Scheduled before Aretha Franklin’s death, WBTT’s show nevertheless serves as a fitting memorial to her. It comprises songs she sang and played, some that she also composed, and others that were her favorites or also created by friends and those she admired. Four mature women deliver most of them in her style and less often with similar voices. Each grouping of songs gets an explanation of its relevance, sometimes shown projected. There’s also a young woman singer (lovely Jai Shanae), one of the others’ friends. Usually she’s accompanied by her male love (Michael Mendez, smitten) to make a romantic duo. Jai scores as lead of the women singing “I’m in Love.” At times a sexy male (Robert Richards Jr., daringly hot) drops by to try to get his way with one of the quartet. Director Nate Jacobs’ book doesn’t have to explain the romantic three, since he’s nicely directed them not to need any words other than lyrics or looks. Each of the four women is named in a role as a friend among friends. They communicate their life experiences, especially loves, through Aretha’s songs. Still, they’re pretty much themselves acting out lyrics. Teresa Stanley shows her Broadway experience taking the lead in such numbers as “Dr. Feelgood,” “Chain of Fools” (going round the audience making them clap), and “Do Right.” Michresha Myatt is an Amazonian “Natural Woman” and powerful citing a “Son of a Preacher Man.” Sweet Jennifer Massey leads on “Brave New Me” as does magnetic Syreeta Banks describing “The House That Jack Built.” The four friends achieve terrific harmony on “Father, I Stretch My Hands to Thee,” typical of Aretha’s religious fervor. They end Act. I with three similar pieces. The quartet don colorful native African robes and headdress going into Act II with “Border Song”. Jennifer leads in “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” as does Teresa fronting “People Get Ready.” Michresha stands out backing the others in “I Dreamed a Dream” and gets ahead as the song draws out Richards as a preacher. The quartet leaves the stage to Michael and Jai dancing together. After he proclaims “Baby I Love You,” he jumps for joy and plants a kiss on her. They go off together as the four women return in new colorful tunics over black (and not so flattering) leather form-fitting pants. Richards returns in a sexy meeting with Michresha, echoing the young lovers’ song but hearing the gals’ return response: “Call Me” and “Ain’t No Way.” Sareeta leads a stunning “Don’t Play That Song for Me” after a little story about Aretha. Both get the audience clapping. This, with some screaming, marks “Think.” After “Without Love” and “Spirit in the Dark,” the whole cast has the audience standing as they render “Respect” and an appropriate projection marks the show’s end. Although fashioned as a review, the show is pretty much a juke box musical. With so little book and a sameness in the choreography, it actually becomes a bit monotonous. The set—a background of different kinds of hanging windows presented abstractly to denote places in the lyrics—doesn’t fit the overall tone. Wherever it covers the musicians, it just keeps one from seeing how they work as a resounding whole. Nick Jones’ lighting helps, but mostly up front. Angela Franklin-Mayo’s costumes are lavish, as usual at WBTT. Those black leather pants, however, make a mistake. How they do contrast with the lovely chiffon with faint sparkles worn by Jai in her final coupling with Michael in muted maroon formal jacket! Also as usual at WBTT, James E. Dodge II’s ways with his musicians make listening to them a pleasure. This is Nate Jacobs’ revision of an earlier show focused on Aretha Franklin. I hope he tightens it eventually into the kind of more varied and informative one for which he is rightly famous.
