A #TCTheater holiday* season really isn't complete without
Penumbra Theatre's annual production of Black Nativity, the truest expression of a "joyful noise" I've ever seen. They've been doing this show in various incarnations for over 30 years, but this is only
my fourth time seeing it. And it's been a few years, so I was overdue for this healing balm, especially necessary this year, with the world seemingly getting bleaker every day (and literally getting darker every day as we progress towards the Winter Solstice). The show is similar to what they've been doing the last several years, with a few changes in personnel. But it's always a source of joy and inspiration, lifting the spirits to face whatever darkness is to come as we leave the theater, just like Black churches have been doing for their congregations for centuries.
Black Nativity continues through December 22.
What follows is
what I wrote about the 2018 production, with a few updates.
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| photo by Caroline Yang |
Black Nativity is the traditional nativity story as expressed through Black culture, starting with the text by the great African American poet
Langston Hughes. Read by narrator Jennifer Whitlock in short phrases or longer stanzas between the songs, his words are poetic and powerful, casting this familiar (to those of us who grew up in the Christian tradition) story in a new light. Or rather, a new Blackness. The story of a young couple in need turned away from a fancy hotel, told "there's no room for you here," takes on a different meaning when it's a Black couple. The nativity is a beautiful story that has been told in many ways for thousands of years, inspiring people around the world, as it continues to do here.
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| Greta Oglesby and Dennis Spears (photo by Caroline Yang) |
The nativity story is also expressed through music and dance. Led by music director Sanford Moore on keyboard, the gospel music is enough to raise the rafters of Penumbra's intimate theater space. Featuring a five-piece band, a five-person choir from Kingdom Life Church in Robbinsdale directed by soloist Angela Stewart, and featured singers and #TCTheater favorites Greta Oglesby and Dennis W. Spears, the songs fit the stages of the story being told, and further express the joyful spirit of the story. Greta and Dennis have performed in this show for years, and are clearly still so delighted to be there, performing with such joy and passion that it's infectious (as does everyone in the choir). Some songs are familiar to me (including "I Wonder as I Wander," "Go Tell It On the Mountain," and "The Little Drummer Boy"), but more are unfamiliar to me. And while the details of the theology expressed may not match my personal theology, I appreciate the joy and faith behind it. There's nothing like a gospel choir (with a few singalong moments) to life one's spirits.
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Hassan Ingraham and MerSadies McCoy
(photo by Caroline Yang) |
Dancers MerSadies McCoy and Hassan Ingraham perform during a few of the songs, and represent Mary and Joseph at various parts in the story. Choreographed by Marciano Silva dos Santos, their movement is beautifully expressive and so graceful, adding an additional emotional component to the show. They're dressed in neutral beige and brown, the singers in elegant black (with lots of bling), against a simple backdrop of a wooden stable (costume design by Gregory Horton).
