A Murder at the Church
Jacqueline Hankins: producer/director/composer
At The Actors' Playhouse, 412 8th Avenue@31st Street, Manhattan
Remaining shows:
Saturday, July 6, 2002, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 7, 2002, 3 p.m.
A Murder at the Church is the first presentation of a trilogy called "The Hip Hop Folk Opera
Series" organized by singer-pianist-actor-composer Jacqueline Hankins. Having
experienced this musical mystery, the rest of the series looks most promising.
A Murder at the Church is a multimedia presentation fusing video and stage acting with
gospel, reggae, jazz and rhythmic verse. Hankins and her actors have brought forth a
thoughtful, gripping story.
The story centers on Claudine Peters (Hankins), the organist of St. Peter's AME Church,
who, after Sunday services, is a witness to a murder. Unlike in mysteries where the story
immediately becomes a "whodunit", nobody else believes that a murder occurred. The
organist's struggle over the next week is a determined search for clues, but the pastor and
the congregation are not moved.
Will anyone believe her? And who did she see murdered (and committing it)? Check it out
while you can. And while you're there, enjoy the first-rate performances by the
tightly-organized crew. Leroy Hankins' work as the musical director shines as he leads the
church choir's singing. Claudja Barry is a revelation, doing double duty as Rev. Joyce
Stevens, the pastor, and as Katie, a West Indian woman at the church fish fry. But it is as
the pastor, the lead unbeliever in the story, indeed as the person with Peters' job in her
hands, where she makes the most of her energies. Actor/stage manager/videographer
Mykeko Bryant's mere presence on the screen as ex-addict T.R. is moving. Bob Baldwin
lends his soaring voice as choir soloist Wilfred Hamilton.
A Murder at the Church is also the rare composition to address, at least briefly, the issue of
illiteracy. It is handled here with balance.
Jacqueline Hankins: producer/director/composer
At The Actors' Playhouse, 412 8th Avenue@31st Street, Manhattan
Remaining shows:
Saturday, July 6, 2002, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 7, 2002, 3 p.m.
A Murder at the Church is the first presentation of a trilogy called "The Hip Hop Folk Opera
Series" organized by singer-pianist-actor-composer Jacqueline Hankins. Having
experienced this musical mystery, the rest of the series looks most promising.
A Murder at the Church is a multimedia presentation fusing video and stage acting with
gospel, reggae, jazz and rhythmic verse. Hankins and her actors have brought forth a
thoughtful, gripping story.
The story centers on Claudine Peters (Hankins), the organist of St. Peter's AME Church,
who, after Sunday services, is a witness to a murder. Unlike in mysteries where the story
immediately becomes a "whodunit", nobody else believes that a murder occurred. The
organist's struggle over the next week is a determined search for clues, but the pastor and
the congregation are not moved.
Will anyone believe her? And who did she see murdered (and committing it)? Check it out
while you can. And while you're there, enjoy the first-rate performances by the
tightly-organized crew. Leroy Hankins' work as the musical director shines as he leads the
church choir's singing. Claudja Barry is a revelation, doing double duty as Rev. Joyce
Stevens, the pastor, and as Katie, a West Indian woman at the church fish fry. But it is as
the pastor, the lead unbeliever in the story, indeed as the person with Peters' job in her
hands, where she makes the most of her energies. Actor/stage manager/videographer
Mykeko Bryant's mere presence on the screen as ex-addict T.R. is moving. Bob Baldwin
lends his soaring voice as choir soloist Wilfred Hamilton.
A Murder at the Church is also the rare composition to address, at least briefly, the issue of
illiteracy. It is handled here with balance.
| August 6, 2002 |
