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“Dessa Rose” is a moving musical of ante-bellum South“Ragtime” creators tell story of female and black solidarityReviewed by Lucy KomisarDessa Rose is a charming, moving operatic theater piece about female and black solidarity during slavery. A beautifully staged – almost balletic – piece, it recounts the plotted escape of slaves in 1847, led by an ornery young woman whose lover had been murdered and she beaten and tortured by killing his attacker. Dessa and the others are helped by Ruth, a white woman from Charleston society, whose gambler husband has left her alone on their isolated farm.
The story is based on a novel by Sherley Anne Williams, a
black woman who took two real stories, about a pregnant black woman who led a
slave rebellion and a white woman on a farm who gave refuge to slaves, and
wondered what would happen if the two women had met. The tale turns suspenseful
when an erstwhile writer chronicling slave rebellions believes he has been
betrayed and when
The music is often gospel style work and freedom songs, and the cast, led by Kenita Miller as Dessa Rose and Rachel York as Ruth, is voice-perfect. Miller, who took over from LaChance, hospitalized for surgery, is ornery and tough. York displays Ruth’s development from an insipid, inwardly fearful child of privilege to a woman who uses adversity to become self-aware and courageous.
Graciela Daniel’s direction and choreography is seamless, with even ordinary movements of actors conjuring dance. The set by Loy Arcenas, a plank floor and log bench against a wood stockade backdrop, provides a frontier sensibility. This play will take its place in the canon established by “Porgy and Bess.” "Dessa Rose." Book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens based on a novel by Sherley Anne Williams. Music by Stephen Flaherty. Directed and choreographed by Graciela Daniele.. Starring Kenita Miller, Rachel York, Norm Lewis, Rebecca Eichenberger, Tina Fabrique, Michael Hayden, David Hess, Kecia Lewis, William Parry. Mitzi Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, 165 W. 65 St. Tue - Sat at 8pm; Wed & Sun at 2pm; Sun at 7pm; running time 2:30; $75; 212-239-6200. Images by Joan Marcus |
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With
book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and music by Stephen Flaherty, the team that
wrote “Ragtime,” the production combines literary and political sensitivity with
consummate artistry. They offer a realistic, often brutal, history of slavery
with a feminist insight into how even upper class women could be victims of male
power.
Ruth and the slaves engage in an escape caper.
Norm Lewis is a delight as Nathan, the black man who charms
Ruth.