Washington’s ‘Gospel Christmas Suite’ Struggles to Gain a Solid Footing

In attempting to create a holiday chestnut she can call her own, choreographer Lula Washington--amid an uncredited set of Christmas tree, palm fronds, spewing clouds of smoke, bales of hay and a swaddle-wrapped doll--has, unfortunately, laid a very un-golden egg.

Entitled “Gospel Christmas Suite--1997,” a work in progress, this 55-minute opus was to premiere at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex on Friday night, the first day of Kwanzaa. Poor ticket sales, however, resulted in a Saturday debut with a fairly full house, when the weeklong African American holiday--a celebration of family and culture--butted heads with Washington’s idea of Noel.

Call it “Kwansmas,” if you will, but this production, meant to be an annual event, in spite of splendid dancing and Linda Borough’s gaily-colored costumes, does not have legs. Featuring the electric moves of Lula Washington Dance Theatre and the Lula Washington Youth Dance Ensemble, Da Lion’s throbbing drums, and the sincere, but overwrought gospel stylings of Angels and the Kenny Ford Sr. Singers and Musicians, this package, nevertheless, arrived stillborn.

The singers began the 10-part proceedings with “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “He Is the Light,” in which the doll was passed from hand to hand. Ralph Glenmore, in painted face and black robe, wielding a jingle-belled staff, intoned Washington’s text throughout the work, wherein lines about the Bloods and Crips glaringly stood out.

Soloist Shameika Hines, taking tiny steps on her knees after running in circles and dropping flowers, was upstaged by Sabrina A. Frances singing Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” “Three Angels of Peace,” featuring rib-baring dancers Mataji Booker, Hines and Nabachwa Ssensalo, offered lots of lunging and fluttering hands, but stagnated from repetition. The finale, “Halleluia,” seemed a kind of disco-tribal tribute to Handel, in which a bevy of dancers brandished scarves and unabated frenzy ruled. Washington, buoyed by rampant emotions, jammed onstage in the extended coda.

The night began with an hour’s worth of music, dance and song, preceded by a Swahili invocation of Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. While Washington’s intentions are novel, the result is much like Aunt Martha’s holiday gift--one best left under the tree.