical produced by Spinning Tree and directed by Walter Coppage. Victor En Yu Tan designs lighting for the two-person show and Angie Benson provided musical direction.

Black Pearl Sings! marks the directing debut of Kansas City actor Walt Coppage. When asked why he chose Black Pearl Sings! to make his debut he said that he had missed the play in several cities and when Andy Parkhurst and Michael Grayman offered him the chance, he jumped at it. Coppage directs the musical like an artist beautifully filling a canvas, turning the small intimate stage into a masterpiece. Higgins uses the right amount of comedy, drama, and song as Coppage blends the talents of the actors together to give it life and beauty.

Black Pearl Sings! is loosely based on the work of John Lomax and his biggest find, Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter. Higgins switches genders in his play, the parts of Lomax and Ledbetter played by women. Black Pearl Sings! is the story of Susannah Mullally an employee of the Library of Congress who is searching the country for songs of African-American decent. Deciding the best place to find the disappearing songs of black heritage would be to visit the prisons of the south. There she meets Pearl Johnson, an inmate in a Texas prison, incarcerated for murder. Pearl is intent on using Susannah to find her daughter who has disappeared from her home in Houston. From distrust to freedom, Black Pearl Sings! takes us through a journey of race, religion, and folk music.

The chemistry between Susannah, played by Vanessa Severo, and Pearl, played by Nedra Dixon, is incredible. From the moment, Pearl walks on the stage holding an iron ball chained to her ankle to the final curtain the audience feels the charisma between the two. It is that charisma that makes the musical such a moving piece. The two actors stood during the well-deserved standing ovation with tears running down their faces, to me that says it all.

Severo is superb in the role of Susannah, delivering marvelous vocals and dialogue. One of the most humorous moments comes when Pearl teaches her to dance "nasty." Dixon has a magnificent voice and the infliction in her voice transforms the ball and chain from prison to the image of slaves chained together. Both Severo and Dixon perform with their heart on their sleeves and though the vocals are of folk music, they sing them with soul. Jeannie Blau joins the two on stage as the prison guard.

The Kansas City premiere of Black Pearl Sings! dramatically ranks as one of the best productions in the 2014-2015 season in Kansas City. Black Pearl Sings! continues at the Just Off Broadway Theatre through March 22. Purchase tickets by calling 816-569-5277 or online at the Spinning Tree Theatre website. Photo courtesy of Spinning Tree Theatre.