The outdoor amphitheater at Little Island near the Chelsea piers is an apt setting for the exuberant new revival of The Gospel at Colonus, a blend of Greek tragedy and gospel music that premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music 40 years ago and then had a brief Broadway run in 1988 (led by Morgan Freeman as the narrator). The venue not only evokes the kind of theater space where Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus was staged but also the kind of revival-tent atmosphere of Black Pentecostal churches.
Here, Stephanie Berry assumes the role of the Messenger, here dubbed Preacher, and taking the tragedy of Oedipus as her text to deliver a sermon about shame, self-exile, repentance, and the possibility of absolution. Lee Breuer, the founder of the Mabou Mines experimental theater troupe who adapted the show, dispenses with the events of Oedipus Rex rather quickly — the killing of his father in self-defense, the unwitting marrying of his mother, the gouging out of his eyes when he learns (too late) just what he has done. Instead, we follow the now-blind Oedipus on his journey into exile and his encounters with strangers who vary in their acceptance of this notorious sinner in their midst.
The heart of the show is Bob Tilson’s score (with lyrics by Breuer), which explores the many different musical traditions of 20th century gospel music, from reverential hymns to jazz to blues to foot-stomping celebration. The solid eight-member band includes organist Butch Heyward from the original BAM production, while James Hall leads the Greek chorus/choir and shares musical director duties with pianist Dionne McClain-Freeney. Director Shayok Misha Chowdhury leans into the diversity of the score’s musical styles by casting a wide range of singers. The role of Oedipus is shared between the revered jazz singer Frank Senior, who is legally blind, and the gifted classically trained bass-baritone Davóne Tines, who can flip from low notes to an ethereal head voice with the ease of a bird swooping to retrieve a morsel of food. (Did I mention that the Little Island amphitheater includes an expansive view of the Hudson River, the boat and bird traffic thereon, and the New Jersey skyline?)
The cast also includes theater veterans like Berry and Ayana George Jackson (who delivers some run-filled solos as Oedipus’ daughter Ismene), faith-music performers like Samantha Howard (as Oedipus’ other daughter, Antigone), and the R&B singer-songwriter serpentwithfeet. Jackson and Howard blend beautifully on “Numberless,” a paean to human possibility in all its multitudes, which Jackson deepens with an almost guttural growl that mimics the bone-shaking bass notes on Heyward’s organ.
Theseus, the Athenian king who rescues Oedipus’ kidnapped daughters and eventually offers him exile, is played by a somewhat notorious figure in the Black church: Kim Burrell, the Houston-based pastor and singer who’s still facing fallout from a decade-old sermon against what she called “perverted homosexual spirit” (she later apologized for her rhetoric, which she recently told The New York Times was rooted in “what is in the Bible”). Burrell still possesses a powerful alto, which she deploys to great effect on the late solo “Lift Him Up” that is liable to raise goosebumps as well as the souls of the faithfully departed.
The Gospel at Colonus is the perfect sort of summer theater experience and one of the city’s genuine entertainment bargains. (Tickets are just $25, a tenner for a standing-room spot.) It’s a jubilant blend of the traditions of the Greek theater and the Black church, delivering a kind of Christian parable of redemption. How long must we live with the weight of our past transgressions? The struggle of tragedy is real, but here it soon gives way to a get-on-your-feet celebration of gospel music. That is perhaps best expressed in the scene-stealing performance of a tambourine-wielding spitfire named Pastor Charles D. Bond, a 4-year-old boy who delivers a single line of dialogue but who embodies the spirit of the entire production with his evangelically-charged enthusiasm. As the Good Book says, a child shall lead them. ★★★★☆
THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS
Little Island, Off Broadway
Running time: 90 minutes (no intermission)
Tickets on sale through July 26 for $10 to $25
Culture Sauce 