Review - The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin

It's been a good year for people who love Kirsten Childs and her musicals (people like me)! Not only did we get to see the wonderful Bella: An American Tall Tale earlier this season (remind yourself of my review HERE), but last night, I was thrilled to be able to relive Kirsten's delightful The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin.  I relate the story of my first time seeing that show in the Bella review above, so re-familiarize yourself with my stories and join me when you're through...

All done?  Good!  Bubbly Black Girl is part of Encores Off-Center this summer - once they announced tickets were on sale, a former co-worker and I pounced.  I was disappointed that there are only two showings of Bubbly Black Girl, when there were four of Assassins, also part of the Encores Off-Center program, and I was doubly disappointed last night to see that the house wasn't full.  The people who were there were thoroughly entertained, though!  I had a great time!  I'm sorry I couldn't get this review done earlier today so you could've bought tickets for tonight's final performance, but work kept getting in the way.

ANYWAY, again, I had a great time at Bubbly Black Girl.  An autobiographical piece about an aspiring dancer (Kirsten was once a dancer in Broadway and tour choruses), the musical is just an effervescent, open-hearted piece of work.  The music is just filled with joy, I don't know how else to describe it.  It's as thought-provoking as it is joyful, though. Even when Bubbly Black Girl tackles tough subjects, which it does - subjects like identity, the subjugation of women, and racism - the musical presents these serious moments with clear-eyed honesty, yet you still feel the affection for these characters and for the life depicted in the show.  I don't know, feeling such happiness and such mournfulness, often at the same time, was just wonderful.

Our lead character is Viveca, also known as Bubbly, who has been told by her father that a smile is the best defense.  So Viveca goes through life, and most of this musical, with a smile on her face that attracts many of the right, and a few of the wrong, people. But the smiles begin to come at a cost.  Once we get to New York (described as the place where f*cked up people end up to make their dreams come true, ha ha) and Viveca starts to see that how she projects herself isn't necessarily how she is seen or wants to be seen, the smiles fade and self-knowledge arrives.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

Nikki M. James is a delight as Viveca, so so funny and smart. She really captures all of the facets of this young girl full of contradictions.  She IS bubbly, but she's also so much more. Her singing was excellent, too.  But the whole cast is fantastic and really strong in their singing and in their acting.  There were a couple of rough parts last night, but really, how could there not be?  They're doing a full-scale musical, basically, after about a week of rehearsal.  Yes, they use scripts and music stands at times, but they're always built into the choreography!  It's a testament to the miracle of musical theater that they could get anything meaningful onstage at all.

The direction and the choreography are just first-rate; all of the dance numbers just put a smile on my face, most especially the Fosse parody.  Oh, and "The Skate," another number that does double-duty: you groove to the wonderfully melodic music, but you also see what's going on underneath as Viveca wants to see her world as uncomplicated and unified as it is in junior high when kids of all races are dancing together.  The music direction is also terrific - I was especially taken with all the lines in the wonderful music played by the talented flute player. OH, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention Julius Thomas III and his oh.so.sexy performance of "Come With Me."  Wow.  I'm not exaggerating when I say I think the lady in front of me may have been having a private moment with herself when he was finished singing.  If you know what I'm saying.  And I think you do.

Again, I'm just the biggest fan of Kirsten Childs, both as a writer and as a person, so I may have been predisposed to enjoy myself.  But I don't think I'm wrong in thinking that Kirsten is one of the most talented, multifaceted, and uniquely interesting creative artists working today.  It's a shame more people won't get to see this irresistible musical, but maybe this production will return the show to the musical theater canon, where it belongs.  As I've said before, musicals written entirely by women, especially by women of color, are few and far between.  These stories need to be told and need to be heard.  I am ready to hear them all.