Michael Bahsil as the titular character in “Young John Lewis.” (All photos by Casey Gardner Ford)
When John Lewis first sings about “good trouble” in Theatrical Outfit’s Young John Lewis, his dad scoffs.
“That don’t make no sense. That’s like cold fire,” his father replies to him in a backbeat, sending the audience into rousing laughter, knowing, of course, that the phrase is now synonymous with John Lewis’ name.
So goes much of the production, an Atlanta-based world premiere hip-hop musical of the beloved Civil Rights icon who represented the city for 17 terms as its U.S. Representative in Congress before his death at age 80.
The roughly two-hour theatrical event, running through July 6, is part comedy and part history lesson but mostly a love letter to the leader in musical form, using gospel, soul and rap to shape the story of a man who inspired millions throughout an almost-70-year Civil Rights career.
Michael Bahsil, left, with Brandin Jay as Jim Lawson.
Members of the 10-person interracial cast, led by Atlanta native Michael Bahsil as Lewis, play multiple characters, often demanding a cheat sheet to keep up with who’s who.
Young John Lewis will likely get comparisons to Hamilton because of its hip-hop aspirations and perhaps a little Tyler Perry because of a couple of soaring, God-centered numbers that bring the house down.
But that would be a shame because it’s a rousing tribute that can stand on its own if it can fix a few issues. There were times, at the show attended for review, when the mics didn’t work quite as well for some members of the cast, and the choreography, though very athletic and fast-moving, could be uneven.
But the biggest struggle will be for audiences who are not steeped in the history of the Civil Rights movement. There are a lot of names thrown out during the musical — Diane Nash, Jimmy Lee Jackson, Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin — which might not ring a bell with the average theatergoer.
It’s clear that the team behind the musical — lyricist Psalmayene 24, director/choreographer Thomas W. Jones II and composer Eugene H. Russell IV — reveres the subject. They worked on the play, part of Theatrical Outfit’s new “Made in Atlanta” work program, for six years and collaborated with The John and Lillian Miles Lewis Foundation to paint an accurate picture of the icon.
Sully Brown as Bobby Kennedy, right, attempts to woo Lewis into politics.
In this portrait, the “Boy from Troy” is principled, committed and steadfast to Civil Rights almost to a fault. His decision, for instance, to join the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery — otherwise known as “Bloody Sunday” — comes off as prescient.
And when a law enforcement officer tells him it will be a cold day in hell before Lewis and other Black demonstrators will be allowed to eat at a North Carolina restaurant’s lunch counter, he quips, “That will be fine; we brought our coats.”
The musical covers 13 years of Lewis’ life, beginning with the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till (Terrence J. Smith) and runs through the turmoil of the late ’60s.
Till plays a prominent role in the show; his ghost is both Lewis’ conscience and tormentor, popping up at critical moments to ask Lewis how his choices have avenged Till’s death.
The music is strongest when it lets the cast have fun. In “Dear Troy State,” a bouncy track about the school’s refusal to admit Lewis, for example, Bahsil enthusiastically raps, “I know that you don’t accept negroes/but I believe in brotherhood; we’re all amigos/we all have red blood and similar genomes/I know it’s a long shot but I’m a torpedo.”
A rap battle between Bahsil and Neal Ghant, playing Stokely Carmichael, also hits the right notes. Bahsil’s approach is more preacher-like in cadence (Lewis is a preacher, after all) while Ghant’s beats are more streetwise. Think Drake versus Jay Z.
Lewis with Neal Ghant as Stokely Carmichael, right.
Latrice Pace as Willie Mae Lewis demonstrates her pipes on the achingly beautiful “My Son,” a soul-stirring solo about her fears of sending her son out into an unjust world.
In an effort to be more than a Lewis biopic, the musical also addresses the role of women in the Civil Rights movement and the long-standing debate of peaceful protest versus revolution. Sully Brown gets to surprise the audience with a funny take on Bobby Kennedy, as he tempts a skeptical Lewis into politics.
As the 1960s end, Lewis searches for guidance. So many of the champions of the cause are dead, and he wonders where he fits.
Till tells him, “Don’t let everybody down, John. Remember what happened to me.”
Lewis responds, “I’m gonna keep making noise. I’m gonna keep on making good trouble.”
The rest, of course, is history.
Where & When
Young John Lewis is at Theatrical Outfit through July 6. Tickets, $55 with discounts available.
84 Luckie St.
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Leon Stafford is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years experience at various newspapers, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Knoxville News-Sentinel. He has covered municipal government, business, education, hospitality and the arts during his career.
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