Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The bewitching Jomama Jones reemerges in the West Village to shed her BLACK LIGHT on our rough times

• By drediman
• October 12, 2018
• No Comments

Daniel Alexander Jones stars as Jomama Jones in “Black Light” at Greenwich House Theater. Photo by Chad Batka.

This week, Daniel Alexander Jones’s Black Light opened at the Greenwich House Theater. In this soulful, categorically-challenged solo musical, Mr. Jones takes on the fictitious persona of the regal Jomama Jones, who, from the void, appears to her adoring fans. She brings with her not only her personal history, but also a cosmic perspective on our place in the larger scheme of things, particularly through the lens of the African American experience. You see, the nurturing yet sensuous Jomama, it appears, is tapped into a deeper and larger truth that escapes us mere mortals. The experience of watching the show is difficult to describe, but Black Light is more akin to ritualistic group therapy, with Ms. Jones acting high priestess, than watching a proper musical. God knows we need such guidance during our rough times.

Directed by Tea Alagić, the production is a remount of a show that had played Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater earlier this year. For this return engagement, the Greenwich House Theater – most people will know it as the Barrow Street Theater, the former home of the long running hit revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd – has been transformed yet again into an immersive environment like its previous tenant, this time into an atmospheric cabaret venue (alas, there’s no table service before or during the show). Throughout the evening, Ms. Jones explores the space’s various nooks and crannies, eager to break the fourth wall to directly engage the audience and create a communal experience, as a high priestess should.

The reason to really see the show is to be in the presence of Mr. Jones’s creation, Jomama Jones. As a performer, Daniel Alexander Jones is a naturally charismatic entertainer and more importantly, a consummate storyteller. Every moment of the bewitching portrayal is meticulously crafted and her flawlessly delivered tales struck a chord of authenticity. It’s a kind of performance that’s very difficult to pull off in such intimate quarters under such close scrutiny, but Mr. Jones succeeds brilliantly. And if some of the well-crafted funk and soul infused songs (played expertly by an upbeat onstage band) sometimes struck me as a tad too didactic and prescriptive, it’s a testament to Jomama’s luminous, ravishing spirit (by the way, she’s backed vocally by two sweet, sweet-voiced “vibrations”) that the score nonetheless lifts the audience up.

RECOMMENDED

BLACK LIGHT
Off-Broadway, Musical
Greenwich House Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through December 31