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True blues
Trinity answers Thunder’s knock
BY TED DROZDOWSKI

Thunder Knocking on the Door
By Keith Glover, with music by Keb’ Mo’ and Anderson Edwards. Directed by Marion McClinton. Music direction by George Caldwell. Music staging and choreography by Otis Sallid. Set by David Gallo. Costumes by Paul Tazewell. Lighting by Dennis Parichy. Sound by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. With Leslie Uggams, Marva Hicks, Chuck Cooper, Michael McElroy, and Peter Jay Fernandez. At Trinity Repertory Company through March 4.


Blues mythology has it that if a young guitarist wants to seek absolute mastery of the instrument, he or she must travel to a crossroads at midnight during a full moon. There a large shadow-like man will emerge, take the guitar, tune it, hand it back, and vanish. This is the method Robert Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Peetie Wheatstraw, and other masters of Delta music of the 1920s and ’30s were said by some to have used. Under the influence of Christianity, that shadowy figure has evolved into Satan or one of his minions. But he is thought to have been originally based on Legba, a Yoruba trickster deity with no particular evil affiliations.

It’s a wonder this fable hasn’t been exploited more often, given pop culture’s fondness for both guitars and spooky stories. Certainly Keith Glover’s Thunder Knocking on the Door is the first time it’s been the crux of an entertaining musical comedy. For the most part, Trinity Rep’s production is a live wire of down-home humor and blues-hued songs powered by outstanding performances from a cast that includes Tony-winning stage, television, and recording star Leslie Uggams and four other musically gifted actors.

The story opens with an old-fashioned guitar cutting contest: bluesman Jaguar Dupree Sr. versus a black-and-gold-longcoat-wearing man introduced via voiceover narration as the Trickster, the Legba figure who, in this yarn, is fated to walk the Earth as the defender of the brooding spirit of the blues, taking on all who would challenge his mastery. Dupree wins and the scene dissolves with the Trickster vowing revenge. But Dupree passes away before the rematch, and the story resumes in 1966 at the Bessemer (Alabama) home of his widow, Good Sister Dupree (Uggams). Under her roof are Jaguar Sr.’s brother, Dregster, who’s her suitor (Chuck Cooper plays both roles), and her daughter Glory (Marva Hicks), who’s soon to be joined by Jaguar Jr. (Michael McElroy), back home from his first recording foray.

All these characters are African-American comedy clichés. Dregster is the wisecracking but ineffectual adult male dominated by the will of the intelligent mother who knows what’s best for her brood. Glory is the mousy homebody, albeit one blinded by an unsuccessful suicide attempt after being jilted at the altar. And Jaguar Jr. is the flashy, self-possessed youngster too cocky to accept the wisdom of his elders. Nonetheless, the one-liners fly with such gusto and warmth that it’s easy to overlook the cheap set-up.

Things get weird when the Trickster (Peter Jay Fernandez) shows up as a boarder under the name Marvell Thunder. (Yep, in act two we’re waiting for his literal knock on the door). He’s set on collecting not souls but the guitars that Jaguar Sr. made for his children. Having already won the first from young Jaguar in Chicago, he’s got to battle Glory for the other. The twist is that he and Glory fall for each other, and their duet " See Through Me " is the kind of bravura treacle that songwriter Keb’ Mo’ gets Grammys for. The tune is as gooey as a Sugar Daddy, yet irresistible thanks to the soaring, soulful delivery of Fernandez and especially Hicks, who at times approximates the earthy tone of the young Aretha Franklin. Before Thunder leaves, he restores Glory’s sight, but when he comes back in a month for their fated showdown, she stands to lose that gift as well.

Act two runs out of ideas halfway through, during the overlong cutting contest where Fernandez and Hicks take their best shots at pretending to play guitar. Suffice to say everybody enjoys a happy ending, including the Trickster. The second act’s brightest spots — save for the flashing explosions that accompany the acts of magic — are the solo numbers from Uggams and Hicks. Uggams in particular plays her finale well, summoning up every ounce of the charisma that makes her such a winning presence throughout the production.

Too bad none of the music really sticks to the ribs. It’s the performers — including a crack pit band — who bring these generic songs to life; their song-and-dance numbers are unfailing. Cooper has a broad-chested tone that’s a more operatic version of bluesman B.B. King’s. And the soaring falsetto swoops and gritty dives of McElroy, teamed with footwork invented by James Brown and Jackie Wilson, make his showcase number, " Big Money, " a thriller. Were it not for such a fine cast, Thunder might fail to resonate despite its appealing premise.

Issue Date: February 28-March 7, 2002
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