Lost in the Stars

The latest City Center Encores! production took a different turn with Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's, Lost in the Stars.  If some audience members were disappointed in its moralizing theme and unusual presentation, it was an impressive production with artistic and emotional relevance to the world today.I

n the original 1949 production, the program listed the show as a “musical tragedy.”  Lost in the Stars, however, is closer to a theatrical oratorio, articulated by Weill’s dramatic score and choral renditions.  Based on Alan Paton’s 1948 novel, Cry, the Beloved Country, the play takes place in South Africa under apartheid.  Maxwell Anderson's adaptation of Paton’s novel is faithful in spirit, capturing the community’s feeling of loss and the belief that God has abandoned Ndotsheni, a village in the impoverished hills outside Johannesburg. The village pastor, Stephen Kumalo (Chuck Cooper), is concerned because he and his wife (Sharon Washington) have received no word about their son,  Absalom (Daniel Breaker), who left Ndotsheni the previous year to find a missing aunt.  Kumalo now decides to leave Ndotsheni as well and travel to Johannesburg to bring Absalom home.

In Johannesburg, Kumalo learns that his sister is a drug user and he takes her young son, Alex (Jeremy Gumbs) with him while he searches for Absalom.  He discovers that his son is living in Johannesburg’s slums with his pregnant girlfriend, Irina (Sherry Boone).  Problems develop when Absalom, needing money for himself and Irina, joins in a hold up attempt and accidentally shoots a white man, Arthur Jarvis (Kieran Campion).  Arthur, ironically, is an acquaintance from Ndotsheni, fighting racial segregation in contrast to the bigotry of his own father, James Jarvis (Daniel Gerroll).  Absalom admits his guilt, a trial ensues, and he is sentenced to death.  When the devastated Kumalo returns to Ndotsheni with Alex, he meets with James Jarvis.  The two grieving fathers, Stephen Kumalo and James Jarvis, agree to work together toward establishing peace in the village.

The intensity of Weill’s score propels the story and keeps its individual performances riveting.  Punctuating rhythms boost the drama.  Chuck Cooper as Kumalo and Quentin Earl Darrington as the Leader of the village turn in what must be considered two of the strongest vocal performances of the season.  Cooper’s voice is rich and warm; his rendition of  “Lost in the Stars” after visiting his son in prison shows a compelling sense of loss.  Later, he prays for solace with "O Tixo, O Tixo, Help Me."  Darrington sets the scene with the opening song "The Hills of Ixopo" and leads the chorus in a powerful cry of pain, “Cry, the Beloved Country.”  As Irina, Boone delivers a heartbreaking, “Stay Well,” when Absalom is sent to prison, a song that his father overhears and endears him to the suffering girl whom his son loved.

There is one break from the solemnity when Patina Miller (Linda), sexy in her crimson dress, struts through a shanty town dive carrying vegetables and singing “Who’ll Buy?” to her admirers.  In Act II, an outstanding moment in Ndotsheni, lets Jeremy Gumbs (Alex) shine with an expressive delivery of “Big Mole.”

Gary Griffin shaped the show with action unfolding mostly through Weill's original orchestrations.  John Lee Beatty designed stage-wide steps for the ensemble and Rob Berman’s 12-person orchestra.  Except for Darrington’s imposing long robes and Miller’s red dress, Paul Tazewell dressed the cast in casual African street clothes.

Lost in the Stars is an example of where one artist’s creation was transformed into a different, still impressive medium.  It was Kurt Weill's last Broadway musical. He died on April 3, 1950 in New York City during the play’s run.

(Pictured: Chuck Cooper and Jereny Gumbs)

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
February 5, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org