Porchlight's 'Blues in the Night' might just brighten your day
It may be last call at a south side Chicago hotel in 1938, but the night has just begun at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts as Porchlight Music Theater Company dazzles in its latest mainstage production, Blues in the Night.
Originally conceived by Sheldon Epps in 1980 and now directed by Kenny Ingram in 2021, Blue’s in the Night is a Tony-nominated musical revue that weaves together the iconic tunes of legends past like Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke and Alberta Hunter. (More on the show's history can be found here.)
Associate Music Director Maulty Jewell IV serves as on-stage conductor and master of the ivories. Surrounding him—as visibly and emotionally invested in what’s happening onstage as the cast itself—we have Darius Hampton on reeds, Rafe Bradford on bass, and Ricardo Jimenez on trumpet. Each musician gets time in the spotlight, but nothing fills the space quite like Jimenez’s trumpet. In “Take Me for a Buggy Ride,” for example, he garners complete delight from audience members by authentically mimicking the sound of a horse’s neigh with his horn.
Comprised of Porchlight regulars, folks making their Porchlight debut, and award-winners alike, the cast of Blues in the Night possesses this propulsive, next-level talent that’s delivered with deceptive nonchalance. And no one embodies this overt star-power cloaked in flaw and relatability better than Tony nominee Felicia P. Fields (“The Lady from the Road”). Despite being alone onstage during her solo numbers (“New Orleans Hop Scop Blues,” “Take Me for a Buggy Ride,” and “Wasted Life Blues), Fields knows how to connect. She continuously gulps up big bursts of energy from the band helmed by and sends it right back into the audience so intently watching her. Her big brown eyes move through the space with ferocity and openness; she sings toward the intensity, wherever she can feel it in the room.
Another crowd-work-forward, stand-out performance comes from Evan Tyrone Martin (“The Man in the Saloon”). Last seen in Porchlight’s mainstage production of Dreamgirls, Martin has a singing voice that belongs on stages far bigger than the Ruth Page. His tone is rich; his breath support is unwavering,; his sound soars through the space; and you can’t help but shiver when it hits you. Like Ms. Fields, Martin possesses the distinct ability to bring individuals seated in the balcony right onstage with him by looking them straight in the eye and holding there, even for a moment.
While these stars certainly shine bright, Blues in the Night would be nothing without its powerful ensemble numbers, namely ones featuring all three women of the hotel. Donica Lynn (“The Woman of the World”) and Claire Kennedy (“The Girl with a Date”) round out the trio with powerhouse voices that compliment Ms. Fields rather than overpower of shy away from her. A Porchlight regular who recently starred as Effie alongside Mr. Martin in Dreamgirls, Donica Lynn brings a gospel sensibility to her work, playing with runs that move up and down, spanning and showing off her enormous range.
A graduate of Northwestern University’s theater program and making her Porchlight debut, Claire Kennedy possesses a more classical musical theater sound that, at first, feels slightly out of place within the tonal setting. However, as the show goes on and we get to know “The Girl with a Date” more, we see Kennedy get down and dirty with her belts and runs- so much so that, at one point, Ms. Fields retorts, “See? Even white people need the Blues too.”
When you combine best in class theatrical talent with a band that intimately knows and loves the music, Blues in the Night might just brighten your day.
Blues in the Night plays through March 13th at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St. For tickets or more information, please call (773) 777-9884 or visit PorchlightMusicTheater.org.
Photos by Anthony La Penna.