THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 23, 1994 TAG: 9406210154
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
DATELINE: 940623 LENGTH: Medium
Cynthia Roper, who has been more than a mainstay of the school's performing troupe for two years, makes a promising local directorial debut with this musical revue of Eubie Blake's works. Complemented by the choreography of Vincent Epps, the costume design of Gilroy Poindester, the scenic design of Gerald Hunt and the lighting design of Dr. Clarence W. Murray Jr., Roper's direction is marked by an eye for graceful images.
{REST} This might be the best looking show that NSU has done in quite sometime. For all the praise that is due the simply elegant set, the colorfully elegant costumes, and Roper's eye for composition, the old maxim that ``lighting is the true magic of the theater'' has special force here.
One expects an NSU musical to sound good, and ``Eubie'' more than fulfilled expectations under the musical direction of J. Albert Vann Jr. Roper has the lioness' share of the solo numbers, giving up the limelight occasionally to Epps and to other members of the company.
Natasha Barnes, E. Jeanelle Henderson, Angela Willis and Wil Parker are those featured singers. Maisha Brown was absent last weekend, but will return for the final three shows. Brad Breckenridge and Alexander Lawrence Jr. provide backup and choral voices, and serve as silent foils for soloists.
Most of the songs are concerned with romance, many with unrequited lust, unsuccessful infatuation, or just plain loneliness. Thus ``Harry,'' ``My Handyman Ain't Handy Anymore,'' and others lend themselves to a staging format in which the singers direct their words to a partner who makes no vocal response.
Those numbers, and the duets, best demonstrate Roper's directorial talents. There is a sense of genuine communication between the performers that adds sincerity, interest, and not infrequently humor to each passage.
Other pieces are presented as straightforward acts one might find in a nightclub, either by solitary vocalists or by lead singers in company with a chorus. All the performers make each song, no matter how it is presented, enjoyable.
Roper perhaps overindulges the prerogative of her position when she has herself wheeled on stage atop a white grand piano for her scorching rendition of ``Daddy.'' Epps does something similar when he sets his song and dance number ``Dixie Moon'' atop the same prop.
How do you find the choreographer in a group of identically dressed dancers? He's the one wearing white shoes and white gloves.
How do you find the director in the chorus? She's the one upstaging the dancer on the piano by bouncing around behind him, in the spotlight, her bodice at the level of his feet.
In all fairness, Roper and Epps really are worth an audience's attention. Except for the one inadvertent upstaging, their mild displays of ego do no harm to the show.
The cast even has fun with the idea that some performers won't forsake an audience's attention unless they are forced to do so. One number ends with Breckenridge, Lawrence and Parker returning to a stage they had left to carry Epps into the wings after he has tried to prolong his stage time.
The four person band - Vann, Curtis Johnson, Maurice Glass and Garry Garlic - served the vocalists well. The same cannot always be said of the singers' amplification, which makes itself known with the occasional squeal, squawk, or burst of volume.
Roper has kept the pacing of ``Eubie'' brisk, and an hour and 40 minutes pass almost before one knows it. Anyone who likes a good musical will find that time has been very well spent. by CNB