'THE MAN' SINGS A TELLING TALE OF THE BLUES.Byline: Julio Martinez Julio Martinez is the weekly host of KPFK Radio’s Arts in Review, is a theatre critic for Daily Variety and Features Editor of Latin Heat Magazine. His articles have appeared in Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage West, L.A. Correspondent THE GEFFEN PLAYHOUSE The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not for profit performing arts theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally named the Westwood Playhouse, UCLA purchased the property in 1993. UCLA's then chancellor, Charles E. launches its 2003-04 season with ``I Just Stopped By to See the Man,'' British playwright Stephen Jeffreys' chronicle of the cathartic cathartic (kəthär`tĭk): see laxative. meeting between aged Delta bluesman Jesse (played by Clarence Williams III Clarence Williams III (born August 21, 1939) is an American actor. His first major acting role was as "Linc Hayes" on Aaron Spelling's The Mod Squad. He has guest starred in television shows such as Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, ) and career-driven young British rocker Karl (Donovan Leitch Donovan Leitch can refer to the following people:
Jeffreys' dialogue is imbued with colorful, often hilarious repartee rep·ar·tee n. 1. A swift, witty reply. 2. Conversation marked by the exchange of witty retorts. See Synonyms at wit1. as these two vastly divergent personalities discover their true communication exists only within the structure of a 12-bar blues. The setting is a rural cabin in the Mississippi Delta This article is about the geographic region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. For other uses, see Mississippi Delta (disambiguation). The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo , the year is 1975, the tail end of the British '60s blues revival that brought legends like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf out of obscurity and thrust them onto the same stages as such high-powered young British blues virtuosos as John Mayall, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. This popularity of the revival is lost on 75-year-old Jesse Davidson, a blues singer who was once known as ``The Man,'' but is now living with his college professor-turned-waitress daughter Della (JoNell Kennedy) in hiding from the outside world. Both have fled their pasts. Jesse is thought to have died in a car crash that killed his wife and her lover 14 years before. Jesse has allowed the guilt and the shame of the event to drive him into a hovel HOVEL. A place used by husbandmen to set their ploughs, carts, and other farming utensils, out of the rain and sun. Law Latin Dict. A shed; a cottage; a mean house. where his only respites are daily visits to the neighboring church and his often barbed but affectionate verbal bouts with his daughter. Unbeknown to Jesse, Della's black militant activities have put her on the run from the law and her former colleagues. What safer place to hide than with a dead man? Into their isolated world comes Karl, a white English rock star who is fighting his own demons Demons See also devil; evil; ghosts; hell; spirits and spiritualism. ademonist one who denies the existence of the devil or demons. bogyism, bogeyism recognition of the existence of demons and goblins. . A recovering drug addict who is totally dependent on his music to keep him clean and sober, Karl is facing the breakup of his band. Leitch impressively conveys Karl's amalgam of idolatry Idolatry Aaron responsible for the golden calf. [O.T.: Exodus 32] Ashtaroth Canaanite deities worshiped profanely by Israelites. [O.T. and desperation as he attempts to persuade Jesse to appear on stage with his group to hopefully save his career and reinvent Jesse's. Jeffreys overburdens his plot a bit with an abundance of twists and thematic side trips, but director Randall Arney smoothly balances the shifting focus as the motivations and secrets of each of the three characters are tantalizingly tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. revealed. The cast members certainly inhabit their roles. Williams, who first gained fame as one of the trio of crime busters in TV's '70s hit ``The Mod Squad,'' imbues Jesse with a haunting sense of resignation as to his lot. Though he does not possess an impressive singing voice, Williams is totally committed to the process. He also communicates Jesse's infectious wry humor as he indulges the white boy from Surrey England who thinks he knows the blues. Leitch, the son of British folk rock legend Donovan Leitch, actually is a better-than-average vocalist whose singing surpasses his guitar skills as he makes his way through a song by blues legend Robert Johnson. Leitch exudes the edgy determination that pushes Karl to attempt to use his money and persuasive powers to enter the lives of Jesse and Della. Kennedy is at her best when playing sarcastic devil's advocate to both Jesse and Karl. She also communicates Della's growing panic that Jesse's emergence from the dead will inevitably lead to her undoing. John Arnone's wooden shack set is authentically dilapidated, with Daniel Ionazzi's evocative lighting intensifying the atmosphere. Also impressive are the wide-screen video re-creations of Karl in concert before thousands of cheering fans, made even more realistic by the sound design of Richard Woodbury. I JUST STOPPED BY TO SEE THE MAN - Three stars Where: Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday, 4 and 8:30 p.m. Saturday, 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday; through Oct. 19. Tickets: $28 to $46. (310) 208-5454. In a nutshell: Despite a few creaky creak·y adj. creak·i·er, creak·i·est 1. Tending to creak. 2. Shaky or infirm, as with age; decrepit: creaky knee joints; a creaky regime. instances, this sojourn through the cathartic meeting of a black Delta blues legend and a 1970s British rocker offers a zesty yet haunting portrait of two lost souls striving to find salvation within the structure of a 12-bar blues. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Clarence Williams III is a Delta blues legend who most think died in a car crash in ``I Just Stopped By to See the Man.'' |
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