THE HANGOVER REPORT – Langston Hughes’ THE BLACK CLOWN is brought to theatrical life through explosive song and dance

Davóne Tines and the company of Langston Hughes' "The Black Clown", presented by Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater.

Davóne Tines and the company of the stage adaptation of Langston Hughes’ “The Black Clown”, presented by Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater.

Last week for just a few number of performances at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival presented the stage adaptation of Langston Hughes’ seminal 1931 poem The Black Clown. Given the piece’s source material, the production eschews traditional musical theater narrative and instead opts for a revue-like format that combines a number of musical traditions – jazz, gospel, and a good dose of Broadway-style showstoppers.

The glue that ties it all together is baritone Davóne Tines in the title role, who acts as the poetic-minded narrator of the show. The piece is both an acknowledgement of the tough history of the African American people, as well as a hopeful celebration of its culture and legacy. Despite the explosion of song and dance that thrillingly takes place over the course of The Black Clown‘s exuberant 70 intermission-less minutes, it ends powerfully and movingly sans music with Mr. Tines simply reciting Hughes’ words: “Cry to the world/That all might understand:/I was once a black clown/But now—/I’m a man!”.

The music by Michael Schachter brilliantly captures the show’s ambitiously diverse musical vocabulary with exceptional knowledge of each musical tradition. The handsome Mr. Tines is superb as “The Black Clown”, giving Hughes’ black everyman an intrinsic dignity and presence. He also sounds sensational, his robust baritone ringing over the excellent 12-member ensemble of singer/dancers and splendid chamber orchestra with ease and authority. Director Zack Winokur and choreographer Chanel DaSilva have supplied the production with a seamless flow and just the right amount of pizzazz.

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THE BLACK CLOWN
Off-Broadway, Musical
Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival / Gerald W. Lynch Theater
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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