Grammy-winning composer, actor, singer Keb' Mo' (a.k.a. Kevin Moore) knows the Blues better than anyone. He encapsulates contemporary Delta and folksy Americana. His songs, while easy listening, have a quiet depth, an emotional tug that speaks to the universal. You can hear the deep Mississippi and the people living along its banks flowing through the music. It's basic and true.
In his “bluesical” Thunder Knocking on the Door, co-written with actor/playwright Keith Glover and with one song by Anderson Edwards, this fairy tale – a classic of the devil challenging a musician for his soul – gets a somewhat successful face lift. No doubt about it, it is exuberant in its movement, thanks to Eboni Bell Darcy's high-stepping choreography, Tevyn Washington's ace direction, the glorious band, and the superlative cast.
Workshopped in 1997, the show has seen multiple jukebox variations until Keb' Mo' (with Glover as lyricist) was hired to write the music. The transformation is magical, if the show, ultimately, isn't.
Thunder mixes magic realism via voodoo and shape-shifting mythos with a limp story line that conjures up too many routine sit-com plots. Will Mom Good Sister (Troi Coleman) marry her beau Dregster (Steven J. Scott), the twin brother of her deceased husband, the guitar legend Jaguar Dupree, Sr.? Will brother Jaguar (Kaleb Womack) give up his flashy new lifestyle in rock and roll to return to his daddy's Blues roots? Will twin sister Glory (Sarah Sachi), blind from a car accident, find her way back from her current frumpy condition to a music career or love life? Glory already possesses a sixth sense; she sees things about people and events that no one else can perceive. This household is either blessed or cursed.
This is handled with mundane dialogue and some sort of kitchen-sink realism, or as real as a TV show will allow, until Marvell Thunder (Labraska Washington) appears from the shadowy gloom, dripping charms from his watch fob, wearing zoot suit and spectator shoes. (Jaymee Ngerwighit's costumes, from Mom's utilitarian house dress to Glory's spangled transformation are spot on.) It's a star turn for sure. Washington eats up the stage with magnetism, a silky and ripe baritone, and enough villainous cackles that he should be sued by Disney. He's one evil genie, obviously not human, as everyone rightly observes.
Years earlier he lost a “cutting contest” – a guitar showdown – to Dupree, Sr., and ever since has been on the prowl for that magic guitar which will prevent him from turning to stone. He's lost his Blues mojo. It's a hammy role, and Washington deliciously chews up everyone around him. He could easily overwhelm the slight show, but the rest of the cast rises magnificently to his level. They are all impressive singers, dancers, and actors, swooning to Keb' Mo' or frugging to Darcy, Each brings their own special quality.
Coleman supplies a gospel belt to her numbers, especially “Willing to Go;” Scott is suave, coolly elegant, and immensely personable; young Womack wows with his power; and Sachi brings down the house in her joyous 11th-hour number “Movin' On,” written by Edwards. It is a cast of superlatives.
Although this Stages version borrows from Minneapolis' Ten Thousand Things Theater's 2022 production, the vocal and musical arrangements have been altered by music director Ronnie “King” Mason, Jr. so that the “cutting contest” between Thunder and Glory sounds like hard rock instead of Delta blues (with harmonica subbing bizarrely for the guitars).
Aside from the phenomenal performers, it's the band who shine bright: Earnest C. Prince, Jr., on bass; Ben Jarrad Thompson 0n guitar; Ronnie King on synthesizer and keyboard; Darren Coleman on drums; and Jerry Jerome on harmonica. It's a hell of a ride in Bessemer, Alabama.
The show's too long and needs repair. Scenes go on too long; character motivation skews toward hazy; the songs, though individually interesting in their harmonic changes, blend together in their smooth bluesiness and begin to sound alike; and Glover's lyrics are rather pedestrian. Except for the rousing numbers like “Big Money” and “Movin' On” or the soothing romantic duet “Rainmaker,” everything melts into one big Blues song. There's not much that sounds unique. Shorter would be better.
But you cannot discount the power of performers at their best to make a mundane show worthy of your attention. The ultra-talented quintet of both actors and musicians push this show into heavenly goodness. You may think of the Blues as all about the travails of love lost, but Keb' Mo' finds love and aspiration inside this soulful music. Hardly perfect, Thunder Knocking on the Door finds us loving the actors and music makers. Sometimes, that's reason enough.
Thunder Knocking On the Door continues through August 6 at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays and 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays at Stages, 800 Rosine. For more information, call 713-527-0123 or visit stageshouston.com. $30-$84.
