Playwright: book, music and lyrics by Rueben D. Echoles. At: Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark St. Tickets: 773-769-4451; www.ticketmaster.com; $45. Runs through: Dec. 29
The largest part of what we call a "musical" nowadays tends to be singing, closely followed by spoken dialogue, accompanied by short episodes of dance or synchronized movement and maybe a single all-dance number in the second act. Once Upon a People, however, is not one of these, being instead a "dancesical"—the term coined by Pamela Avery, director of Studio One Dance Theater. Currently running in repertory with the extended hit Curtis Mayfield Story, this off-night spectacle represents a collaboration between Studio One and Black Ensemble—specifically, hoofmaster Rueben D. Echoles, who serves as author, composer, lyricist, director and choreographer for this innovative alternative to the Eurocentric fare dominating the holiday calendar.
The story is based in an African folk tale, its plot involving such universal archetypes as naive young royals, misguided parents and an ill-tempered sorceress armed with meteorological magic—think thunder, lightning and snowstorms—as well as an army of ostriches. ( If you don't think an ostrich is scary, look one of Colleen Werle's masked puppets in the eye at close range. ) After assorted complications reflecting a culture where queens outrank kings and where princesses must rescue princes, the folly of elevating ambition over humanity and vengeance over forgiveness is evidenced, justice is done and peace reigns once again.
This scenario is the pretext for pageantry commencing with a jubilant terpsichorean display in the lobby pre-curtain, its no-fourth-wall aesthetic continuing in the auditorium where flower-sellers roam the aisles welcoming the arriving patrons. Storytellers provide the framing device for scenes spotlighting the Studio One artists, whose kinetic stylings encompass old-school ballet-en-pointe, post-Martha Graham orchesis, and exuberant gamboling to the percussion-fueled rhythms of the four-piece stage band. The pop-oriented vocal score spans romantic duets for Jazelle Morriss and Eric Lewis as the hesitant lovers and dueling-diva turns for Claudia Alexandria Cunningham's intrepid hag and Alexis J. Rogers' wise monarch ( whose high note has the power to, literally, paralyze her enemies ).
The script ( 90 minutes with intermission ) was still a bit fuzzy at its debut, but Black Ensemble's flagship production, The Other Cinderella ( still going strong after 30-plus years ), wasn't built in a day, and this smart all-ages fantasy already boasts the charm, the warmth and the, well, legs, to endure for many more seasons to come.
