Show unveils the troubles and times of Bessie Smith

on March 09, 2009 at 5:51 PM, updated March 09, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Miche Braden stars as Bessie Smith in "The Devil's Music" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick.

The Devil's Music
When: Through March 29. Tuesdays through Fridays at 8 p.m., Thursdays and Saturdays at 2 and 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m.
How much: $28-$64. Call (732) 246-7717 or visit

"The Devil's Music" is successful for the same reason that "Jersey Boys" is. You feel as if you're hearing the truth.

At first, playwright Angelo Parra doesn't ask audiences to like blues legend Bessie Smith in his show at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick. That's clear from the show's first words, when star Miche Braden emerges in character as Smith and sings, "If you value your life, you'd better get out of my way."

And you know the blues: The first line of a song always gets sung a second time. And she doesn't let up after that repeated warning.

"I'm in a bad mood today," she sings. And just when the show runs the risk of showing us someone non-stop unpleasant, Parra gives us good reason why Smith should be infuriated. It's 1937 Memphis, and as she's arrived at the theater to perform, she's been told that a black woman can't possibly be allowed to enter the front door.

"Then," she growls, "I ain't good enough to use the stage."

So she repairs to her hotel room, where she'll ruminate on the many injustices in her life. She pours herself a drink, and by the way that Braden looks at what's in the glass, she shows us that Bessie can appraise the worth of the liquor by a glance. Her sexual appetite? The word "straight" can only be applied to the seams of Smith's stockings.

Braden and incisive director Joe Brancato paint Smith as a diva who would make Patti LuPone look like a pushover. Though the show is called "The Devil's Music," a more apt moniker would be "The Devil's Lyrics," for there are some mighty filthy images in the songs. Or call it "The Devil's Dialogue" -- many four-letter words pepper the script. If the Devil weren't already red, he might be caught blushing at much of this show.

The show runs the danger of having an audience not pull for Smith, but pull away from her. That, even though Braden is a winning performer who works every second of the 85 straight minutes she's onstage. But that's when Parra, Braden and Brancato pull their master-stroke. They tell us the precise reasons why Smith became an utterly unhappy person. Braden makes Smith brave here, before she shrugs and says, "If you wanna sing the blues, you gotta pay the dues." All three have collaborated to show us a woman who's all paid up for this lifetime, as well as any other she might have.

Parra, Braden and Brancato aren't the only heroes at George Street. Jeff Nellis' lighting starts out warm, and becomes progressively hotter, making its own little red light district when Smith tells the more ribald of her stories. And yet, when Smith recounts the most harrowing moment of her life, Nellis wisely drains the stage of color and puts her in a white light, as stark as the one found in a police station's holding room.

Finally, praise is due to the three-piece band, with James Hankins' ominous bass leading the pack. Pianist Scott Trent makes diminished chords as tasty as dark chocolate. Anthony Nelson gives the woodwinds enough wind to fill a tsunami. He also gets into the action at one point, where Braden almost has sex with a sax. (Seriously.)

Friday's first-nighters gave these three a standing ovation long before Braden came out for her curtain call. You know musicians have to be good when that happens.