Death of Bessie Smith at Zalk
I'd like to recommend that you go see the play "The Death of Bessie Smith"
by Edward Albee, at 8 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night only in Zalk Theater at Besant Hill School of Happy Valley in Upper Ojai. Admission is free.
Two of my favorite talents are in the production. My son Eli as Barney a friendly fellow with a flask who appears for a few moments at the beginning of the single-act, one hour tragedy. Local blues singer April Hendrix, my other favorite local talent, sways and sings in back-lit silhouette as the ghost of Bessie Smith. John Diehl brilliantly plays the irascible father of Alexis Poole, a young nurse whose starched white uniform contrasts beautifully with her pitch black soul.
Great dialog and a minimal, fabric-screen and wood frame set allow for a fun use of back-lighting and shadow play. Under the spirited direction of Scott Campbell, even the newest actors to the stage shine with star quality. Ivan Matip and Nachelle Sodetani both give outstanding stage-debut performances.
The school's office release from their website follows....
BHS Drama Production- THE DEATH OF BESSIE SMITH
Besant Hill School Drama Department
presents
Edward Albee's
THE DEATH OF BESSIE SMITH
January 10th, 11th, 12th
8:00 pm Curtain
Directed by Scott Campbell
*Admission is Free
(donations accepted for Katrina Relief agency - Common Ground)
BHS Drama Department winter production looks into one of the country's most shameful chapters, in a powerful one-act penned by one of America's preeminent playwrights.
In the fall of 1937, the blues world lost one of its most potent voices. Bessie Smith, the queen of blues, died in a tragic car accident just outside Memphis, Tennessee. Conflicting versions of what happened that night swirled about for many years following her death. In 1959, an up-and-coming playwright named Edward Albee chose that fateful night as the subject for his second play.
But of course, Albee doesn't just give us details of only Bessie's story . Instead, Albee digs deep into the core of the old, crumbling south through the tangled and steamy relationship of a young, ambitious medical intern and a nurse whose worn out lineage still lashes with authority.
Ojai blues legend April Hendrix channels Bessie's spirit through her own soulful sound, which echoes throughout this taut story of racism and romanticism. Mr. Albee once again proves his gift for scraping through the veneer of life, and exposing the complicated motives that drive human beings to behave in less than human ways.
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Comments (10)
Photos from dress rehearsal:
http://www.pbase.com/deanzat/death_of_bessie_smith
Comment #1 Posted by: Anonymous | January 11, 2008 12:49 PM
Let's be clear -- John Diehl plays the father of the nurse PLAYED BY Alexis Poole.... not the father of Alexis Poole!
Comment #2 Posted by: editor in chief | January 11, 2008 02:49 PM
So glad I saw this post and went to the show. One of the best school plays I've seen. Outstanding performances all around. Yes, John Diehl was great and getting April Hendrix to sing the Bessie Smith songs was quite a coup. But Alexis Poole, wow! What a great performance in a very demanding lead role, especially for a student actor. That girl has a future if she wants to do theater or film work. Where do I sign up to be her manager?
Comment #3 Posted by: old ojai coot | January 14, 2008 09:01 PM
coot-
really glad to see your "review"
really thought about traipsing to upper valley to see the play.
but sometimes it seems as far away as LA.
and i always fear i will never find my way there on these moonless nights and end up in someone's creek.
also if we could get a lil advance notice on these cultural haps.
do you have to know one of the actors or have a kid in the school to be dialed in?
Comment #4 Posted by: El Anonimo | January 14, 2008 09:29 PM
el anonimo - too bad you missed it. i saw a poster at starbucks and somewhere else too. guess it pays to read the post, though. btw, i forgot to mention in my "review" that i must question mr. wilson's use of the term "ojai blues legend" to describe april hendrix. she's great and probably headed for stardom, no doubt about it. but c'mon, isn't she a little young to be a "legend." that term loses its meaning if overused, don't you think?
Comment #5 Posted by: old ojai coot | January 14, 2008 10:25 PM
well that does it.
i am no longer avoiding starbucks.
and while it has nothing to do with bessie smith, full of beans looking really pretty good.
anyone tasted the coffee?
Comment #6 Posted by: El Anonimo | January 15, 2008 05:46 AM
coot- don't you realize EVERYONE in this valley is a legend or a "legend in the making", especially ojaipost readers and posters.
it's our "spiritual right" and destiny...
...back from yoga healing retreats and pursuit of infatuations...
and off in due time to Austin and colonial Mexico and playtime on a sunny warm beach.
do i ever get any work done?
well depends how one defines it.
legendary in mi own mind...
lovin these warm afternoons and brisk morns and nights
Comment #7 Posted by: Anonymous | January 15, 2008 05:52 AM
el a, before you run off to starbucks on my recommendation, please note that i was there putting up a poster, not buying their corporate coffee which i don't care for that much. i do commend them, though, for having a nice, well-maintained, community bulletin board. with all the chic boutiques in town now, window space for posters is gettin' scarcer than a coot in the desert. why, I remember when ojai, oh never mind..........
Comment #8 Posted by: old ojai coot | January 15, 2008 08:58 PM
coot- too funny...
Comment #9 Posted by: El Anonimo | January 15, 2008 11:57 PM
coot- too funny...
Comment #10 Posted by: El Anonimo | January 15, 2008 11:57 PM