Mahalia Jackson died 18 years ago at the too-early age of 60, but she left a heritage of gospel music that is, if anything, even more widely embraced today than it was in her time. That makes it all the more curious that it has taken this long for a stage musical to emerge in tribute to her talents and her love of her Lord and the joyful music praising His name.
The musical, burdened with the rather uninspired title "Mahalia, a Gospel Musical and Tribute to Mahalia," began touring on mainland college campuses last fall. The current two- month tour, mainly on the East Coast through the Midwest, brings the show to the Reichhold Center for the Arts on Saturday, Feb. 26, and to Island Center on Sunday, Feb. 27.
In the title role is Tasha Wilson, who took over the lead just a few weeks ago from Chaundra Cameron, who, unfortunately, is pictured in all the publicity photos provided to the performance venues, except for the head shot sent out by e-mail that accompanies this story.
Wilson says she's been surprised to find that many of today's college students aren't very familiar with Jackson, her music and her contributions to the civil rights movement. But after sitting through "Mahalia," she says, they're on their feet giving a standing ovation to the singer, as well as those portraying her music and life in the show.
Written by Tom Stolz and directed by Joy Vandervort-Cobb, the musical is chock full of 22 songs. It traces Jackson's life from her humble beginnings in New Orleans, where she was born in 1912, to her performances at the pinnacle of popularity as the "voice of the civil rights movement" and before Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy and crowned heads of Europe.
Like most gospel greats and many African-American musicians of all musical genres, Jackson got her start as a singer in church. In her teens, she moved to Chicago, where she planned to study for a nursing career, but her commanding contralto took her in another direction. At a mere 23 years of age, she became the "official song demonstrator" for Thomas A. Dorsey, known as the father of gospel music; she held the position for 11 years.
In an era when few performers of color gained fame outside the African-American community, Jackson as "the queen of gospel" was embraced across color lines, ultimately performing at New York's Carnegie Hall. This breakthrough in her career led to television appearances, tours and her own radio show. But success didn't distance her from the civil rights movement; indeed, it gave her greater cachet. She considered the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a friend and mentor, and at his request she sang just before he made his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
The show emphasizes Jackson's "larger-than-life intensity, pointed humor and infectious charisma," according to promotional material. It also points up some idiosyncracies, such as a distrust of banks so strong that she would carry tens of thousands of dollars around with her at a time "rather than entrust her money to a financial institution."
"Mahalia," which the Reichhold is presenting in observance of Black History Month, is the theater's last off-island presentation of the subscription season (next up: STARfest VI on May 13- 15). Tickets are $25 in the covered section, $15 and $10 in the open air. They're being sold in advance on St. Thomas at the Reichhold box office, UVI bookstore, Draughting Shaft in Sub Base, Parrot Fish Music, Modern Music in Havensight, and Krystals & Gifts Galore. On St. John, they're available at Connections. For charge-card purchases, call the box office at 693-1559.
Tickets for "Mahalia" at Island Center are $20 general admission and $10 for students, with discounts available to seniors. They may be purchased in advance at Cruzan Carib, Karavan West Indies, Peoples Drug Store and backstage at Island Center. For more information, call 778- 5272.
