The same week I took in Broadway’s Caroline, or Change revival, I attended a cinema simulcast of the last performance of the historical production of Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the Metropolitan Opera’s first presentation by a black composer. Like Caroline, Fire addresses hot-button issues of race and community and features a fascinating score (by Terrence Blanchard) brimming with multiple influences.
Based on New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s memoir, Kasi Lemmons’s libretto follows the tortured inner journey of Charles from sensitive child to conflicted college student as he deals with his gay attractions and sexual abuse. Toxic masculinity in his small Louisiana town comes under fire as Charles matures.
Co-directors James Robinson and Camille A. Brown create a sweeping epic production, highlighted by an explosive step-dancing routine, which would stop any Broadway show, choreographed with dazzle by Brown.
Will Liverman’s adult Charles is passionate and tender, while Walter Russell III’s child Charles is remarkably touching. Angel Blue as figures of Charles’ psyche and Latonia Moore as his long-suffering but determined mother, add their soaring, supple voices to the mix. Just as Caroline, or Change offers unconventional subject matter and form for Broadway audiences, Fire hopefully will kindle interest for opera goers outside the usual territory of the distant or mythological past as well as affording opportunities for minority artists.
