Show Reviews

‘Simply Simone’ is a revue of a fascinating life
By Colin Dabkowski – Buffalo News

If you absolutely have to do a musical revue, it helps when the music you choose tells a story.

On that account, the Paul Robeson Theatre’s rousing production of “Simply Simone: The Music of Nina Simone” delivers a thrilling stream of music popularized or simply sung by the great jazz singer and pianist, whose urgent voice was tinged by the trials and triumphs of a fascinating life. That life is given a swift but thorough airing in David Grapes II and Robert Neblett’s revue, which features four actors, each representing Simone at landmark points in her life.

The show gets off to a strong start with “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl” and “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” probably Simone’s best-known song. We learn about the singer’s upbringing in a small North Carolina town and about her early aptitude as a piano player. That talent takes her all the way to the Julliard School of Music in New York City and later to an audition for the prestigious Curtis Institute.

There, in a devastating and telling scene, Simone is rejected for playing with too much “emotion,” a thinly shrouded assertion of racial prejudice. That segues smoothly into another of Simone’s hits, “Young, Gifted and Black,” sung with a deep sense of defiance by the show’s cast.

Fortunately for Simone, and for modern DJs everywhere, she soldiered on to pursue a musical career that led her to sing and play the blues, jazz, soul and R&B. It also took her deeply into the civil rights movement — and eventually away from a native country whose intolerance she came to despise.

The best performances come in Christian’s understated and sultry performance of “I Put a Spell on You” and others and when the group’s voices combine on gospel songs like “Balm in Gilead” and “Take Me to the Water.”

Shawnell Tillery sings well on pieces like “Love Me or Leave Me” and gives a forceful rendition of “Mississippi Goddam.”

As for the band itself, led by music director Frazier Tom Smith, its opening performance of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps,” as well as numbers at intermission and after the show, brought the house down. Especially impressive were Venzella Williams on drums and Leroy Johnson on sax.

Yes, “Simply Simone” is simple, but it knows that about itself. In the end, it gives an intriguing glimpse into the life of one of our most fascinating talents.