Butler, McMonagle bring star power to 'Pearl'

For evidence of how a pair of powerhouse performers can liven up a middling play, look no further than Northlight Theatre's “Black Pearl Sings!” and the standout performances and obvious chemistry of its stars, E. Faye Butler and Susie McMonagle.

Set during the Depression, Frank Higgins' play-with-music tells the story of Susannah (McMonagle), a white ethnomusicologist and aspiring academic working for the Library of Congress to collect songs and spirituals from African Americans living in the south. She finds in Pearl (Butler), a convicted murderer serving time in a Texas prison, a treasure trove of music that may include songs her enslaved grandparents brought with them from Africa.

Ably directed by Steve Scott, “Black Pearl” benefits from casting the redoubtable Butler, whose performance is deeply felt and mightily sung, and the charismatic McMonagle, a lovely singer with a savvy comedic touch.

The play was inspired by the work of folklorist John Lomax. During the 1930s, Lomax and his son Alan traveled the country collecting and recording folk tunes, spirituals, blues and work songs for the Library of Congress. On a trip to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Lomax met a blues guitarist named Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter, who was incarcerated for murder. After hearing Ledbetter play, Lomax reportedly helped secure parole for Ledbetter who accompanied Lomax on a college lecture tour after which the bluesman embarked upon his own musical career.

Higgins recasts them as women, with Butler's Pearl incarcerated for 10 years for murdering a man under circumstances she won't explain, but which become clear once she reveals the specifics. McMonagle's Susannah — the Lomax to Pearl's Lead Belly — has a dual agenda: documenting the music of African Americans to preserve their cultural heritage and then parlay that into a teaching position at an Ivy League university. In Pearl, she finds an invaluable resource, a soulful singer with an inexhaustible song repertoire plus an array of quaint stories. Pearl agrees to cooperate in exchange for Susannah's parole recommendation and her help searching for her daughter who has gone missing during Pearl's prison stint. Upon her release, Pearl accompanies Susannah on a music and lecture tour that includes a performance at Carnegie Hall, which Higgins illustrates as an audience singalong and which is truly one of the play's most joyful and endearing moments.

The first act unfolds in the prison warden's office designed by Jack Magaw and dominated by a grand, arched window with vertical supports through which a guard tower and scaffold are visible. In the second act, set six months later, the window overlooks a working class Greenwich Village apartment. The bars remain, suggesting that while Pearl has left prison, to a certain extent, she remains something of a prisoner, beholden to Susannah for her freedom, her increasing fame and the money that accompanies it.

Ultimately, the problem with the show rests with Higgins' well-meaning but labored script that relies on clichés and platitudes in its examination of racism and sexism during the 1930s. They're all here: the wealthy, educated white woman and the poor, uneducated black woman, each of whom battles a different kind of oppression. There's the initial wariness that eventually gives way to trust, allowing the characters to forge a bond that both transforms and strengthens them. And of course there's the assertion of independence that ignites conflict and tragedy leading to reconciliation — all of which concludes with a renewed determination to persevere.

The thing is, except for a brief, formulaic confrontation in the second act, Higgins fails to address the women's relationship — one marked by obligation, inequality and exploitation — in a meaningful way. Folk songs notwithstanding, it's the most provocative thing about this show, yet it's treated in a cursory way.

Still, one cannot ignore the show's star power. It's evident before either actress steps foot on the stage, just after the house lights dim and we hear an otherworldly recording of Butler singing “Down on Me.”

Subtly it transitions to an achingly live version sung offstage by Butler who sounds like she's carrying the weight of the world and appears onstage dragging a ball and chain.

It's a powerful image. If only the rest of Higgins' play equaled it.

“Black Pearl Sings!”

★ ★ ½

<b>Location:</b> Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, (847) 673-6300, northlight.org

<b>Showtimes:</b> 1 and 7:30 p.m. Wednesday; 7:30 p.m. Thursday; 8 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; also 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7; no 7 p.m. show Jan. 29 and Feb. 19; no 1 p.m. show Feb. 1; no 7:30 p.m. show Feb. 8

<b>Running time:</b> Two hours, 15 minutes with intermission

<b>Tickets:</b> $25-$60

<b>Parking:</b> Free parking in lot

<b>Rating:</b> For middle school and older, some adult subject matter