Why it took five writers to put together a bookless musical with few spoken words is a mystery. What's not a mystery, though, is the appeal of this show, which is a joyous, rollicking, vest-pocket history of the blues, a national art form which usually doesn't get much attention from mainstream, white bread America. An eight-person cast, all of whom sing, dance and play instruments, takes the audience on a swift, finger-poppin' journey into the origins of the blues, backed up by slide projections and a smokin' six piece band. Starting with African folk songs and dance, the Act One survey goes on to investigate -- and illuminate -- work songs, slave chants, bluegrass, Mississippi Delta (with a tip of the hat to Robert Johnson) and gospel. The songs range from such familiar numbers as "St. Louis Woman" and "I've Been Living With the Blues" to the more obscure (but just as authentic) "Come On In My Kitchen" and "My Man Rocks Me." All aspects of the blues, its sacred and profane sides, its joyousness and anger, are explored in depth.
The exploration continues in Act Two, which focuses on the movement of the blues out of the Deep South and into the urban environment of Chicago and New York, where the music became more polished and sophisticated, but just as honest and biting (especially in the anti-lynching anthem, "Strange Fruit"). Blues also tips its hat to the white redhot mamas (Mae West & Sophie Tucker) who were inspired by the likes of Bessie Smith and Big Mama Thornton, and to country-western singers like Hank Williams who were also rooted in the blues. The long overdue musical lesson in Afro-American music is delivered in such entertaining, exuberant fashion that the audience doesn't realize it has spent time in school.
