Review: Talented cast hits high notes in Forum Theatre’s ‘Blues in the Night’

When Trisha Garnes sashays across the Forum Theatre stage during “Blues in the Night,” belting out “Take Me for a Buggy Ride” and “Kitchen Man,” she proves that there’s more to the blues than just a he-done-her-wrong sad song.

Garnes, playing a character called simply The Lady, is in the classic red-hot-mama mode of Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith or Sophie Tucker. With a wink and a leer and a wicked, earthy chuckle, she slathers on the sexual innuendo with delicious abandon, turning seemingly innocuous references to transportation and food into brassy, bawdy fun. The man may be long gone, but her rueful, randy memories sure aren’t.

Garnes is joined in this 1982 Tony-nominated musical revue by Sheila Kinnard as The Woman, Chelsey Moore as The Girl and Kevin Harrison as The Man – all of whom have known better days and now find themselves sharing alcohol-fueled memories in a seedy Chicago hotel bar in the 1930s. The show was devised by Sheldon Epps and Gregory Hines from 26 blues standards from the likes of Alberta Hunter, Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, among others.

There is no spoken dialogue. Instead, the characters tell their stories through the lyrics, revealing layer upon layer of their individual stories. Garnes plays a former vaudeville/chitlin’ circuit star now past her prime but still yearning for the spotlight. Kinnard is a once-high-living glamour gal whose friends deserted her when she ran out of easy money and stopped picking up the tab. Moore is a newcomer to the world of music and good times but has been around just long enough to have her first broken heart.

Harrison, the lone man, is a free-spirit musician who can’t be tied down. For him, life is too short to dance with just one woman. He wants to please ’em all, if eventually also leaving ’em all.

Directing is Ray Wills, who pushes his talented cast to tell compelling stories through emotional shadings in their music, not just merely sing songs. Music director Karla Burns encouraged the four to try unexpected phrasing of familiar songs to give new meanings. Most of the playing around works beautifully, although there were a couple of spots where unusual phrasing (“Willow, Weep for Me”) and too-frequent key changes (“Blues in the Night”) seemed to muddle and confuse rather than explore and soar.

Garnes has a rich, smoky voice that envelopes an audience in a big, motherly musical hug. But she can also break your heart, such as in the haunting “Wasted Life Blues” – my favorite moment of the evening.

Kinnard’s voice has a cool, clear vibe that speaks sophistication and complete breath control for holding a quiet note without a waver. Her “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” is a show stopper.

And Moore has a fresh and fiery enthusiasm to her singing, although she can approach shrillness when righteous anger overtakes her character. Still, her “Taking a Chance on Love” is light and lovely.

Harrison counterbalances all the sopranos with his booming baritone that can be soulful at one moment, playful the next and shamelessly, effortlessly flirty the rest of the time. His “I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So” and “(I Wanna Be Somebody’s) Baby Doll” are terrific. He also plays the sax on occasion and shows off some impressive riffs when joining the on-stage combo.

Providing simple but solid accompaniment are Ron DaRay at the keyboard with Riley Day on bass, Kim Geary Trujillo on drums and Luke Young on reeds.

The two-level set by Ben Juhnke encompasses individual hotel rooms for the three women plus a lobby bar where all can gather. Dazzling costumes from Kathryn Page Hauptman help define the characters, with The Lady in glittery purple and black vaudeville finery with feather boas and glittery headbands, The Woman in elegant peach and black with a black lace peignoir and The Girl in a fire-engine-red 1930s bias-cut gown that was eye-catchingly clingy and swingy.

The folks on stage may have been singing the blues, but we in the audience were all smiles.

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Review: Talented cast hits high notes in Forum Theatre’s ‘Blues in the Night’."