Theatre Review : A Midnight Cry
Kathryn is at it again. She has another great theatre review on Better Than Broadway about another great performance at Dallas Children’s Theatre.
There isn’t much I can say about this play, other than this is one of the most professional, well written, well performed, well staged plays I have seen in a long time. Certainly not what one expects at local community theater. The ensemble has been touring for six months, in fifty-eight cities, and they performed as fresh as if it were opening night.
The slavery theme can cause one to run the other direction when touched upon in art and theater; but James DaVita has penned a moving and educational script. The musical selection and arrangements by Josh Schmidt and Sheri Panell are the meat of the entire show. The slave spirituals are just stunning and “holy” revealing in themselves. The vocals talents of the Ensemble were so fine tuned I just held my breathe in awe. The lead actors, Rhianna Mack, Octavia Thomas, Cedric Neal, and Rick Spivey, not only portrayed fully developed characters, but their vocals during the musical interludes will stop you in your tracks. Amazing!
I highly recommend this play for all High School and College History Classes and students in general, wanting to learn more about the Underground Railroad. The play gives an honest and real picture of slavery, during a difficult and shameful time in our country. I asked Ms. Mack (Lida) how she prepared herself for this role; she told me they spent some time at the underground rail historical site in Tennessee, she said that was a very moving experience for her.
Ms. Mack is a native Louisianan, and being southern, I am sure she was brought up with the terrible lack of information most of our youth get about the slavery issues in America. But, she handled her role as Lida, with power and truth. This play is about Lida a young slave girl, who has to flee her master for fear of her life, and how she makes her way to the beloved idea of freedom. Freedom is taken for granted so much these days by all of us, this is a fantastic reminder of how beautiful it is and how we can lose it if not protected or doled out equally.
Thank you for an excellent night at the theater.
Kathryn Wisdom
Dallas Children’s Theater
5938 Skillman
Dallas, TX 75231
(214) 978-0110