For those who know Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973) as the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” the play at Northlight Theatre, Marie and Rosetta, is a well-deserved tribute to her talents and a concert of pure energy and pleasure.
For those who don’t have gospel and blues in their background, the play is an inspired musical lesson.
It’s the 1940s and Mahalia Jackson is performing gospel blues in Black churches all over the U.S. Rosetta Tharpe thinks something is missing: She wants church in the morning and the Cotton Club at night.
She also wants to take on Mahalia. But she can’t spread the music and songs by herself; she’s accused of “taking gospel songs and making them sound dirty.”
Duo combo
Her plan is to bring in a partner to legitimize her bold, boisterous and rocking blues. She recruits Marie Knight, a sweet and religious gospel singer, to perform with her, which takes some convincing.
Their collaboration is the background of Marie and Rosetta, a musical history record of how Knight was convinced to move from “gospel chicken,” a version of gospel Rosetta also calls baloney, “to give me everything you got with your hips and use them as your metronome.”
In real life, the pair became a successful duo, at least for a few years.
Rosetta’s singing style influences Elvis Presley and her electric guitar playing influences Jimi Hendrix, even when she was alive, although in the show she’s never heard of them.
But the power and appeal of Marie and Rosetta is in the concert performances of the two characters: Tharpe is played by Bethany Thomas and Marie Knight by Alexis J. Roston.
Powerhouse voice
Thomas is full of vim and vigor with a powerhouse voice. Roston begins as shy, sweet and reluctant but soon emerges as a vocal and charismatic match for Thomas.
Together, they completely capture and hold the audience, belting out songs from blues history: This Train, Rock Me in the Cradle of Your Love, I Looked Down the Line and Strange Things Happen Every Day,the last being one of the songs most recognized for Tharpe’s influence on rock and roll music.
The music is the story but it’s also the scaffolding holding up the backdrop of racial discrimination for Black performers in the U.S. in the 1940s. Knight and Tharpe stay in a funeral home instead of a hotel because that’s the only place available to them when traveling and performing in the South. The funeral home takes on other meanings during the play, but they are somewhat contrived and not necessarily part of the documentary narrative.
A few conversations suggest social obligations on the part of Black women and their ambitions to become on-the-road performers. These dialogues add drama but aren’t developed enough to match the strength of the musical deliveries.
The connection of the two entertainers to each other could be a sensitive exploration of their relationship, but in this production they are an incomplete personal perspective to the story.
Dynamic and talented
Historical fiction has its drama but also its limitations. Some things, though, are for sure. This play is powerful. Thomas and Roston are dynamic and talented entertainers. The music and songs are an important part of gospel and blues history and they dominate the evening.
Followers of Sister Rosetta Thorpe will say Marie and Rosetta is a tribute long overdue. Newcomers will leave with an appreciation of blues and gospel they could not have imagined.
Marie and Rosetta is playing at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd. in Skokie, through Aug. 6. Box office is 847-673-6300 and the website is northlight.org
Thank you for your review. The additional details about the history and development of this music added to my knowledge and recollection of this play. I do so look forward to hearing from you about plays!