Theater Review : Sandra Reaves Incarnates ‘Great Ladies of Blues & Jazz’

A theater piece based upon impressions of famous blues and jazz singers doesn’t exactly trigger a sense of eager anticipation. It has, after all, been attempted in the past, rarely with much artistic success, in settings ranging from Diana Ross’ idiosyncratic rendering of Billie Holiday in the movie “Lady Sings the Blues” to last summer’s erratic theater production of “Sang, Sista, Sang.”

But that was all before singer Sandra Reaves decided to do her own versions of Holiday, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Dinah Washington and Mahalia Jackson. Her performance Sunday in “The Late Great Ladies of Blues & Jazz” at the Richard Pryor Theatre succinctly underlines the three elements that are required to do the job right--talent, talent and more talent.

And Reaves is loaded with it. The first half of the show--despite superb impressions of Rainey, Smith and Waters--is a bit slow, in part because the dramatic segments, conceived and written by Reaves, fail to delineate some of the real distinctions between the three blues-associated performers. A stronger feeling, for example, for Rainey’s insistence upon retaining the country blues aspects of her music, for the pressures placed upon Smith to sing overly suggestive lyrics, and for the problems Waters faced as an African American actress in the ‘30s, would have added needed substance and energy to the first act.

But Reaves makes up for the opening section’s uncertainties by returning after the intermission with a chilling vision of Holiday singing “In My Solitude” that literally draws a collective gasp from the audience. Her Dinah Washington is almost equally effective, capturing the powerful rhythmic essence of the popular blues vocalist’s musical style, as well as her sometimes abrasive personality.

Then, after the dark poignancy of Holiday and the upfront brassiness of Washington, Reaves suddenly shifts into a brilliantly convincing presentation of Jackson. In look, manner and, above all, in vocal sound and sheer physical presence, her rendition of the gospel queen rocking through “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and “When the Saints Go Marching In” is no less than astonishing.

Despite its occasionally uneven moments as a production, this is a one-woman performance to be savored and remembered. Reaves has had some earlier visibility via appearances in the Broadway musical “Raisin,” the films “Round Midnight” and “Lean On Me” and a recurring role (as Esther) in the TV soap “Another World,” but she comes into her own, magnificently, in “The Late Great Ladies.”

Appropriately minimal direction is provided by Rick Khan; a colorful array of costumes were designed by Michael Hannah and Trashy, and Lanny Hartley is the music director.

* “The Late Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz,” Richard Pryor Theatre, 1445 N. Las Palmas Ave., (213) 466-2222. Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 3 p.m. $17.50-$22.50.