A Wonder for My Soul – So Soul

Black men have been paying homage to black women artistically for years and in more ways than the obvious.  Langston Hughes’ Not Without Laughter, published in 1930, recounts a young boy’s subtle, deep; and in the end, memorable love for the women in his life; his mother, aunt and especially his grandmother.   “A Wonder in My Soul” attains similar heights of respect and reverence.

Play’s that make words dance and give them heat have impact because you remember how they singe you.  This Victory Gardens production ran like a constant current of energy through your veins for a couple of hours leaving you inexplicably exhilarated.

Co-owned by two lifelong middle aged friends, Bell Grand Lake (Jacqueline Williams) and Aberdeen Calumet (Greta Oglesby), the four walls of a fading beauty parlor on Chicago’s Southside make up the world and the universe of A Wonder in My Soul. The women are coming to terms with new realities both inside and outside their world of hair.    On one hand, business has slowed to agonizing levels and on the other; the country is finds itself on an unprecedented threshold.  It’s conceivable that a black man will be elected to its highest office on the globe.  Neither woman is having the life she dreamed of.  Rather than completing her nursing studies, Bell married badly and bore two children she would have to support alone.  Aberdeen, who goes by Birdie, relinquished her pursuit of a of a professional singing career. For her, life’s uncompromising dictates and loyalty to her friend imposed a hurtful reroute.

For decades, the collaboration worked beautifully.  Famous clients, thriving customer base, security.  Neighborhood change and time eroded all of that.  Despite the looming crisis, they jointly agreed to make a large loan to Bell’s social activist son, Lafayette, whose fiscal expertise lacked the vigor of his convictions to community.  A Wonder to My Soul asks what happens when two friends open a business together and the business not only suffers precipitous declines; but also sustains a crushing body blow to its sustainability.  Can the business survive?  Can the friendship survive?

All cultures have much to point to that makes them unique.  None holds a singular claim to resilience or courage.  Both Bell Grand and Birdie possess enough zest to light Vegas. Beautifully structured to expose their lives together as children in the south, graciously segueing to reveal their tenuous migration to Chicago as young adults and finally showing them where they stand today, on the brink of a unknown finale.  The connective tissues that clad this friendship in iron are laid bare.

Gardley’s telling of that journey counts as one of the play’s shining achievements.  He made it unique, personal and real.  The manner in which he portrays the way black women understand and talk to one another, the way the play uses the talents of its actors to perform multiple roles showcasing their versatility; and thereby adding to the plays efficiency.  All the while using music to cement the time references and keep heads boppin’ and fingers constantly poised to snap.  The incorporation of first tier voices to complement the soundtrack proves once again that there’s no equal to live performance at its best.

Set designer’s Kurtis Boetcher’s use of a stage wide photographic backdrop of famous black women, nearly all of them singers, perpetuated the themes of excellence, strength and beauty.

Accentuated with a shimmering cast that included stalwarts and starlets, the bones of the production stood solid.  Veteran Jacqueline Williams can always be counted on to delivery gold and she doesn’t miss her mark here as lion mother.  Greta Oglesby’s just a memorable and throws in ravishing vocals to embellish her acting chops.  Donica Lynn whose stint in Dreamgirls at the Porchlight had the town all aflutter hands in stellar work as both lady cop and the young Bell Grand.  Here the emphasis is on the acting and if there were any concerns her thespian skills lay in the shadow of that singular voice of hers; those doubts were jettisoned to oblivion.

Icing on the cake came in three flavors; Linda Bright Clay as First Lady, Camille Robinson as the young Birdie in one role and a little bit of an airhead personal assistant in another, and Jeffery Owen Freelon, Jr. as Lafayette, Bell’s socially engaged and fiscally inept son.  As First Lady, regally bourgeoisie and willfully patronizing, Clay’s much funnier than you’d expect and added wit, intelligence and even more spice to a potent brew.  Often referred to as First Ladies, preacher’s wives can count on a certain deference that extends far beyond their husband’s congregation.  Clay’s First Lady was no different with her wily wisdom and unexpected largess.  She sank into the role like it was plush mink, luxuriating in her character’s complexity.

A fresh face on the city’s stages, Camille Robinson charmed easily with both of her role assignments.  She made sliding from sassy to silly to sublime look like a stroll through clover.  And Freelon’s Lafayette nailed the naiveté of youth and the genuinely contrite.

Victory Gardens Theater

2433 N. Lincoln Ave.

Chicago, IL

Ends 3/19/17