Dessa Rose

Book & Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

Music by Stephen Flaherty

Based on the novel by Sherley Anne Williams

Directed by Mark E. Lococo

Musical direction by Doug Peck

Choreographed by Marla Lampert

At Apple Tree Theatre

595 Elm Place #210

Highland Park, IL

Call 847-432-4335, tickets $35 - $45

Tuesdays at 7:30 PM

Wednesdays at 7:30 PM

Thursdays at 7:30 PM

Fridays at 8 PM

Saturdays at 5 * 8:30 PM

Sundays at 3 PM

(call for holiday blackouts)

Through December 31, 2005

Dessa Rose is a moving, uplifting  operetta

Kudos for Apple Tree Theatre for mounting a Midwest Premiere of Sherley Anne Williams’ 1986 novel Dessa Rose. This is an important, intelligent, passionate work that beautifully tells the hardship of pre-Civil War Southern black slaves in a chamber folk operetta. With music and lyrics by the Tony Awarding team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Dessa Rose has a haunting score filled with African and Southern field/work song rhythms and melodies together with early religious songs including folk and gospel sounds that produced an atmosphere of 1840’s on a plantation in South Carolina. Lynn Ahrens’ character and plot driven lyrics emphasize the emotion, the pain and the passion of the black slaves. Her strong book anchors the piece.

The story is about two strong-willed women, Dessa Rose (Karla L. Beard) and Ruth Sutton (Susan Moniz) whose stories intertwine. Told in flashback with the two principles as narrators, Dessa Rose is a fictional account of two woman who actually lived in the antebellum Deep South in 1847.

 Dessa Rose is a fifteen year old slave girl who leads a rebellion after she is cruelly beaten by her master who kills her lover and father of her unborn child. She is captured, sentenced to death but the owner waits until she has her baby so as not to waste “perfectly good property.” We see Ruth marry a strange man who leaves her alone (with her nanny) on a rural North Alabama farm while he travels to places unknown leaving Ruth to survive by herself.

When writer Adam Nehemiah (Sean Allan Krill) visits Dessa Rose to write her story as the “devil woman” who led a slave rebellion, he is captivated with the aura and charm exuded by Dessa Rose until he is lulled into unshackling her leg irons allowing her to escape her prison call.

Ruth loses her nanny (Bethany Thomas) as she learns to rely on the kindness of black migrant workers who stumble upon her rural farm. Among them is Nathan (Byron Willis) who becomes a trusted worker and lover to Ruth. The farm becomes a hideout for runaway slaves with Ruth offering them unquestioning sanctuary. Dessa Rose and Ruth butt heads as the two strong-willed independent women clash but also cooperate due to common necessity. When Nathan devises a scheme to make the group enough money for them to head west away from the yoke of slavery, Ruth actively joins them to earn enough cash for her to also escape the confines of the rural farm.

Dessa Rose is sung almost throughout in a folksy chamber operetta style featuring smooth, haunting multi-part harmonies, strong passionate solos and colorful work songs, religious hymns and celebratory spirituals. The movement and dance underscore the pain, the glory and the emotional outlet experience during the hardships suffered by the slaves.

Susan Moniz is a powerhouse as Ruth whose iron will and strong voice lift her character into heroine status. Karla L. Beard, as Dessa Rose, gave a complete riveting, subtle, yet compelling turn to Dessa Rose. Her passion comes through in her haunting songs. The rivalry and love-hate between Beard and Moniz was effective and genuine. With nice work form Sean Allan Krill and Dan Loftus together with the marvelous harmonies from the ensemble led by J. Earl Jones II, and the commanding Bethany Thomas, Dessa Rose sings and moves wonderfully. Bryon Willis’ Nathan takes over the struggle for freedom and wins Ruth’s hand quite nicely.

This amazingly well sung show owes much to the terrific orchestrations and musical direction from Doug Peck who utilized the bongo drums to enhance to mood.

Dessa Rose is a tale of courage, suffering, redemption and friendship in a memorable story that reinforces the power of the human spirit. Strength and love can transcend the barriers between people. It is refreshing to find out how tough our ancestors actually were.

Dessa Rose is an beautiful American folk operetta where the human spirit is celebrated through song and dance within an original story. Come join the spirit of this uplifting show. You’ll be glad you did.

Highly Recommended

Tom Williams

Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments

Chicago Stage Talk Radio Show

This show is eligible for a C.S.T. Equity Theatre Award

December 10, 2005

Jeff Recommended