For two nights in a row, I experienced rousing gospel music as part of #TCTheater. In other words, was a good week. The night after seeing
Penumbra Theatre's annual gospel rendition of the nativity story Black Nativity, I attended opening night of
Park Square Theatre's regional premiere of the new play Marie and Rosetta, the true story of lesser known gospel legend
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Written by
Playwrights' Center affiliated writer George Brant, Marie and Rosetta imagines the night of the first performance of Rosetta and her protege/duet partner
Marie Knight. A night in 1946 Mississippi when there was no room at the inn for two black women singers, so they rehearsed and slept in a funeral home with a kindly owner. This play with music paints a beautiful picture of these two very different women, their music, and their relationship, as well as the hardships both faced in their lives and careers, and brings these two musical legends to vivid life. A "joyful noise" indeed.
