Crowns

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Hats have always been an enigma to me. I have had three direct encounters with them. In high school, my boyfriend and I attended a wedding at a Catholic Church. Requirement: wear a hat. I bought one I thought I could live with, and waited until we were just about ready to walk into the church before putting it on. Within 10 minutes surrounded by a sea of hats, one by one they began disappearing. My hat served its purpose for at least 15 minutes. I joined the hat removing parade.

(Left to Right) Gretha Boston as Velma, Karole Foreman as Jeanette and B. J. Crosby as Mabel in the Denver Center Theatre Company production of Crowns. The joyous gospel musical celebrating the legacy of African American women and their church hats. Photo by Terry Shapiro

In a particular play I needed to wear a large brimmed light blue sunbonnet. During rehearsals, with hat pinned in place, I felt it also came with a neck clamp. Somehow my brain told me, “With that thing on your head you cannot move your neck.” By opening night, I learned to talk back to my brain, discovering I actually could move my neck. One of the characters in Crowns makes a strong point with delicious demonstration a hat is a wonderment of flirtation. Ah, so true.

During high school it was necessary to wear cowboy hats for the two drill teams I rode in. They became a badge of cowboy identity, plus I learned in the hot sun, there was a strong pragmatic appreciative appeal.

Nevertheless, hats remained an enigma.

The Denver Center Theatre Company’s current production of Crowns erases part of that enigma.

The book Crowns: Portrait of Black Women in Church Hats by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry was taken by Regina Taylor and turned into a high stepping, exploratory musical bringing characters to life with strength and power explaining their deeply personal, spiritual, psychological reasons behind the significance of wearing their hats.

Directed and choreographed by Kent Gash, the seven gifted cast members attack the songs, the dance, the characterizations with “amazing grace,” talent, determination, humor, introducing “Hattitude” with Attitude.

With an astonishing set designed by Craig Breitenback with slats and tilted platforms, and an amazing lighting design by William H. Grant III, are so integrated with the rambunctious cast; they almost become characters in their own right.

Uzo Aduba grabs Yolanda by the throat at the beginning and not about to let her go until the house lights come up. A Brooklyn teenager, she and her brother fold into the street scene. They know it. They understand it fielding strong dreams. When Teddy is shot, Yolanda’s world comes unglued. Her mother sends her to Darlington, South Carolina to live with her grandmother. For Yolanda it was akin to moving to Mars. It isn’t just a different world it is a completely different time-space conundrum.

Dressed in white, with flowing white dress and a large brimmed white hat, Barbara D. Mills reveals Mother Shaw from the inside out. Big voice, big gestures, big woman calculated defined moves that are as choreographed as the dance steps; Mother Shaw commands attention, authority, and respect. Even in the shadows, it is difficult to keep from watching her.

As with the book, the different characters tell their story about the meaning of wearing hats. Going to church was their freedom, and no better way could they demonstrate this freedom of body, mind, soul, and spirit than through the elegance of dressing up for church. For some hats were an obsession; buying them, savoring them, dressing them up, storing them, showing them off. A straw discard can be turned into an elegant crown with ribbons and flowers and feathers.

B.J. Crosby plays Mabel, Gretha Boston plays Velma, Rosa Curry plays Wanda, and Karole Foreman plays Jeanette. They all stood out with strong punctuation, although it always wasn’t clear who was who. In one way it doesn’t matter because each one is exquisite. In another way it is troublesome not to readily identity the characters, knowing them by name. One is always recognizable, and that is C.E. Smith who plays Man, fitting into a variety of different characters, holding his own, with grace and agility, as the women tell their tales.

Twenty-seven gospel songs are sung as though never sung before. In The Morning; Marching To Zion; Oh, Lord I’M Waiting On You; I’m On The Battlefield for My Lord; When I’ve Done the Best I Can I Want My Crown. His Eye Is On The Sparrow; and When The Saints Go Marchin’ In to name only a few. Infectious, the audience can’t help but clap along.

As part of the set, as part of the scenario, Ron Metcalf plays piano, and Sherman Arnold on the percussion in full view. Their expertise clamors for eye attention, but the competition is stiff.

One makes it quite clear she’d lend her children before she’d lend her hats, and “never, never touch my hat.” Flaunting a crown of ruffles and bows, no one would dare even think about touching her hat. Especially, as she adds, “the only person who would touch someone’s hat is someone who doesn’t wear a hat.” For some reason I felt she was speaking directly to me.

They give the rules to wearing hats; they underscore the etiquette, the status, the chain of command, with sharp humor, funny lines, poignant spiritual statements over the rhyme reason and significance of the black women’s historical relevance. There is a direct correlation between the crown they will wear one day and the magnificent crowns they have worn throughout history going back to South Africa days.

Throughout the stories that tumble magically from one character to another, Yolanda is spotlighted sitting, listening, and attempting to absorb this alien life. Periodically she sings, “I don’t know how to be one of them” as she searches for answers, reminding everyone Brooklyn flows through her blood.

It is emphasized women decide when to go to church with what’s in their closet. It is not unusual for a woman to own 200 hats. They might have to hide them from their husbands, who can get overwhelmed by the number of hats taking over his house. She might have to do it with a slight deceitful Hattitude, but she does so with elegance.

Different cultures rub shoulders with each other every day without having opportunity to know much about the history of how’s, why’s and wherefore’s. Crowns does give strong historical background on the black culture and the Hattitude insight of the love affair between the black women and their hats. There is a great deal of information available, and more of that information could well be incorporated into this musical. I wanted more content in the actual storyline and a tad less music, which at times during the production seemed only to fill space.

The music and songs are powerful, but Crowns would benefit if more consequential historical value could be woven into the fabric of the character’s deliberate detailed stories, which would provide more insight, more depth, and more significance. Music playing under some of the soliloquies shimmers with an elegant beat as the cast quietly dances to the heart of the throbbing story.

The costumes, designed by Kevin Copenhaver, are simply magnificently gorgeous, which, includes all of the hats that were all made at the Denver Center Theatre Company.

There are moments the drums and piano overshadow the words and voices, particularly at the beginning with Yolanda’s stunning rap, Brooklyn Rap. Many of the words were swallowed. There are even moments when the spoken words with their delightful cadence are lost to the atmosphere. Most of the time the words rang out sharply and clearly. Some of the humorous lines on Opening Night were lost to part of the audience who got muffled words instead of punch lines.

This should not keep anyone from experiencing Crowns. It is definitely a vital piece in the Women’s Voices Series. When you go, make sure you pick up a copy of Inside Out covering Crowns’ background. Produced by the Marketing Department of the DCPA, Inside Out can be found at the Information Booth between the stairs and the bar. Always well written, it also contains suggestions for study guides. Something families could engage in to extend the Crowns experience. This production should not be missed. I would like to see some tweaking between music and information. I was left wanting more.