Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Somi Kakoma astonishes as South African singer and activist Miram Makeba in the new bio-musical DREAMING ZENZILE

• By drediman
• June 3, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, the new musical Dreaming Zenzile opened Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. The work is essentially a jukebox bio-musical, along the same vein as Jersey Boys and Beautiful, that chronicles the life of South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba (Zenzile is the name she was given at birth). The production – a co-production with National Black Theatre – is the brainchild of Grammy nominee Somi Kakoma, who wrote the piece and performs in it as the title character.

I arrived at New York Theatre Workshop knowing very little about the musical’s subject. I needn’t have worried; the piece does a comprehensive job of giving viewers all they need to know about the singer, thanks to a skillfully-constructed book that truncates her eventful life elegantly and efficiently. The musical is smartly framed by a 2008 concert in Italy at which Makeba dies of a heart attack. As such, the piece nimbly operates as both a concert performance, as well as a fever dream during which the singer’s life flashes before her eyes, relying on the power of our collective imagination to animate – rather than literally depicting – her life. Throughout, shape-shifting spirits morph back and forth between supernatural entities, concert back-up singers, and various people in Makeba’s life, pushing the action forward at a breathless pace. As much as I appreciate the craft of the writing, I can see how those expecting a true concert experience would leave the musical unfulfilled. Indeed, the labyrinthine writing leaves little room for your traditional moments of musical payoff, which there could be more of.

The regal Ms. Kakoma is simply astonishing, giving a fully committed performance that pops robustly from the stage. It’s an impassioned piece of acting, that coupled with her glorious vocals (smooth, supple, powerful), is an altogether captivating love letter to Makeba. As the spirits, Aaron Marcellus, Naledi Masilo, Phumzile Sojola, and Phindi Wilson propel the action with impressive vigor, and they’re backed by a stellar onstage band whose playing crackles with vitality. The staging by Lileana Blain-Cruz – one of her generation’s most exciting directors – is tight and polished, unfolding tautly (thanks largely to Marjani Forté-Saunders’ exuberant choregraphy) on Riccardo Hernández’s clean concert stage set.

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DREAMING ZENZILE
Off-Broadway, Musical
New York Theatre Workshop
2 hours, 15 minutes (with one intermission)
Through June 26