NEW YORK - The new Off-Broadway musical Dessa Rose is an intriguing memory play (two memories actually) about two strong-willed women (one black, one white), trying to survive in the American South of 1846, a world of slavery, racism and danger. As the work begins, Dessa Rose (LaChanze) and Ruth (Rachel York) are two elderly women in 1910 telling their stories of survival to their descendants, so that what happened back then will never be forgotten. Flashing back and forth between the two time periods (the same women play the characters in both eras), the show tells of their lives- Dessa Rose growing up a slave, and Ruth, a somewhat plain Southern belle about to enter polite society- and how their fates and futures became intertwined.
According to the program notes, the musical is based on two actual incidents, and while these two situations give the impetus for the story, it also shows the basic problem of the work, which is that book writer Lynn Ahrens is trying to tell too much. It would have been better if we followed the tale through the eyes of one woman rather than two. Plus, the overall structure of the piece is uneven. After learning Dessa Rose's tale (falling in love with a fellow slave, getting pregnant by him, watching him being killed by their cruel owner and eventually leading a bloody slave rebellion), the musical suddenly jumps over to Ruth's story, (married to a gambler who's never home, her trying to survive on their barren estate while trying to raise their child, and also dealing with an influx of runaway slaves seeking sanctuary). Ruth's tale is quite interesting, but its juxtaposition with the action that has just taken place previously has the effect of slowing down the overall flow of the production.
Additionally, the musical's score (lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty), while quite stirring in the beginning, begins to get rather repetitive before long.
The acting is first rate. LaChanze and York are excellent, as are Norm Lewis as a runaway slave who becomes involved with Ruth, and Michael Hayden as a wannabe muckraking writer doing a story on Dessa Rose who gets in over his head. The show also offers up some very telling moments, such when Ruth has trouble recalling the real name of "Mammy," the slave who raised her from birth. Other high points include the wariness between Dessa Rose and Ruth as they try to learn to trust each other, and the deeper desires that drive one of the men pursuing them. However Dessa Rose tries to be too much like a sprawling epic when it might have worked better as a more intimate piece. The show has a lot to offer, but it's too overloaded with plot and exposition to make it a really satisfying work.
The direction and choreography by Graciela Daniele is good, as are the costumes by Toni-Leslie James.
Dessa Rose
Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
150 West 65th Street
Tickets: $70.00 - 75.00
Reservations: 212-239-6200
Running Time: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes
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