‘Black Pearl Sings’ makes strong impact in return to Florida Studio Theatre

Frank Higgins’ “Black Pearl Sings” had a powerful impact on audiences when it was first presented at Florida Studio Theatre in 2009, and that strong impression remains intact, with some differences, in a new production that features the return of dynamic leading lady Alice M. Gatling, who is reunited with director Kate Alexander.

A lot has changed in the world in the last 14 years and how we all might respond to a story that touches on slavery, freedom, personal history, racism, sexism and feminism, all told with a sense of purpose and good humor.

Gatling plays Alberta “Pearl” Johnson, who we first see in 1935 in a Texas prison, where she is being held for killing an abusive man. She is pulled away from chain gang labors to meet with Susannah Mullally (played by Rachel Moulton), a white musicologist from the Library of Congress, who is traveling around the country to record songs brought from Africa by future slaves that might be lost to history.

“When a person dies, a library is lost,” Susannah tells Pearl.

Pearl is a sharp woman. She knows that Susannah needs her and the many songs she knows for her work. But Pearl needs something, too. She’s trying to find her now 22-year-old daughter who has been missing in Houston.

There’s a give and take between them, a kind of cat-and-mouse game that ensues as these two women build an unlikely, unexpected and constantly surprising relationship. Over the course of their meetings in the warden’s office, we learn a little more about each of them, though they are reluctant to share too much too quickly. Each holds the key to the other's success and one misstep could end the relationship.

Higgins has made some mostly subtle changes to the script since that first production in Sarasota that shift how we respond, but some of that change is due to the new dynamic between Gatling and Moulton, who are fascinating to watch.

We learn about Susannah's ambition to be the first woman teaching at Harvard, but also about the setbacks and rivalries that prevent that from happening, along with separation from her family. Moulton clearly conveys all the ups and downs, frustrations and envy.

Susannah also brings with her a sense of unrealized white privilege, something most of us might never have thought about 14 years ago. Susannah is attempting to control Pearl's future, making her something of a slave to the white women's ambitions. There's no thought to having Pearl actively involved in decisions impacting her life, not surprising given the setting and times.

Pearl knows when to give and when to hold back information, not wanting to lose the gravy train that could be coming from concert engagements Susannah is booking for them.

And as strong and confident as Susannah acts about everything, Moulton really makes you feel, with a subtle shift in tone, the crushing impact of just one conversation with a man who reminds her that there is always someone else in control.

Arts Newsletter: Sign up to receive the latest news on the Sarasota area arts scene every Monday

Sarasota Rising: New Sarasota Living Arts Festival is rising toward November 2024 debut

Under Alexander’s direction, the power dynamic between the two characters ebbs and flows as the story shifts from the warden’s office to a New York apartment and concert hall, depicted nicely in the set by Isabel A. and Moriah Curley-Clay, with impressive lighting by Ethan Vail that adds to the mood of each scene. And amid the drama, Higgins provides dialogue that can be laugh-out-loud funny to lighten the mood in the right way.

Along the way Gatling really makes you fall for Pearl, even more so than the last time. She sings through all or parts of about 20 spirituals and folk songs, which often take on greater meaning within the context of a moment in the story.

It is a joy to watch how Pearl comes to life when she gets to perform for an audience for the first time after all the harshness she has faced. She leads the audience through a sing-along that further connects the viewer to a story that triggers a myriad of feelings about these characters and how we have understood and responded to history.

‘Black Pearl Sings’

By Frank Higgins. Directed by Kate Alexander. Reviewed July 6. Runs through July 30, Florida Studio Theatre’s Keating Theatre, 1241 N. Palm Ave., Sarasota. $25-$39. 941-366-9000; floridastudiotheatre.org

Follow Jay Handelman on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Contact him at jay.handelman@heraldtribune.com. And please support local journalism by subscribing to the Herald-Tribune.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: FST’s polished ‘Black Pearl Sings’ reflects a changing society