In Camille A. Brown’s Mr. TOL E. RAncE at The Kitchen, there was a bit of time travel to a place in the history of African Americans when what they did was indeed tolerate—Minstrelsy. Camille A. Brown & Dancers did a fine job in bringing the many faces of Minstrelsy then, and Minstrelsy now to light. The stage was set at curtain. Against the white backdrop, names of famous characters (Moms Mabley, Diane Carroll, Flip Wilson, Whoppie Goldberg and more) came and went introducing the cast, plus there were vintage clips of African Americans dancing the cakewalk, or in vaudeville or minstrel shows. All the while, Scott Patterson, the pianist whose genius radiated the entire evening, kept time with ragtime and other classics suited to the time. The dancers, also suited up for the time in high-waisted pants, suspenders, jackets, caps, and saddle shoes, took the stage with long, sharp and far reaching arms, plus feet that stomped out fancy footwork, matched by Patterson’s excellent timing. Also included were the over-the-top gestures and the toothy grins which was the norm of Minstrels like Bert Williams and William Henry Lane, aka, “Master Juba.” Back then, these men took this derogatory stereotype and made it into an art form, and now Brown broached on challenging herself and her audience. More reminders of the derogatory stereotype came with the section titled “Scheduled Programming” when snippets of TV show tunes (“Good Times,” “Fresh Prince,” “Amen” and others) were sung or danced, especially noted was Brown’s chorus of the flicking wrist done by Jimmy Walker of “Good Times” when he intoned “DYNOMITE.” The work gets a bit gritty in Act II when hyper-sexual, and ethnic coding realisms of today were offered, loudly. Standout of the evening was Brown’s solo against Patterson rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” so elegant and so smooth. Where will Mr. TOL E. RAncE
go next? Kudos to the entire team: dancers, Juel D. Lane, Mayte Natalio, Waldean Nelson, Mora-Amina Parker, Wille “Tre” Smith III, Keon Thoulouis, and Brown; lighting, Burke Wilmore; set, Philip Trevino; costumes, Carolyn Meckha Cherry; dramaturgs, Talvin Wilks and Kamilah Forbes; and animation, Isabela Dos Santos.
go next? Kudos to the entire team: dancers, Juel D. Lane, Mayte Natalio, Waldean Nelson, Mora-Amina Parker, Wille “Tre” Smith III, Keon Thoulouis, and Brown; lighting, Burke Wilmore; set, Philip Trevino; costumes, Carolyn Meckha Cherry; dramaturgs, Talvin Wilks and Kamilah Forbes; and animation, Isabela Dos Santos.
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