Black Pearl Sings!
Black Pearl Sings!
by Frank Higgins
directed by Jennifer L. Nelson
September 25-October 18, 2009
Susannah, a song collector for the Library of Congress, travels the country seeking little-known melodies. When she encounters Pearl in a Texas prison, she discovers dozens of musical treasures rooted in the African tradition. Pearl must decide whether to give away her ancestors’ songs for a chance at her own freedom. Music unites strangers in a powerful story that illuminates America’s racial divisions and the attempts of two women to bridge them. Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins makes her Ford’s Theatre debut in the title role with Erika Rolfsrud as Susannah. Jennifer L. Nelson returns to direct for the first time since her critically acclaimed production of Jitney.
This production is appropriate for ages 12 and up.
Reviews
Black Pearl Sings! “can offer a lesson in the resonant gifts of Tonya Pinkins, whose a capella delivery of an evening's worth of spirituals fills Ford's Theatre with achingly mournful melody. In songs like ‘Hard Times in Old Virginia’ and ‘Do Lord Remember Me,’ [Pinkins] conjures something akin to an exquisite agony, the sense of a trapped people, finding ways to transform unfathomable pain into beauty.”
The Washington Post
“Pinkins' Pearl is a sharp, feisty woman, for whom family is all. The play depends to a large extent on her ability to make her music supremely soulful or funny or sexy or profound. She delivers every time.”
DC Examiner
“Pinkins’ hums alone are soul stirring arias, and when she adds the trembling lyrics of tribulation and oppression, mixed with gospel uplifting endurance, well, she takes you to a different place. With its references to Lincoln, the Union Army, and the Civil War, Black Pearl Sings! is a stellar opening season production at Ford’s Theatre and a fitting tribute to all the artists involved.”
DC Theatre Scene
"Five Stars! Pinkins is a marvel to watch in the role of Pearl. Forceful and dynamic, she brings us a Pearl who defies easy categorization. The actress captures the guarded strength of woman whose life has given her more pain than poetry. Pinkins is mesmerizing.... Rolfsrud gives weight and nuance to Susannah's dreams and obstacles, even causing them to echo through our contemporary lives... Black Pearl Sings! is a wonderful jewel box of a show, a play that seems quite simple and uncluttered at first glance, but unfolds and blooms and blossoms in the hands of an exquisite cast."
Metro Weekly
“Black Pearl really sings.... [The play] reaches into the soul of a nation and pulls at the heart and mind … poignant and often funny … involving and emotionally charged.”—Sarasota Herald-Tribune
“Moving, funny and intellectually compelling.”—Houston Press
Post-Performance Discussion: Saturday, October 3
Following the 2:30 p.m. matinee, members of the cast will take questions from the audience and discuss the artistic process. Post-performance discussions begin immediately after the performance. Individuals wishing to attend the discussion will be invited into the theatre after the audience from the performance departs.
Special Events
At 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 4, director Jennifer L. Nelson will participate in A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) at Busboys and Poets (2021 14th St., Washington, D.C.). No reservations are required.
Sponsors
Media Partner: WHUR-FM
Production Sponsors: BAE Systems; Visa Inc.; Funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Please note: The September 30 performance is a private performance.
Dates
- Friday, September 25, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Saturday, September 26, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Sunday, September 27, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Tuesday, September 29, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Thursday, October 1, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Friday, October 2, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Saturday, October 3, 2009 - 2:30pm
- Saturday, October 3, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Sunday, October 4, 2009 - 2:30pm
- Sunday, October 4, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Tuesday, October 6, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Wednesday, October 7, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Thursday, October 8, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Friday, October 9, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 2:30pm
- Saturday, October 10, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Sunday, October 11, 2009 - 2:30pm
- Wednesday, October 14, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 11:00am
- Thursday, October 15, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Friday, October 16, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 2:30pm
- Saturday, October 17, 2009 - 7:30pm
- Sunday, October 18, 2009 - 2:30pm