'Cool
Papa's Party' is a must-attend event
By Nancy Dunham
February 25, 2009
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Roz White, Jahi Kearse and Gia Mora star in
"Cool Papa's Party" at Metro Stage in Alexandria. — Courtesy Photo
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ALEXANDRIA — 'Cool Papa's Party' has got to
be the sleeper production of the year thus far with a compelling story, killer
dance moves, and nary a weak member of the company in sight.
Loosely based on the life of legendary performer Sammy Davis Jr., who died of
throat cancer in 1990, playwright and director Thomas W. Jones II isn't afraid
to call the shots as he sees them for the sake of political correctness. White
show business moguls, the deeply entrenched political machines and even the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People are portrayed as
using and abusing Cool Papa Rose (Jahi Kearse).
Don't think that Jones clobbers the audience over the head with his messages a
la other scribes who aren't content unless they grind audiences' metaphoric
noses into the missive. The prejudice Davis endured is noted as part of the
fuller story as of how this pre-Depression baby moved from a vaudeville troupe
to a bona fide singer, dancer, actor and member of the legendary Rat Pack with
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.
The dialogue — whether spoken or sung — makes the story come alive without
resorting to over-the-top, cheesy scenes that clutter many musicals. The only
sour note from my perspective was the depiction of Frank Sinatra (1915 to 1998)
who came across as a not-too-bright, semisleazy user
in his own right. Called Johnnie Domingo (Benjamin Horen)
in this production, the character seemed flat and wildly out of sync with
Sinatra's real life. Sinatra is widely known to have held a burning hate for
racism, refusing to perform at clubs that barred Davis, Quincy Jones and others
of color, according to biographies of both Davis and Jones.
But other than that misstep, the story moves gamely between Davis' passion for
show business and his personal life which included the hatred he endured when
he was romantically involved with several white women (in real life, Davis was
in a relationship with actress Kim Novak and was married to actress May Britt
from 1960 to 1968. At the time of his death, he was married to Altovise Davis, a woman of color, whom he had wed in 1970).
Although Kearse refers to the song "Candyland," a take on Davis' 1972 No. 1 hit "The Candy
Man," most of the show's music is original. The songs by William Knowles
are a blend of jazz, rhythm and blues, and other genres, which take the
characters through the decades of Davis'
life thanks to rousing renditions by a five-person band. As you'd expect, the
choreography by the legendary artist Maurice Hinds, is brilliant and engaging.
If you're looking for an engaging story that hits all the high notes, don't
miss this "Party."
If
you go
'Cool Papa's Party'
Where: Metro Stage, 1201 N. Royal St., Alexandria
When: Various times
through March 15
Info: $40 and up;
703-548-9044; www.metrostage.com
Reviewed:
Cool Papa’s Party at MetroStage
By Hilary Crowe
February 23, 2009
In Cool Papa’s Party, director and author
Thomas W. Jones II exhumes the life and times of showbiz legend and original
hipster Sammy Davis, Jr. This séance of a Vegas variety show is both a charming
love letter from one entertainer to another and a fast-paced history play that
sometimes leaves contemporary audiences—strangers to hepcats
scatting at the Sands and sharkskin suits sipping martinis at The Flamingo—in
the dark.
In “Top Cat,” which
smacks of Judy Blume wisdom, the titular character
(played by Jahi Kearse)
parks it at the edge of the stage and sings a heartfelt appeal to God,
theoretically the “heppest” cat this side of
eternity. in the first sign that this is not an
all-ages production, Cool Papa’s earnest plea for divine guidance elicits
snickers from the irreverent, under-35 crowd. But things get a little murkier
from there.
The litany of
historical references and period lingo preference an audience who has either
lived through the era or studied it, meaning that strangers to Vegas history
will find Cool Papa’s hard-knock-life narrative as hard to follow as his
mercurial love life. In an effort to make his production more accessible, Jones
peppers Cool Papa’s Party
with summarial monologues, during which Kearse’s Cool Papa reflects on life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness. But decoding what is essentially Civil Rights-themed slam
poetry requires a lot of critical listening and inference-making on the part of
the audience: The flow is tremendous and the allusions playful and amusing—but
tune out for a second and next thing you know, Cool Papa is inexplicably
cupping his left eye with one hand and whipping out an eye patch with the
other, later proclaiming “It’s my party, and I’ll cry out my one eye if I want
to!”
Cool Papa’s Party is more than just a
running history lesson set to immaculate jazz (courtesy of composer,
keyboardist and onstage conductor William Knowles)–it’s also a fantastic
coupling of choreography and narrative. In “The List,” Cool Papa shrugs off blacklisters lined up in front of a giant American flag,
and delivers the zinger, “I can’t get any blacker than this!”–ramping up the
musical’s rumblings of double consciousness. In “I’m Gonna
Be The One,” Cool Papa’s two-timing, womanizing ways
are on display as he’s confronted by his newest wife and “the other woman,”
who–along with dancers in mini dresses and knee-high gogo
boots–compete for Cool Papa in a psychedelic dance number.
The seven capable cast
members deliver knockout performances that almost make the audience forget that
they’re in a converted lumber warehouse in Alexandria instead of at The Sands
in Vegas (assuming they know what the Sands is).
And though his method of conveyance needs tweaking, Jones’
sprawling musical touches on sophisticated national and personal identity
issues, like second-class citizenship and an American brand of patriotism
wrapped in idolatry and bigotry.
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