The Women of Brewster Place

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More About

• Gloria Naylor
• Tim Acito
• Studs Terkel
• Naila Aladdin Sanders
• Kurt Boetcher

In its many incarnations, Gloria Naylor's episodic novel about struggle and triumph among a disparate group of African-American women in a dilapidated urban project anywhere in the country, circa 1975, offers moving, character-driven drama, comedy and social commentary. Tim Acito's musical adaptation captures much of Naylor's storytelling brilliance through his series of mostly solo songs. These explore the women's individual lives in a structure that resembles Studs Terkel's musical, Working. The stories ultimately meet, as the women turn to one another both in anger and for support. Acito eschews the temptation to pigeonhole the music into 1975 black genres, instead allowing such rhythms to infuse his more classical 20th-century musical-theater styles. The result is a stirring hybrid of emotionally charged and simply fun songs that give the extraordinary cast of singer-actors exciting material to perform. Musical director Gregory Nabours works expertly with the strong cast, as he does with his skilled musicians, to create a production of immense scale in this tiny venue. Scenic designer Kurt Boetcher offers just enough set to suggest the slum conditions but stays out of the way of the actorsm and it's all nicely supported by Naila Aladdin Sanders' delightful costume design. Celebration Theater, 7051-B Santa Monica Blvd., W.Hlywd.; Thurs.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.; through June 6. (323) 957-1884.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: April 23. Continues through June 27, 2010