Playwright Jackie Taylor's love of music and theater came through loud and clear in her smash-hit musical The Jackie Wilson Story ( My Heart Is Crying, Crying ) . After 15 months, the biographical production continues to play to appreciative audiences.
Running in repertory with The Jackie Wilson Story is Taylor's latest project, Dynamite Divas, an explosive and entertaining evening of musical theater. Subtitled The History & Music of Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, Nancy Wilson, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin, Dynamite Divas combines musical performance and historical facts to celebrate and honor these five women. However, Taylor doesn't hold back from poking a bit of fun at them, at the same time that she pays them tribute, in a loving way.
Set in the year 2008, following the election of the first women president, Dr. Simone ( Eva D. ) , Ms. Flack ( Cherisse A. Scott ) , Ms. Wilson ( Rhonda Preston ) , Ms. Knight ( Katrina Tate ) , and Ms. Franklin ( Lavondra Hinton ) have been invited to perform on a TV show called Dynamite Divas. The women are being paid $2 million apiece to perform by the host of the show, Mr. Maurice ( the always wonderfully over-the-top Tony Duwon ) . Along with his assistants, Youngblood ( Rueben D. Echoles ) and Hubert ( Herbert Nelson ) , Mr. Maurice prepares the five women for the event in the Divine Diva Development Chamber, a fancy name for a communal dressing room.
With the aid of a "high-tech device," the audience is carried back in time so each of the divas can perform a number from her past. Nina sings "Mississippi Goddamn" ( 1963 ) , Gladys sings "Letter Full Of Tears" ( 1962 ) , and Aretha sings "I Never Loved A Man... ." This last number leads Roberta to reminisce about Donny Hathaway and we are transported to the early 1970s. Hathaway ( Vince Harris ) is seated at a keyboard and sings "A Song For You." He is joined by Flack and they do "Where Is The Love" and "You've Got A Friend." Flack sang "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" alone. The last song from the past was performed by Nancy Wilson. She sang "How Glad I Am" ( 1964 ) .
All five of the actresses embody the divas with ease and grace and when they each sing, they become both the singer and the song. Taylor's occasionally angry, but more often funny, script gives these divas the chance to discuss their mistreatment by their record labels, the men in their lives, and a multitude of topics. We also learn about long-standing disagreements between the women and in this near-futuristic fantasy they get the chance to settle old scores. By the time the show is performed, you can see the women warming to each other. Perhaps it was the heat generated by the enthusiastic audience, who were alternately clapping, throwing their hands in the air and fanning themselves.