Review: 8 STEPS TO HEAVEN Gets Funky At Vincent Victoria Presents

Rick James and Prince meet in purgatory and have to resolve their differences to move on to their ultimate reward.  That is the premise for the new show from Vincent Victoria named 8 NOTES TO HEAVEN.  It’s a mix of existential fantasy, funk battles, and real-life reflections on two artists known as problematic in relationships and any space outside their music.  The two couldn’t be more different, yet as Vincent’s play meditates, they have some common ground.  In my mind, Prince versus Michael Jackson, David Bowie, or Madonna would make more sense spiritually regarding their music careers.  But in terms of personal issues about women and live concerts, Prince and Rick it is.  Add to the fuel one time Prince refused to give Rick James’ mother an autograph, and you have the beef to base a play on.  

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James died in 2004 at 56, while Prince passed in 2016 at 57.  The two interacted in the real world most notably with Prince opening for James during his Fire It Up Tour in 1979 and 1980. Rick James claimed Prince stole large parts of his act and inspired the Purple One’s later success in the early 80s.   They had a relationship not unlike the one seen in AMADEUS between Mozart and Salieri.  But you wonder if Prince ever focused on the feud quite the same way that James seemed to seethe in it.  Their intersectionality was never emphasized until Showtime debuted 2021’s BITCHIN’: THE SOUND AND FURY OF Rick James.  

Vincent Victoria is asking the impossible of his cast - play Rick James and Prince, two of the most recognizable cultural icons of the ‘80s.  Every audience member will know both men and have opinions from the jump.  I grew up worshipping Prince and analyzing his every move.  PURPLE RAIN was one of the first concert tours I saw as a kid, and I have a collection of albums, CDs, and collectibles that could be displayed proudly in Paisley Park.  I have lingered inside his personal studio and attended more concerts than any other artist. Asking someone to play Prince in front of me is asking the improbable because he lives on in my mind indelibly like many kids from the 80s who watched hours and hours of MTV (when it played music).  

When I saw 8 NOTES TO HEAVEN “Older Prince” was played by Demetrus Singleton who made the wise move of not doing an impersonation.  Instead, he brought Prince into himself, avoided making the man a caricature, and let him just be.  He kept his voice soft and calm and surprisingly played him without a hint of flash or hyperbole.  Never mind Demetrus is a foot and a half taller, skipped the makeup, and weighs a good deal more (not hard to be considering how short and thin Prince was).  He managed to exude an essence of other-worldliness often associated with his Royal Badness.  Antonio Vines played the role of the young prince.  He is also a bit thicker than the man but played a quiet version of the Purple Monarch compared to Rick James.   He has more sexual charisma but also gets to play off a girlfriend.  Both men wisely maneuver their performances to avoid slipping into caricatures or cartoons.  Venise Watson played “Vanity” or Denise Winters on Sunday, and I was impressed by how well she captured the lady's spirit.   She also returns later to portray Mayte, which works just as well.  

Now when it comes to playing Rick James, you get much more freedom.  Rick was all bluster, bluff, and c*ckrock attitude.  Bryce Ivan plays him older, and he has the speech patterns and movements down.  Terrence Williams portrays a younger, more volatile Rick and pulls off some of the skimpiest costumes you will see this year in Houston theater.  Thankfully, with the help of his body and TONS of the right attitude, he pulls it off brilliantly. These two offer more performative quality to their portrayal of James, but it works in their favor.  They strut, shout, and sometimes look alarmingly close to what Rick James appeared like in the real world. You may have to squint to see Prince on the stage, but Rick James pops all the way to the back row unmistakably.  It’s definitely, “Rick James, B–ch!” CarrieLee Sparks bravely plays the “white women”  who dated Rick, including Teena Marie and Linda Blair.  She’s effective and hits right where she should. 

The whole show is a fun concept, like Rick James and Prince if they starred in the existentialist classic NO EXIT.  A Greek chorus or ensemble, comprised of some of Vincent Victoria’s most reliable actors, surrounds them.  They keep the show moving and whirling along just fine and often add incredible vocals to some acapella pieces that are stunning in their delivery.  Vincent knows how to put on a show and uses every inch of the stage in the proceedings.  There is a large support system here from the company, and it’s hard to imagine this piece without them. Vincent Victoria’s signature style is to treat theater in a flimic way, and this one never disappoints in that respect.  

If there is anything I can criticize about 8 NOTES TO HEAVEN, it doesn’t delve into the psyche of either figure.  We scratch a lot of surfaces, but Rick James and Prince have such a thin history together that it never cuts very deep.   The play works more as a satire or an experiment rather than examining what these two musicians meant to the world.  Yet, I suppose most people will have decided that long before they take their seats.  If you have never heard of Rick James or Prince, I doubt you are funky enough to get down with this show in the first place. But if you are a major fan of either, just get ready to have some fun and nothing more.  Some of the songs they attempt as a duet as Prince and Rick James don’t capture the right flavor, and maybe in later iterations, they could be skipped altogether.  As hard as it is to play these two, singing anything like them is a lost cause.  There’s a reason most people stay away from them on karaoke night.    

Yet in the end, EIGHT NOTES TO HEAVEN is just a joyous ride.  I love the idea of Prince and Rick James battling it out over who had more funk and who had more soul.  In truth, they were both icons who did revolutionary things.  Rick came in from the rock and roll side and introduced the world to what came to be known as “punk funk.”  He was a stoner icon, a sexual force of nature, and a guy who produced some of the catchiest songs around.  Prince played every instrument, bent gender to his own liking, and married soul and stadium rock in a way that nobody has ever come close to replicating.  He was one of a kind, a musical genius who could never be contained by the music industry.  Being trapped in a room with either one would be my idea of heaven.  So this is the next best thing, seeing Vincent Victoria’s take on what it would be like.  Just eight notes, and you are there.  I wish u heaven.  May u live 2 see the dawn.  

EIGHT NOTES TO HEAVEN plays through December 17th at the Midtown Arts Center on La Branch.  It contains a lot of coarse language, so those sensitive to swearing may need to steel themselves.  Rick James is not holding anything back. 

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