Tuesday was another wonderful “Educators’ Evening” at Playhouse Square. Several times a year, the playhouse invites teachers to come up to see a presentation on a play, then hear a talk about the play, and then see a play, all for free (and they even feed you). Meredith gets to go because she teaches English, and they let me come along because I coach an improv theater group. It is a pretty fantastic program.

Last Tuesday was a play called The Devils’ Music, based on the blues singer Bessie Smith. All of the things that were discussed in the play were factual, although the dialogue was created by the playwright. The Educators’ Evening discussion was based on how perspective is important to any story. We had some good discussions on the importance of perspective in both English classes and history classes, and as educators we were encouraged to think about how to represent multiple perspectives in our classes.

The pre-show talk was focused mostly on the events that led up to the blues as an art form, and some of the founding figures of the blues who were an early influence on Bessie Smith. We also got the background on Bessie’s early life and how she started into show business at a fairly early age.

The actual show was set entirely in an empty speakeasy-type saloon. Bessie and her band had just walked out on a show since the theater management was asking her to use the back door since she was a black singer. She refused and left. The play takes up from that moment, and we see much of Bessie’s life as told from her perspective in snippets. There were three musicians on stage with the actress playing Bessie – a sax player, a piano player, and an upright bass player. All three were amazing musicians.

The woman playing Bessie is a professional singer, and she raised the roof on the place. Man, that woman could sing. She was a very engaging actress as well – she got the audience on her side right away, and kept me engaged for much of the play. Her voice and stage presence were both huge.

I liked the play on the whole. I did start to “drift” from Bessie as she kept telling more and more stories of a hard partying lifestyle that seemed to be a near-endless stream of alcohol and sex and fighting. She did not seem to have any stable relationships in her life, at least as presented in the play. She was a huge talent and a huge monetary success, but by the end of the two hours, it felt hollow to me. I felt sorry for Bessie, and sorry that her life seemed so tragic to me.

The play was well done, and the music was grand, and given that it was all for free, it is hard to complain. Even when a play leaves me with questions, it still makes me think, and that is good theater.