Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kecia Lewis and Rebecca Naomi Jones shine brightly in George Brant’s excellent MARIE AND ROSETTA

• By drediman
• September 16, 2016
• No Comments

Rebecca Naomi Jones as Marie Knight and Kecia Lewis as Sister Rosetta Tharpe

The Atlantic Theater Company got its season to a rousing start with this week’s opening of George Brant’s excellent new two-hander Marie and Rosetta. Mr. Brant impressed me deeply in his last outing, the solo show Grounded, which was lasted mounted in New York with none other than Anne Hathaway in a Public Theater production directed by Julie Taymor (!). Marie and Rosetta, a deceptively simple play that depicts the first rehearsal session between the trailblazing African American musical duo of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Marie Knight, continues to show Mr. Brant to be a playwright of great craft and insight. The play is peppered with musical interludes that play an increasingly dramatic role in the storytelling.

In the hands of Kecia Lewis and Rebecca Naomi Jones, Sister Rosetta and Marie, respectively, are sensationally brought to life. Mrs. Lewis, in particular, is giving a volcanic performance of great range, effortless command, and hard-won grace.  Ms. Jones’s performance is more of a slow-burner. But it’s a skillful performance, culminating in a heartbreaking ballad to Rosetta that left this critic in tears. Both are in very fine voice, and when they open their mouths to sing, the electricity in the Linda Gross Theater is palpable. The world premiere production is helmed with a sure hand by Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MARIE AND ROSETTA
Off-Broadway, Play
Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through October 16