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Regional Reviews: St. Louis Johnnie Taylor Is Gone If the world premier of Gregory S. Carr's Johnnie Taylor Is Gone looks this great, with its horribly cursed mic's and lighting, it must someday be breathtaking with even just a middling level of equipment and wiring. Thomasina Clarke directs the show's two-hour and twenty minute debut (with a 10-minute intermission) for Aquarian Rising Productions, with great attention to character development, at an old Gothic church on South Jefferson Ave. And her great cast, including Archie Coleman, gives us memorable moments in every scene, in spite of the run-down venue, which seemed to be the source of most of the unreliable technical elements the night I went. That, and a lack of money. Simultaneously, though, I was watching an idealized version of Mr. Carr's play inside my own head on that opening night, with an imaginarily great electrical grid up above, and hypothetically wonderful microphones. It was spectacular, at least for me. "How would this look under a spotlight," I wondered, "or perfectly mic'd, or with a dozen LED fixtures overhead?" All the other necessary pieces are already there, on a fine set designed by the director. Lighting designer Nathan Olvey worked calmly and assiduously before each act to try make his modern light trees function on the available power, but to no avail. For God decreed that the Jefferson Avenue Mission, like a lot of old churches, should be held together by spit and baling wire. So on this night we were forced to get by "merely" on fine writing, directing and acting. The real-life Johnnie Taylor was an R&B singer with four number one hits to his credit; he died in 2000. And in this play he once stepped inside the fictional Golden Zodiac Club in St. Louis, after his car had a flat tire between gigs. Step into theatre history with me now, for a moment, to remember the Dreamgirls: and realize that this new show is also at least partly about the loss of soul in Black music, along with the departure of Mr. Taylor. And here we see, once again, how perfect love is trammeled by the tastes of the time. Till the show's final scene, anyway. Johnnie Taylor Is Gone is set a few years after the singer's death. And there's a jukebox on stage, so we can immerse ourselves in his artistry. The jukebox is just for show, with music coming through a perfectly good speaker set-up, in what seems like the one piece of sound equipment that never fails here. With a sound design by Darrious Varner, each punch of its buttons creates a magical new mood. Although by act two, I think, another part of the sound design had been jettisoned: all the actors on stage had removed their glitchy, hyper-directional headset mic's in favor of natural projection. The cast is unbeatable, with Archie Coleman as the club owner, Strong, along with the equally unflappable Don McClendon, Jaz Tucker, and Jeremy Thomas, and the rest of this fine troupe. The excellent Mardra Thomas is Annie, the club's hostess. The younger waitresses are played by LaWanda Jackson and Arriel Cummings. Ms. Jackson is the delightful Bette, with Ms. Cummings subtly portraying the opportunistic Wanda. With its technical shortcomings, though, it's a show that often seems to run on "wrongness." But part of the wrongness is intentionally built into the script, which contains many references to exasperating St. Louis politics from the 1960s forward, and discussions of Jackie Robinson and major league baseball, from before that, that are equally frustrating. Now, the show's modern Black characters are left confounded over whether or not to organize a new protest march. And left hopeless by the imperfect Black cultural leaders and role models of the modern day. But it's theatre, of course, so much of the story simply has to do with love and loyalty. Juan Smith is fine as the wisecracking Bruh, and Sequoi Edwards is shockingly good as Jay-G, who wants to take over the Golden Zodiac and turn it into a modern club. Ieshah Edwards is lovely as a sympathetic city cop, and veteran actor Don McClendon is suave as a Black church bishop who shows up unexpectedly. (Darrious Varner also does the fine costumes.) When Mr. McClendon leans along the edge of that magical jukebox in his crazy, canary-yellow pimp suit, you can somehow feel the pulse of it thrumming against his side. Jaz Tucker is endlessly hopeful as Bud, a deliveryman; and Jeremy Thomas is funny but thoughtful as a henpecked husband. Each performer rises above the electrical and technological challenges of the production–just as their characters rise above their troubles, one by one. Johnnie Taylor Is Gone, presented by Aquarian Rising Productions, runs through May 4, 2025, at the Jefferson Avenue Mission, 2241 South Jefferson Ave., St. Louis. For tickets and information, please visit the Aquarian Rising Productions. Cast: Production Staff: |