This semester we were treated to an outstanding performance by four talented
and spirited artists in the form of a collection of monologues from
the perspective of four early twentieth century male, African-American artists. Actor Dracyn
Blount played all the dramatic parts while The Core Ensemble, a trio of
musicians, provided the musical accompaniment to create a theatrical
presentation about the remains of a once thriving renaissance era of African-American
art in Harlem, New York City.The vignettes take viewers on their reminiscent journey with the music reflecting and emphasizing their changing moods which swing from tormented and melancholy to gay abandon and humor, and no, gay is not a reference to their gender identity. The music intrigued me the most; as I closed my eyes I was taken on a parallel journey through the music and literature of the era. The first scene painted images of a struggling soul attempting to deal with his grief over the death of two of his fellow artists; he in fact was the main story teller, Aaron Douglas, whose guests were a no show to his memorial party.
The music to the fourth scene about a well-heeled and successful writer, Countee Cullen, was my favorite. This conjured up images from the silent movies, Abbot and Costello, Mary Pickford, and Charlie Chaplin sliding down his ladder also the flappers of the roaring twenties and the Ziegfeld Follies. Here the narration was melodic and sing song too, where my imagination leapt to a giggling, playful Benny Hill running through a field with a bevy of short skirted beauties trailing behind him.
In the nightclub vignette, my impression was only that of the struggle for identification as an artist and not so happy. Langston Hughes in the Mexican cemetery came next with the sense of using art as a vehicle for socialism and the views of that era.
The epilogue rounds it off with the general theme of a time lost
and dying embers the flames of which could not be fanned with the
lonely if not somewhat embittered tone of what could have been if it had all
continued.Overall this was an excellent performance illustrating not only the remarkable memory and acting
ability of Dracyn Blount but the music of the Core Ensemble who kept perfect pace and accurately presented the rhythm and timing of the stories.
