By Carol Davis
SAN DIEGO —The energy in the lobby of the San Diego Repertory Theatre couldn’t have been any more electrifying than it was at the opening night production of Storyville.
Launching a new musical, or in this case a reworked one, is no easy fete.
According to Rep’s artistic director Sam Woodhouse, the award winning playwright Ed Bullins’ musical Storyville, which is being mounted on the Lyceum Stage, has undergone several revisions of both book and original staging by current director Ken Page.
Storyville was first seen at UCSD under the direction of the late Floyd Gaffney (the show was dedicated to him) in 1977 in the Mandeville Auditorium as part of the UCSD Theatre & Dance Department. Billed as jazz musical, both Bullins and composer/lyricist Mildred Kayden (who were in the audience on opening night) were also at La Jolla for preparations for the world premiere of Storyville in 1977. Over the years themes were added, music was subtracted then added.
Whatever the themes and scores looked like then, there are about thirty musical numbers and more little side stories than are necessary making this promising musical a theatre piece in search of and at odds with itself. The book is bogged down leaving little character development and the music is longer on ballads and not enough on jazz.
From 1898 to 1917 Storyville, New Orleans, was designated the heart of the ‘red light district’ known as “Back O Town.” Since it was legally established as such, no one bothered the comings and goings of those who lived there or those who ‘visited.’ By 1917 the Department of the Navy closed Storyville, and this is where our story picks up.
Set against a sprawling background of run down shanties, brothels and tenements (credit John Anderson for the great reproductions) Butch “Cobra” Brown (Alvester Martin III) shows up with a trunk filled with his belongings and a brand spanking new horn.
We soon learn is that he has given up his boxing career to pursue his real love that of playing a hot trumpet. Needless to say the two things Storyville was not in short supply of (well maybe more) were women of the night and trumpet players. I suppose you could add corrupt politicians and sailors to the short list.
When Brown sees and falls head over heels for the beautiful torch singer Tigré Savoy (Natalie Wachen) he runs up against a brick wall of naysayers. She wants more than just another horn blower with no money; she wants out of Storyville.
Enter the other suitor in the form of Baron Charles De Frontbleau (Cris O’Bryon) a suave businessman from France who, unbeknownst to Tigré, is nothing but a womanizer and drug dealer. That he can promise her fame in one of his clubs in Paris is the lure she needs to find fault with and push Cobra off to the sidelines.
Adding to the list in the opposition corner is the corrupt Mayor Mulligan (Paul James Kruse) who wants his pound of flesh by demanding that Cobra fight one more time, then offering him up as the prize in a drug deal.
And then there is Fife, (Chondra Profit) one of the prostitutes who dances a mean dance and vies for Butch’s attention and affection. Add another layer in the form of a contest to see who will be Storyville’s trumpeter of the year with a trumpet face off between Hot Lips (Morris plays his own horn) and Butch (he’s horn synching) and you have an awful lot going on.
Tigré’s young son George ‘Punchie’ Savoy (Tahj Myers) who, in the very beginning, steals Butch’s trumpet so he can play the instrument he really loves suddenly becomes the trumpet sound of the future of jazz. This little nugget of information comes later on as our story winds down. This might have made a more interesting story line since the one between Butch and Tigré is old stuff with a predictable ending.
Add Countess Willie (Leigh Scarrett) as the Madam with quite a bit of punch even though she doesn’t stand quite five feet (even in her 3”-5” heels and a larger than life wig) to the mix along with Mama Cecelyn Lascar (DeBorah Sharpe-Taylor) the voodoo Mama who can cast a spell on just about anyone and anything and you have a look at Storyville and its characters. Keeping track of all the minor story lines, which don’t always segue well is just one challenge in Bullins’ book.
One last observation and major distraction in the minus column on opening night was the sound (Tom Jones) at the very beginning of the show. It was distorted and loud making it difficult following Mama Cecelyn’s opening comments. By now these will be remedied.
There are, however, many things to enjoy about this show. The well-balanced cast of no less than 22 characters along with a seven-member band under the direction of pianist/ bandleader William Foster McDaniel and some of the most awesome horn blowing you’ve heard in some time by Victor Morris, whose Hot Licks Sam character as one protagonist is hot.
Some of the musical numbers blew me away especially “Razzy Dazzy Jazzy Spasm Band”, “Welcome to New Orleans”, “Back O’ Town Rag” and “Everybody’s Got Something” and that was just in first few minutes. “Fat Tuesday Parade” “Feel That Jazz”, “Who Can Stop The Beat”, “The Best Is Yet To Be” and the finale “The Music Sends Us On” are all show stoppers.
Chondra Profit’s Fifi steals the show with her erotic and beautiful dancing. Young Tahj shows promise as an up and comer. His acting is most credible and Natalie Wachen, who plays his Mom Tigré, has the voice but is unfortunately too squeaky-clean looking for that environment. Young Martin is quite handsome and looked the part as the leading romantic interest but didn’t prove to yours truly that he was fully engaged.
Everyone from Fifi in her sexy dance costumes to Butch in his boxing shorts to the Baron in his white suit looked like they belonged in 1917 New Orleans thanks to the magic of costumer Jeanne Reith. Hector Mercado’s choreography rocked and Danny Holgate’s orchestrations have the right feel.
Kinks and all, Storyville does have a story to tell and is visually stunning to see. The San Diego Repertory Theatre is to be commended for bringing it back to life. With a little more tweaking and fewer plot lines it will know when it’s ready for prime time.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: November 19th –December 12th
Organization: San Diego Repertory Theatre
Phone: 619-544-1000
Production Type: Musical
Where: 79 Horton Plaza San Diego, CA 92101
Ticket Prices: $34.00-$53.00
Web: sdrep.org
Venue: Lyceum Stage
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Davis is a San Diego-based theatre critic