The 2016 season at Black Ensemble has been a year of reprises as this venerable Chicago theater has trotted out remounts of some of its biggest hits — the likes of “The Marvin Gaye Story,” “Doo Wop Shoo Bop,” “Don’t Make Me Over (In Tribute to Dionne Warwick).”
While I see the temptation to pull from the trunk, I’ve found that curious programming — the audiences at Black Ensemble Theatre have long-standing loyalty and many of them saw those shows before at the old space in Uptown. A remount of a big hit is one thing; an entire year of them is something else entirely.
In my view, the future of Black Ensemble — which has hardly been full the last couple of times I’ve been — demands significantly less business-as-usual and more embracing of new challenges, styles and, well, material. I have a great fondness for this company after watching its shows, and its hugely important influence on Chicago musicals. But based on a viewing of “The Jackie Wilson Story” last Thursday, it remains plagued by what you’d call production-management issues — unacceptably uneven sound, clunky transitions, tardy entrances, props and scenery that fall apart in the actors’ hands. To put it bluntly, it’s time for some soul-searching and a fresh commitment to polishing a final product that commands north of $50 per ticket.
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I feel this acutely because “The Jackie Wilson Story” is one of my favorite Chicago shows of all time. First produced in 2000, the mostly sad story of the man who recorded the likes “To Be Loved” and “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” launched the career of the remarkable Chester Gregory, who brilliantly essayed the title role and subsequently shot to a major Broadway and recording career (he’s currently playing Berry Gordy in “Motown the Musical” on Broadway). The show also brought national attention to Black Ensemble; there was a national tour in 2002 and a run at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
I’ve also long thought that this was the best of Black Ensemble founder Jackie Taylor’s many self-penned biographical musicals. That’s partly because Wilson’s life was as troubled as his talent was unparalleled (he had a debilitating stroke at the height of his career), but also because Wilson was one of those African-American musicians whose influence on other artists — such as Elvis Presley — was far greater than most people ever realized. To her credit, Taylor teased out all those connections and she wrote here with intense passion for her subject.
Remarkably, Black Ensemble has (years apart) been able to cast two performers capable of doing justice to Wilson’s amazing suite of vocal and physical talents, and of embodying his showmanship. Gregory in this role represented one of the greatest performances by a hitherto unknown actor in Chicago theater history.
Kelvin Roston Jr., the current Wilson, is older and less of a live wire, and thus offers a more mature take on the man. But given the chronological sweep of the show, that works fine. Roston might not make his legs and torso do all the things that the young Gregory and Wilson both could do, but he has a beautiful upper register and he captures the essence of a great musician through his nuanced interpretations of his hits. His Wilson-inspired take on “Danny Boy” is lovely, as accompanied here by the usual crackerjack seven-piece band.
So, in fairness, this is not entirely a reprise, but a different take on one of the all-time musical greats; I also found Rueben D. Echoles, a stalwart of this theater, to be very moving in the deepened role of the man who loved and supported the star, as is Melanie McCullough, who plays the much-maligned Freda Wilson. So 15 years later, the talent is as good as ever. But it is high time to offer up both new challenges and more polished support.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib
When: Through Sept. 4
Where: Black Ensemble Cultural Center, 4450 N. Clark St.
Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Tickets: $55-$65 at 773-769-4451 or www.blackensembletheater.org
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