Marie AND Rosetta

There are only a few times when you will witness a theatrical performance that is so captivating and enthralling that it will knock your socks off. A performance that will tug at your soul, bring laughter and tears, and have you walking away feeling historically blessed. With the brilliant direction of E. Faye Butler, Northlight Theatre has captured this in their current play, Marie AND Rosetta. Known as the "Godmother of Rock n Roll" and among her generation's greatest gospel singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe's (born Rosetta Nubin) boisterous sound and electrifying abilities with a guitar brought in a new, somewhat controversial gospel, spiritual sound laced with the blues that differed from accepted talented singing like Clara Ward and Mahalia Jackson. Her flamboyant style, combining blues and swing with gospel music, upset purists by bringing the Lord's music into nightclubs, black and tan clubs, juke joints, and barrelhouses. However, Tharpe's willingness to blur the line between sacred and secular with that Renaissance style infused a new rock, pop gospel wave that brought the unsaved ear to listen to spiritual music that engaged their souls. This style also influenced rock icons like Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and entertainers ( Eric Clapton and Keith Richards) across the pond. Sister Rosetta Tharpe's young protégée, Marie Knight, with her astounding contralto voice, was also a singing musical force. Born Marie Roach, an exceptional singer who married (squirrel) preacher Albert Knight (you will get the pun squirrel once you see the play), join Rosetta as a duet. Their duet career started during the times of the Chitlin' Circuit when during the era of racial segregation, black musicians, comedians, and other entertainers were only able to perform at specific white venues throughout the United States but unable to use white facilities, nor receive white benefits, accommodations or abode within white establishments. Most black performers stayed at Green Book locations outside of white communities. 

Northlight Theatre's Marie and Rosetta centers around one location, a black owner's funeral home, where Marie and Rosetta were preparing for their first performance together. They are staying in a small room inside the funeral home with a piano surrounded by caskets and one cot for a bed. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a renowned gospel singer and guitarist, and Marie Knight, per Rosetta, had a voice like an angel. Tharpe, a major recording artist on Decca Records, heard Knight sing at a Mahalia Jackson concert and, as the story goes, grabbed Knight before Mahalia could get her and offered her a chance to be a star with her as a duet team. The seemly shy and staunch Marie, raised to live a holy Christian life, meets Rosetta, the backsliding sinner. Marie's mother would have preferred her tour with the upstanding and regularly accepted Mahalia Jackson; however, Marie was flabbergasted to be singing with the icon. As they began to sing together, it was clear that they had something special. Their voices blended perfectly, creating a powerful and soulful sound. Sister Rosetta Tharpe was impressed with Marie's talent and dedication. She knew that Marie had the potential to become a great singer, and she was determined to help her achieve her dreams. That night they rehearsed tirelessly, perfecting their harmonies, refining their performance, and deciding if their different worlds of sacred and sinful could align to sing gospel music to those outside the church. 

Marie and Rosetta is one of the best theatrical performances of the year  

Alexis J. Roston and Bethany Thomas were superlative. Roston, who recently blew us away with a spellbinding portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, was equally as spellbinding in her performance as Marie. Bethany Thomas (Sister Rosetta Tharpe), who recently appeared at Northlight's Songs for Nobodies and was outstanding in Teatro ZinZanni, perfectly captured Tharpe's charisma and bellowed vocals that tingled your soul. Both ladies' energy on stage was captivating. A few times, I had to fight back the tears when hearing them sing "There Will Be Peace In The Valley (Roston) and Tharpe's soul-reaching song where she looks down that lonesome road, seemly questioning her current path and spiritual roots in a melancholy version of Lonesome Road, beautifully sung by Thomas. And there were many songs, This Train, Didn't It Rain, Up Above My Head, Strange Things Happened, that received rave applauses and, at its conclusion, gave Roston and Thomas a standing ovation. One of the funniest parts of the play is when Rosetta tries to teach Marie how to add some swag, stylish confidence in her music. 

With directing great performances like The Color Purple, Five Guys Named Mo, The Wiz, and now Marie And Rosetta, director E. Faye Butler establishes herself as one of the greats in directing. Butler has a long history with Northlight Theatre and contributes her transitions from acting to directing to being a good listener. Her goal was the honor these unsung heroines, and her ability to grasp the emotional context needed in this play was grippingly phenomenal. Butler also enjoyed the connection with the entire casting production, which was all females.  

Ironically while traveling, Tharpe, who battled with her image of singing gospel at clubs, sometimes acted out the parts with Marie Knight as "the Saint and the Sinner," with Tharpe as the saint and Knight as the sinner. When their careers went separate ways, Marie Knight continued to become a successful solo artist, with famous songs including, I Thank You, Jesus, Up Above My Head, I Hear Music in the Air, Get Away Jordan, Oh, When I Come to the End of My Journey, and dabbling in R&B, reaching the top ten chart in 1949. Still, she always remembered the lessons she learned from Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Tharpe, concerned that the queen of 'race records, who performed at churches on Sundays and spent her evenings at the Cotton Club, but during the end of her career suffered complications from a stroke resulting in the amputation of a leg, and was later buried in an unmarked grave in Philadelphia.

Still, the world will never forget these two trailblazing phenomenal women who created a genre that catapulted the gospel music world and became an instrumental force for gospel musicians and singers like Andraé Crouch, The Hawkins, Donald Lawrence, Kirk Franklin, and Jekalyn Carr, who can freely worship today.  

During the end of her career, Tharpe suffered a stroke, and complications from the stroke resulted in the amputation of a leg, but she continued to tour through early 1973. Sadly, Mahalia Jackson, the gospel legend and a personal friend of Tharpe, died in 1972, and she died on October 9, 1973, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I won't give away the ending of the amazing production of Marie and Rosetta, but it's a tear-jerker. 

Below is one of Rosetta Tharpe’s original performances.

4 STARS ****

Northlight Theatre

MARIE AND ROSETTA

By George Brant

Directed by E. Faye Butler

Extended through - August 13, 2023