Celebration of a life: Northlight’s emotional ‘Twisted Melodies’ salutes soul legend Donny Hathaway

EDITOR'S NOTE: This review discusses suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.

“Twisted Melodies” — 3 stars

The most transcendent moment in Northlight Theatre's emotionally charged revival of “Twisted Melodies” comes about two-thirds of the way through actor/writer Kelvin Roston Jr.'s jukebox bio-tuner about seminal 1970s soul singer and composer/arranger Donny Hathaway, who died by suicide in 1979 at the age of 33.

Channeling Hathaway, the silvery-voiced Roston nearly stops the show with his version of “A Song For You,” Leon Russell's oft-covered 1970 ballad, made lovelier by the simplicity of Roston's performance.

“Twisted Melodies,” which premiered at Chicago's Congo Square Theatre in 2015, chronicles in aching detail Hathaway's personal life, his career and his struggle with mental illness. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he was medicated and hospitalized for depression, mood swings, hallucinations and delusions.

All of which is harrowingly conveyed by Roston with help from designers Jason Lynch (lighting), Eric Backus (sound) and Rasean Davonté Johnson (projections), who incorporate white noise; disembodied voices; light flashes; and looming, indistinct figures as a visual representation of Hathaway's psychological turmoil.

We meet Hathaway on Jan. 13, 1979 — the last day of his life — in New York City's Essex Hotel, where he has retreated after his erratic behavior forced producers to cut short his recording session with Roberta Flack. (Flack and Hathaway famously duetted on 1972's Grammy Award-winning “Where is the Love” and the 1978 hit “The Closer I Get to You.”)

“I don't have time for this … I gotta get started,” says the agitated Hathaway, whom we meet as he fine-tunes a song, which is his way of coping with his illness: by twisting the distractions of his troubled mind into melodies.

Unfortunately, his efforts spark a manic episode. He spirals and imagines an undefined group invading his brain and stealing his music. That leads him to reflect on his personal and professional life and struggle with schizophrenia. Roston intersperses Hathaway's music (his own compositions and music by other songwriters that he recorded) with his memories and mania.

The result under director Ron OJ Parson is a respectful, compassionate tribute to a distraught artist animated by an actor whose impassioned performance feels as if Hathaway's music is pouring from him.

Case in point: the bittersweet cover of a 1934 tune “For all We Know,” which in Roston's hands becomes an expression of unrequited love. Other highlights include the jazz-flavored instrumental “The Ghetto,” which invites audience participation; “Someday We'll All Be Free,” a civil rights anthem that lyricist Edward Howard reportedly intended to encourage Hathaway in his mental health journey; and the haunting “Giving Up,” which concludes the show.

That said, the musical, which tends to repeat itself, could use some trimming. Also, for audience members less familiar with Hathaway's music, a song list and songwriters' credits would be helpful.

But those are small points in a show that, in addition to commemorating an important artist, raises questions about the nature of genius and how mental health impacts it. As represented in this show, Hathaway's mental state serves to both inspire his talent and thwart it.

What a terrible burden for an artist to bear. Yet from that anguish, as expressed by Roston in “Twisted Melodies,” come moments of grace and beauty, as evidenced by the aforementioned “A Song for You,” a reminder of music's power to heal a troubled spirit.

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Location: Northlight Theatre, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, (847) 673-6300 or northlight.org

Showtimes: 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday through Aug. 10. Also, 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3

Tickets: $46-$98

Running time: About 100 minutes, no intermission

Parking: On the street

Rating: For teens and older; contains mature language and sensitive subject matter, including references to mental illness and suicide