Jelly’s Last Jam at Pasadena Playhouse (Photo – Jeff Lorch)
I challenge the audience to experience this amazing production without moving to the music and empathizing with the emotions portrayed as Jelly Roll Morton’s music and personal tumult are reviewed in reverse from his deathbed– it can’t be done!
By Carol Edger Germain
Jelly’s Last Jam is quite an engaging spectacle, and the audience is roller-coastered through it all. The Playhouse is the perfect size to handle such a large musical production (including a 10-piece orchestra and a huge cast) yet still intimate enough that the entire audience has an “up-close-and-personal” experience, as the story unfolds and the music and dancing are nonstop.
This is a new production of the Tony Award winning musical, featuring book by George C. Wolfe, music by Jelly Roll Morton, and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead with musical adaptation and additional music composed by Luther Henderson. We first meet Jelly (John Clarence Stewart) just after his demise. The spirit Chimney Man (Cress Williams) materializes and guides us through Jelly’s life in reverse. Jelly is forced to admit and confront his demons regarding his ethnicity, his music, the pain he endured and the pain he caused, and his self-proclaimed title of “inventor of jazz.”
Young Jelly (Doran Butler) struggles with acknowledging his racial roots when his grandmother (Gran Mimi, played by Karole Foreman) banishes him because he was caught playing the piano in a brothel. She slaps him, proclaiming “you are not Creole,” and sends him on his way. After leaving his grandmother’s home, he pairs up with Jack the Bear (Wilkie Ferguson III) and they hurtle through some dicey venues and underworld venues, with their schedule being controlled many times by the need to make a hasty exit because of Jelly’s antics.
Jelly partners musically with Anita (Jasmine Amy Rogers), who syncs with his talents, personality, and drive, although it’s not always a smooth ride. Jelly sparked the fuse on jazz, with plenty of blues incorporated, and his music propelled him and allowed him to keep pushing down the negative.
Racial conflict of the times is explored, coupled with the changes flooding the country at the turn of the century, politically as well as musically, but always expressed in dazzling tap dancing, acrobatics, and biting lyrics. The huge cast is uniformly talented, dynamic, and exciting to watch and hear. Sixteen performances remaining, don’t miss it!
John Clarence Stewart and Ensemble (Photo -Jeff Lorch)
Jelly's Last Jam Directed by Kent Gash Music Direction by Darryl Archibald Choreography by Dell Howlett Performances Tues. 8 pm - 6/11, 6/18 Weds. 8 pm - 6/12, 6/19 Thurs. 8 pm - 6/13, 6/20 Fri. 8 pm - 6/14, 6/21 Sat. 2 pm - 6/15, 6/22 Sat. 8 pm - 6/15, 6/22 Sun. 2 pm - 6/16, 6/23 Sun. 7 pm - 6/16/6/23 Pasadena Playhouse 39 South El Molino Pasadena 91101 pasadenaplayhouse.org/visit 626-356-7529
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