Madam Walker Theatre

Birth of Soul gives birth to a new directorial talent

Joni D. Clark

Somewhere, the spirit of Sarah Breedlove smiles. The entrepreneur and patron of the arts better known as Madame C J Walker would have given her blessing to the collaborative work that produced Birth of Soul, written by and starring Joyce Licorish and performed in the theater named for Walker.

The Walker Theatre approached Licorish, who describes herself as an entrepreneur, to put together a show tracing the genealogy of soul music. This was Licorish’s opportunity to fulfill her desire to share with audiences the origins, breadth, depth and influence of soul music. And her directorial debut in honor of Black History Month is nothing less than inspired and a bit miraculous. Licorish put the production together in about two weeks.

Birth of Soul is a history lesson and love story rolled into one. Principal Witsum, played by LaTasha Strahan, is pinch-hitting for one of her teachers, Ms. Strickland, who is away attending a conference. The class is learning about the history of soul music with a little help from the school janitor, Mr. Crisp, played by Rick Davenport.

It quickly becomes evident that Mr. Crisp has taken a fancy to Principal Witsum and that love is in the air, but so is the music! Through a series of flashbacks, the audience is surrounded by the tunes of Mahalia Jackson, Nat King Cole, Etta James, Billie Holiday and Fats Domino.

The cast for Birth of Soul is a cornucopia of singing and dancing talent; Karen Ivy-Brown, Tori Gowdy, Alaina Woods, Travasha Winfrey, Deaon Smith, Bashiri Asad, Brian Kelley, Clifton Willis, Juan "Pariah" Cosby, Allan Washington, April Armstrong and Paul Gallamore did justice to every song. Equally awesome is the work of the band, consisting of Music Director/Pianist: Vincent Howard, Michael Hogan
Pancho Benton, Steve "Blaque" Wright, Mark Armstrong and Stephan Hiser.

Birth of Soul continues through Feb. 8 at the Madame Walker Theatre. Times vary. Tickets are $15, $25 and $30. Log on www.walkertheatre.com. For additional information on Birth of Soul, log on www.birthofsoul.com.