ASR Opera ~~ “Bulrusher” An Opera of Character

by Jeff Dunn

There are many reasons to attend opera: resplendent spectacle, vocal pyrotechnics, unforgettable tunes, lavish costumes, and many other aspects of compelling theater. In the case of West Edge Opera’s Bulrusher, the reason is its depth and sensitivity of character development.

The lead character in Bulrusher (soprano Shawnette Sulker) is a former foundling, a young black woman who imports oranges for resale to the small Mendocino town of Boonville in 1955. She comes of age as she experiences her first love, develops racial consciousness, and encounters the truth of her parentage. But it is not just her journey that is impressively developed by the team of composer-librettist Nathaniel Stookey and playwright-librettist Eisa Davis. All of the major characters’ strengths and shortcomings become palpable as viewers become immersed in the story.

Shawnette Sulker (second from left) as Bulrusher

Bass Matt Boehler plays Schoolch, the local schoolteacher who found the baby Bulrusher in a basket stuck in a marsh along the Navarro River and raised her. Taciturn to a fault, he has taught her proper English (the locals have developed a special language known as “Boontling”) but little about life, which she seems yet to handle fairly well on her own. He and Logger (bass Kenneth Kellogg) are both permanently hung up on Madame (mezzo Briana Hunter), who has been running the town brothel for years and refuses to marry them.

” … the vocal performances are all outstanding. …”

Into this brew are injected two more characters. Logger’s niece Vera (mezzo Briana Hunter), walking the 30-mile road from the nearest train station in the rain, is picked up by Bulrusher in her truck. Vera has left Alabama and becomes the only other black person, aside from Logger, that Bulrusher has known. “Boy” (tenor Chad Somers) is a white teenager with a persistent, unreciprocated crush on Bulrusher. Carefully modulated in the libretto and music, these two interlopers transform everyone and themselves. Such care takes time, but it provides dividends in Act 2, where existing and developing conflicts flare and are finally ameliorated.

Rebecca Cuddy as Madame and Shawnette Sulker as Bulrusher in “Bulrusher” now running in Oakland.

Stookey’s music is appropriate to the tonal and pastoral setting,. The orchestration is for the most part delicate, subdued, and never monotonous, with sparky piano accents and ominous bass-drum rolls. It is most effective in accompanying Bulrusher’s mystic side, her spirituality with the Navarro River, and her emerging love for Vera. Rarely is the orchestra in the forefront, but it did elicit audience laughter when a snare drum was used to imitate the sound of an 1950s dial phone that Madame was using.

Kenneth Kellogg as Logger in “Bulrusher”

The libretto itself has some lovely poetic moments, such as when Bulrusher inexplicably recollects her experiences as an infant floating in her Moses basket. At other times, the poetry’s meaning may not be immediately decipherable to the average listener. Perhaps these poetic sections should be printed in future programs?

The vocal performances are all outstanding. There is also a chorus of five mysterious individuals who echo or accompany Bulrusher’s spiritual moments and soliloquys. Their voices were a great plus to the proceedings aurally, however obscure their function. Sulker’s portrayal of Bulrusher deserves special mention. Her voice is crystal clear, ethereal, innocent, yet somehow knowing—perfect for the role. Unfortunately, unlike those of her fellows, it did not project well toward the more distant seats, making the Scottish Rite Temple sound all the more cavernous.

I regret to conclude that for me, many excellence featuress of this production were undercut by the scenic and projection design of Yuki Izumihara. Bulrusher is a uniquely California story about a unique California community. Where were the golden hills and redwoods? Izumihara instead flooded the stage with watery projections that may have been evocative for Navarro scenes, but they almost never left the stage.

Furthermore there were a few other details this reviewer thought distracted from the piece. First there was an unattractive upside-down handsaw of a staircase that made sense for the brothel, however unrealistic, but nowhere else–especially the Rock scene at the beach. And why was the chorus carrying around glowing balls of different colors and sizes? Were these Bullrusher’s mood oranges? Finally, there were numerous benches that were noisily moved around at almost every scene transition. If there is a reason for this distracting exercise, Stookey should consider writing music to underscore it, for it breaks the flow, throwing a boulder into the Navarro, so to speak.

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ASR’s Classical Music Section Editor Jeff Dunn is a retired educator and project manager who’s been writing music and theater reviews for Bay Area and national journals since 1995. He is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the National Association of Composers, USA. His musical Castle Happy (co-author John Freed), about Marion Davies and W.R. Hearst, received a festival production at the Altarena Theater in 2017. His opera, Finding Medusa, with librettist Madeline Puccioni, was completed in January 2023. Jeff has won prizes for his photography, and is also a judge for the Northern California Council of Camera Clubs.

ProductionBulrusher
Based on the play byEisa Davis
Directed byNJ Agwuna
Producing CompanyWest Edge Opera
Production DatesThru August 15th
Production AddressScottish Rite Temple
1547 Lakeside Dr, Oakland, CA 94612
Websitewww.westedgeopera.org
Telephone(510) 841-1903
Tickets$22-$162
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall3.5/5
Performance4/5
Music3.5/5
Libretto3.5/5
Stagecraft2/5
Aisle Seat Review Pick?No

Pick! ASR Theater ~~ Berkeley Rep’s Astounding, Confounding “Bulrusher”

By Barry Willis

Magical realism, a small-town soap opera, and the need for identity all combine in Eisa Davis’ Pulitzer Prize-finalist Bulrusher, at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre through Dec. 3. Davis also composed the show’s original music.

Directed by Nicole A. Watson, Jordan Tyson stars as the show’s eponymous “Bulrusher,” a mixed-race foundling so named because she was discovered as an infant floating in the bulrushes of the Navarro River near the Northern California town of Boonville. Raised by a single male schoolteacher named Schoolch (Jamie LaVerdiere), she’s been gifted with magical clairvoyant powers. Bulrusher can see images of the future through the medium of water.

…There’s enough material in Davis’ story to supply a year’s worth of Lifetime TV episodes…

Most of the tale plays out on an elaborate two-level set by Lawrence E. Moten III, elaborated by superb projections by Katherine Freer and lighting by Sherrice Mojgani. The central locale is a brothel operated by hard-to-the-core Madame (Shyla Lefner) and patronized by Schoolch and a local handyman named Logger (Jeorge Bennett Watson).

Jeorge Bennett Watson (Logger), Shyla Lefner (Madame), Jamie LaVerdiere (Schoolch), and Rob Kellogg (Boy) in Eisa Davis’ lyrical coming-of-age story, “Bulrusher”, performing at Berkeley Rep October 27 – December 3, 2023. Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

Another frequent visitor is a guitar-playing young man called Boy (Rob Kellogg) who relentlessly pursues Bulrusher despite her aggressive disinterest. Out front of the stage is a small but convincingly realistic stream that serves as the river,  visited often by Bulrusher as a source of solace.

The playbill states the era as 1955—those who haven’t read it would more likely have pegged the time as twenty years earlier. The residents sometimes default to a local dialect called “Boontling,” developed in the 1880s and now almost extinct. It sounds like English but doesn’t register with non-speakers: “harping the ling” means “speaking the language” in Boontling. The only clue to the timeframe is an offhand comment by Boy to Logger that he “missed the Korean draft.” Otherwise we wouldn’t know.

Cyndii Johnson (Vera), Jeorge Bennett Watson (Logger), and Jordan Tyson (Bulrusher) at work in “Bulrusher”. Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

The home-schooled Bulrusher earns a decent living buying and selling fruit. One rainy night she encounters a lone woman on the road, gives her a ride, and a place to stay. The woman is Vera (Cyndii Johnson), broke and far from her home in Birmingham, Alabama. On orders from her mother, she’s on her way to visit her uncle Logger. Vera is the first black woman Bulrusher has ever encountered, and the two become fast friends. The development of their friendship is among the play’s many endearing subplots. Another less endearing is Madame’s constant threat to sell her property and move away. A third that continually runs in the background is the mysterious identity of Bulrusher’s parents.

Rob Kellogg (Boy) and Jordan Tyson (Bulrusher) in Eisa Davis’ “Bulrusher”, at Berkeley Rep Oct 27 – Dec 3, 2023. Photo Credit: T Charles Erickson

It’s a complicated task for the show’s all-Equity cast, but they rise to the challenge most compellingly. Tyson is especially astounding, with several long monologs that are gorgeous sustained poems. Her interactions with Johnson, LaVerdierre, and Watson are all tremendous. Her closing confrontation with Lefner as Madame unveils the unspoken secret propelling the whole story.

There’s enough material in Davis’ story to supply a year’s worth of Lifetime TV episodes. At nearly three hours, the script at times feels over-long and in need of an edit, but who would know where to start on a project of that scale? Even so, it’s a tremendous night at the theater—a heartfelt celebration of one spunky girl who finds home at last.

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ASR NorCal Executive Editor Barry Willis is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and president of the SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle. Contact: barry.m.willis@gmail.com.

 

ProductionBushrunner
Written by Eisa Davis
Directed by Nicole A. Watson
Producing CompanyBerkeley Repertory Theatre
Production DatesThru Dec 3rd
Production Address2025 Addison Street, Berkeley CA 94704
Websitewww.berkeleyrep.org
Telephone(510) 847-2949
Tickets$22.50-$134
Reviewer ScoreMax in each category is 5/5
Overall4.5/5
Performance4.5/5
Script4.0/5
Stagecraft4.0/5
Aisle Seat Review Pick?YES!