Wow! What a show! Who knew, or had even heard of, Rosetta Tharpe, the “godmother of rock ’n’ roll” whose style of music inspired and influenced musicians such as Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Johnny Cash to mention just a few? She also performed with the Duke Ellington and the Cab Calloway Orchestra and toured with Lucky Millinder’s swing band throughout the forties, yet she was forgotten during her lifetime and finally buried in an unmarked grave.
Not totally forgotten, however. This long overdue tribute to her begins in a funeral parlour in Philadelphia, where Rosetta and her protégé / friend / partner Marie appear to have spent the night—hotels in the South being ‘whites only’. Lily Arnold’s set is very minimal, just a few raised platforms and a table, with semi-transparent drapes, following the funeral parlour setting and part-concealing the excellent musicians. Piano, drums and double bass are Mia Odeleye, Ishara Andrews and Genevieve Namazzi respectively, led by guitarist and musical director Shirley Tefteh.
Beverley Knight is sensational as Rosetta, loud, sassy and funny, with Ntombizodwa Ndlovu also amazing as anxious-to-please Marie, hesitant, demure, but not quite as innocent and immature as first thought. There is a lot of humour in the dialogue throughout the show and also a lot of songs—thirteen in total, including "This Train", "Rock Me" and "Didn’t it Rain", and director Monique Touko has achieved a very nice balance between dialogue and music, with music of course taking the larger share.
Sister Rosetta, regarding herself as an evangelist spreading the word of God, took her beloved gospel music and swung it practically out of orbit to an extant that the churchgoers of the time were shocked by her singing, by her guitar playing and by the fact that she played wherever she was welcome: night clubs, baseball stadiums, the lot!
Author George Brant has included references to her earlier life in between the musical numbers, recalling performing from the age of six, and even at that age swinging her hips, but music is the name of the game, nearly blowing the roof off the theatre with the two women’s powerfully beautiful voices soaring, blending and interweaving with an exotic mixture of gospel, jazz, blues and rock ’n’ roll, all sung with love, warmth and uninhibited joy. A joy which transferred to the very appreciative audience who took their share of ‘raising the roof’.
All might have ended on a sad note back in the funeral parlour, but that didn’t stop the band from playing right to the end as the audience filed (or danced) out, and everyone with a smile on their face. Absolutely fabulous show. Loved every minute!