It’s not often that taking your seat at the theater feels like going to a party, but it certainly did Friday night in Glencoe. The warm current filling the lobby of Writers Theatre as people waited to take their seats for Pearl’s Rollin’ with the Blues: A Night with Felicia P. Fields, proved an excellent omen for a fabulous show.
The blues have been around long enough to grow from just one sound to many. Its styles can represent specific cities or parts of the country; as Chicago Blues and Texas Blues plainly testify. Or, when you consider contemporary and traditional blues, they can be framed by time. Even though these variations share the same musical foundation, their delivery and impact can vary widely. Classic blues, blues that carry deep imprints of their origins, are special. With their unmistakable purity and piercing perspectives on life, the Delta Blues remains the most true and most admired blues form. Charisma laden vocalist and Tony Award nominee, Felicia Fields, reigns as one of today’s most preeminent practitioners of blues in its most authentic state.
Transforming herself into Pearl, star of a glamorous blues cabaret rocking 1920’s chic and an “on the half shell” theme, the power of Fields’ presence resonates as soon as she steps on stage. With blondish waves of hair caressing the side of her face and resplendent in shimmering silver lame, she’s as regal as she is radiant. Welcoming the audience to the show, she assures them that the night is going to be one where the cares a spiraling world can be set aside for a chance to rejoice in life. Jumping right into a scorching rendition of Wang Dang Doodle let you know how broad the spectrum of music would be in this revue celebrating “the great Blues artists of the past”.
Created by Ms. Fields and veteran Chicago artist Ron OJ Parson, who also directs this production, Pearls Rollin’ in the Blues just as masterfully celebrates how divinely Ms. Fields and the blues are matched. Assembling a song list that travels through every conceivable terrain of the human heart, and flanked by a quintet as musically limber as it is seasoned, Fields acted as the down to earth, sympathetic and wise tour guide to the complicated landscape of our emotions. Descending from a long line of singers, it’s nearly impossible to say which is most impressive, her voice or her interpretations. Both singularly distinctive, she turns songs into masterpieces by losing herself in their message and allowing the fullness of her talent to run free.
Things got a little dangerous around the time she wrapped up her always amusing take on the racy My Stove’s in Good Condition early in the show. As she traveled out on the walkway extending from the stage, her banter with the audience took on a personal note. Clusters of tables for two sat on either side of her platform where eight couples enjoyed prime seats to the performance. Stepping down from the walkway, Fields approached a few of them, one table at a time. She asked if they were enjoying themselves, how long they’d been together, whether they had kids and how many; before finally firing her query alluding to the type of romantic satisfaction her song regaled. Relying heavily on lighthearted innuendo and Fields’ masterful delivery, no one seemed embarrassed or uncomfortable by her playful interrogation. Most completely enjoyed the opportunity to laud their partners and relished the chance to publicly affirm their union. The unscripted and natural ease of the exchange between the cabaret star and her guests brought out the best of humanity in both.
Structured to move with an easy relaxed flow, the pace allowed for breaks in the music to catch glimpses of this dynamic entertainer beneath her glamorous sheen. Her stories disclosed a strong character and a sharp wit as she shared insights to life’s many lessons. A winning and agreeable cohort sometimes joined her in recalling the experiences that galvanize our convictions.
Chic Street Man, the group’s guitarist and music director, brought a counterbalancing male perspective to the mix. Dapper in baby blue suede boots, his interesting and thoughtful take on race relations in the song Beautiful laid the groundwork for Fields’ performance of Skin Deep, a wrenching commentary on the dismal endurance of racial bigotry. Tying an ugly incident she experienced as a commuting student to Van Steuben High School in Albany Park decades ago, and one her young grandson endured just last year, Fields haunting rendition of the song made you wonder why the frustration on this intractable issue seems so one-sided.
Tackling unfathomable themes are at the essence of the blues. Just as they are for their closest kin, gospel. Both have the power to transform hopelessness into promise. You can hear it in the seminal purity of their melodies and in their brazen honesty. Slipping into the poignancy of Lord I Tried, Fields brilliantly displayed the close link these two distinctly American musical forms share.
At every tempo and mood, the audience remained locked into the grid. Swaying in knowing understanding or clapping on beat in sparkling affirmation, they made their appreciation for a night of remarkable music, and much more, resoundingly clear.
Pearl’s Rollin’ in the Blues/A Night with Felicia P. Fields
Through July 24th, 2022
Writers Theater
325 Tudor Court
Glencoe, IL 60022
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