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Clje CI)arIotte THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1996 9AiARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ‘Bible Stories’ sends a powerful message By Winfed B. Cross THE CHilLOTTE POST Donald Lsvrence has never really liked to do things the easy way, lor does he go for the convenfonal. That's wljf his March 24 pro duction (' “Bible Stories” shouldn't iave surprised any one. The tfference between it and mostither gospel plays is like nightand day. Not one was there a mother lamentin over a child's drug addictioE life of prostitution or plain inful ways. Nope, not one. Insteat there was first-rate productin, continuity and stunnin singing, especially by the phpomenal Daryl Coley. It was : production worthy of Broadwy. It's a roaring good time wih a powerful message. “I resly want to do refined PHOTOSSREG MCMURRY-REMARK theatre,” Lawrence said. “I just don't want to do things to get a laugh. There's so much room to use your imagination.” Lawrence's two-act play shows he has a vivid imagina tion. It has elements of every thing - drama modern dance, old-school gospel, black Greek stepping - the works. Yet it worked because its central them is simply telling Bible stories - from the creation in Genesis to Christ's crucifixion and resurrection - through dif ferent mediums. “I like to be versatile,” Lawrence said. “I like to give people all that I can. There's so much to pull froip in black cul ture. The show is an emotional roller coaster ride. When you leave you are tired, but you say ‘oooh, that was good.’” That's the reaction most had, but not so much for the pro duction as for the music. Lawrence is a wonderful writer and singer. His tunes are based in rich melodies and insightful lyrics. Most of the songs are his own creation, coming from his 'Tri-City Singers’ “Bible Stories” and “A Song Writers Point of \fiew” CDs. “Actually, Td plan to do the play first, but I got the oppor tunity to do the choir's album first,” he said. “Some of it I knew I was going to use, but when I got real close to the fin ished product , I added some things from the first album. I also built some things around two songs from Daryl's new album ‘Beyond The Veil’ and ‘Standing On The Promises.’ Coley and Lawrence have been friends for years. Both had thought about doing a pro ject together, but neither seem to have the time. “But when I wrote ‘When Sunday Comes,’ I knew I wanted Daryl to sing it.” Sing it. he did. Colev's heroic tenor (probably closer to sopra no) brought some of the audi ence to its feet. Others sat awe-struck while others waived their hands, yelling hallelujahs. “When Sunday Comes” deals with the resur rection. Coley sang it as if he saw it personally. His roots are firmly grounded in gospel, but his voice has elements of jazz, r&b and soul. “Daryl is like one of my favorite singers,” Lawrence said. “Tm a really big fan. He's an incredible singer, very pro fessional and always knows (what to do). He's definitely a pro.” There were other brilliant moments. Coley and Lawrence combine on the powerful, but bombastic “He Holds The Keys,” which was staged beau tifully. “Calvary” features Lajuene Thompson, Lynn Neal and Arnetta Murrill-Crooms on vocals and choreographer Walter Rutledge as Jesus, Moving doesn't describe it best, but that's what it was. “I basically had the concept of what I wanted to do so it was easy for Tony to work with me because he didn't have to start from scratch,” Lawrence said. “We were basically on the See PLAY Page 10A Ain't Gonna Be The Same Fool Twice April Sinclair Hyperion $19.95 By Jeri Young THE CHARLOTTE POST April Sinclair's “Coffee Will Make You Black” was lauded as an incredible first work. Winner of the 1994 Book of the Year Award, and the Carl Sandburg Award in Fiction, “Coffee” was an innovative work that detailed the life of Stevie, a young black Chicago native searching for identity, both ethnically and sexually. Uproarously funny, “Coffee” garnered Sinclair the pres tigious New Author Award hy the Go on Girl! Book Club. Sinclair's second effort falls victim to the sophomore jinx. Lacking energy and edge, “Ain't Gonna Be The Same Fool Twice” picks up where “Coffee” left off. Young Stevie, the hero ine of “Coffee,” graduates from high school and begins her ovm self-exploration. Stevie's quest for a sexual identity remains the core of the novel. “Ain't Gonna Be The Same Fool Twice” opens with Stevie entering college at a predominately white midwestern universi ty. Sinclair does a fair job of presenting college life in the early ‘70s - from bell bottoms to disco. More effort, however, should have been placed on the exploration of the relationships that Stevie develops as well as character development. Too many of Sinclair's characters are flat, lacking personality and substance. True to her style, Sinclair attempts to use the vernacular and humor to propel Stevie from one adventure to another. Following graduation, Stevie takes a trip with several college friends to San Fransico, where to the horror of her parents, she decides to remain. She is befriended by Traci, who offers her a place to stay, affection arid all the soy burgers she can eat. Traci and Stevie eventually become intimate, and Stevie confronts her own sexuality and other issues head on. Sinclair does her best work in the San Francisco setting. The majority of the characters, from Traci to the flamboyant "Disco Queen" Sterling, although stereotypical, are better developed I-.,,:.. pr, j, j, i-,, f. , It is difficult to follow up on a success of the magnitude See REVIEW Page 10A Richie turns pain in riveting work on new CD By Winfred B. Cross Lionel Richie Louder Than Words Lionel Richie, Da'vdd Foster, James Anthony Charmichael, James K. Harris III. and Terry Lewis, producers Mercury Records ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ jionel Richie's career has been in a holding pattern for a number of years due to personal tragedy. Divorce, the death of his father and a friend dying from AIDS silenced his once-prolific pen. He hasn't been heard from since his greatest hit package from Motown (which he left in late '92). Richie used his life's anguish to better his storytelling skills. He's searched deep within himself to come up with the most consistent work of his career. Louder Than Words, lat est, will be released April 16. "Tve lived through an incred ible period of growth," Richie said recently. "A period of pain and introspection and change. a period different than any thing I've ever encountered, but ultimately a wonderful period of creative expression. I'm thankful for the struggle." "All these events were devas tating," he said. "I had no choice but to take the time to deal with the emotions. Loss was some thing new for me. I couldn't shrug it off or whistle it away. I had to look loss in the face and ask myself 'Can I survive these blows? Am I strong enough? I'm glad to say I am. And I'm thrilled to be able t» put these feelings of loss ari'd gain - all my human feelings - into this record." I know, I know, I have the same problems with Richie - too much formula and not enough soul. But that's proba bly too harsh a criticism. Richie did good ‘ole r&b with the Commodores for a number of years. Heck, they were the best r&b band in the land for a while. When he learned how to write - and I mean really learned how to write - he branched out in different direc tions. In short, he became a writer. The color (if music has such) didn't matter. The tune was the thing. And if you examine Richie's work closely and leave out the sell-out argument, you have to give him props. He's written some great tunes "All Night Long" is as easy to listen to today as it was in the '80s. The same goes for "Hello" and even the Barry I Maiilow-ish "Truly." Richie is a tunesmith. His melodies linger whether you want them to or not. Richie is again expanding. He includes his easy to recognize ballads, but he's gone closer to his roots. You hear a lot of early C' i” the Give thanks to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for that. The funksters helped craft Richie's first single "Don't Wanna Lose You," which could easily be called “Just To Be Close To You, Part 11.” It's old-school in con struction, delivery - the whole nine yards. How serious is Richie about peddling this as old-school? Check out the video, filmed on the set of Soul 'Train, complete with an afroed Don Corneilus introducing Richie. The funk duo strike again on "I Wanna Take You Down," a bob-your-head mid-tempo jam that will pick up plenty of urban airplay. So will "Say I Do,” a tasty ballad that show cases Lewis and Jam as pro ducers and Richie as an artist. There are plenty of other standout performances. "Nothing Else Matters" is clas sic solo Richie - haunting melody, mushy lyrics, butter- smooth delivery. "Ordinary Girl” is in the same vein, but it further showcases the expres siveness of Richie's voice. He's not a great singer, he says, "but I do think I'm a credible story-teller." He is. The only real misstep is the bombastic "Climbing." It's too big, too loud, too "Say You, Say Me" (Oscar or not, that is not a great song). That's not enough to keep this from being a multi-format smash, however. The question is whether Richie's vast audi ence has forgotten him. I think not. Rating: Classic; ☆☆■tnir Excellent; ☆☆☆ Good; ☆☆ Fair; ☆ Why?; No Stars Given - Please, Spare Us.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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March 28, 1996, edition 1
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