Review Squared, March 19, 2013

Theatrically Star-Struck 
by Valerie Cardinal
@vscardinal

Much like movies and television shows, theatre can be used as a vehicle for a particular personality. For example, the recent Broadway run of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring Scarlett Johansson. This can also apply on a local level, as shown by Ranee Lee’s starring role in The Mahalia Jackson Musical, now playing in Montreal. 

The Juno Award-winning Lee is a prominent jazz singer, and seems like the logical choice to play a soul queen at the turn of the civil rights movement. I was surprised to see how two different reviews handled this star vehicle. It’s understandable that much of their reviews focus on Ranee Lee, but when does a review cross into fangirling territory?

I found Pat Donnelly’s article in The Gazette to be well balanced. It gives equal weight to Lee’s singing, her two co-stars (both well-known in the Montreal scene in their own right) and the actual performance aspects. Meanwhile, I was disappointed by Byron Toben’s review for Rover Arts. I found his writing to be too referential and Lee-focused to give me an adequate read of the production. Both reviews do put the focus on Ranee Lee’s performance, but The Gazette does a better job of putting that performance in context. 

Donnelly even writes an interesting paragraph about how the musical is oddly fitting within the Jewish community centre where it’s performed.

Donnelly lays out exactly what theatregoers should expect from The Mahalia Jackson Musical: “Director/playwright Roger Peace… has written a star vehicle that’s more of a revue than a book musical.” She also comments on Lee’s performance abilities, giving me the impression that this is more than just a singing show. 

The Gazette’s review also gives equal space to Tristan D. Lalla, who plays all of the men in Mahalia Jackson’s life, and Adrienne Mei Irving, who plays all the women. There’s also a mention of the involvement of the Imani Gospel Singers and a four-member band. Donnelly even writes an interesting paragraph about how the musical is oddly fitting within the Jewish community centre where it’s performed. 

Byron Tobin, on the other hand, makes the show sound more like it’s a tribute concert. He also opens his review by talking about one of his previously written reviews. Yes, it’s a segueway into talking about Lee’s performance. I get it. But I’m not here to read about Mr. Toben. I just want him to tell me about the show. 

The few comments on Lalla and Irving are mostly focused on their previous performance in A Raisin in the Sun in 2010.

I can tell that Tobin knows what he’s talking about, since he writes about Lee’s dance career and her previous performances with Geraldine Doucet. However, his constant references left me in the dark. The few comments on Lalla and Irving are mostly focused on their previous performance in A Raisin in the Sun in 2010. While that’s a great piece of theatre and I’m sure they were fantastic, this is not the show I want to be reading about right now. 

Also, the following sentence, in reference to the Gospel choir, makes no sense to me; “The 9 sounded like 90, according to author Roger Peace who specializes in musical shows.” I have so many questions. I had to read The Gazette’s review to realize that Roger Peace is the author of this musical, and not just an author that specializes in musical theatre. When did Peace state this? And why should we care? Why can’t Tobin tell us in his own words that he thought the choir was powerful?

Tobin’s review goes to show that a shorter review isn’t always the best idea, at least not in the style that this one is written. Here, less is…well, less. If I was only reading this review before going to see The Mahalia Jackson Musical, I wouldn’t be able to tell if it was just a performance tribute to Mahalia Jackson featuring Ranee Lee or a play with an actual narrative. I may be wrong, but I feel like Tobin got caught up in his love for Lee. 

I think that reviews should be for sharing your own opinion, not the opinions of others. You are the critic, after all. You are the one being given the comp ticket to go to the show.

Therefore, the review should be in your voice and through your eyes. Dropping references may make you sound smart, but it does not tell me what you thought of the actual production you saw.