There are those who are wildly passionate about theater as art simply because it can encompass almost every other art form within its presentation. When executed successfully, theater can seamlessly blend storytelling, dance, music, and of course the high-stakes thrill of live performance. Hattiloo Theatre’s Take the Soul Train to Christmas feels like everything theater is supposed to be. It’s a show that incorporates not only different forms of performance and art, but also different styles within those forms, and it manages to pull off an effect that is cohesive rather than chaotic. Written by Hattiloo Theatre’s founder Ekundayo Bandele, Take the Soul Train to Christmas is a unique opportunity for Memphians to see local artists coming together to create something that can’t be seen anywhere else.
The story is presented through three voices. There are the narrators commenting on the play throughout, the main characters who are experiencing the story, and the ensemble performing vignettes through time. The concept of the play is simple: Three children struggling to write their assigned school paper on how the Black celebration of Christmas has changed throughout history get help in the magical form of a train that can move through time, operated by Grandad, who acts as their guide. Commenting on the show’s structure, P.A. Bomani, who plays Grandad, says, “I love the different storytelling elements we use. The singing tells the story and sets the mood. The narrators speed up the journey. The eras covered encompass a large part of the African-American experience.”
Grandad leads the children through hundreds of years of history, making stops in the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, and the era of funk in the 1970s, just to name a few. One of the major successes of this musical is how it combines the frivolity and joy of the Christmas setting without ever compromising the seriousness of the subject matter. “Christmas has never stopped injustice” is a line that stood out in particular. This play balances both grief and hope on a knife edge. During the a cappella number “We Shall Overcome,” I was immediately moved to tears, while just a few minutes later, I was cheering along with the rest of the audience as we were encouraged — almost demanded — to participate in judging an onstage breakdance battle. Somehow this jump in mood did not feel in any way incongruous. The play evokes a full range of emotion from its viewers, and as my friend Rhett Ortego put it as we left the theater, “A show that can make you laugh, cry, and sing along is always the best.”
Take the Soul Train to Christmas is performed “in the round,” although, in this case, “in the rectangular” would be a more apt description. In any case, the stage, a center platform bordered on two sides by the audience, provides a space in which performers are constantly in motion. It is a dynamic viewing experience, accentuated by the times throughout the performance when the fourth wall is broken and the audience is encouraged to participate. It is a credit to the strength of the actors that the space was utilized to its fullest extent. Indeed, the cast of this show is called upon to switch between styles of movement, music, dance, and elocution many times throughout the play, a challenge that the ensemble collectively rose to with seeming ease.
I found Take the Soul Train to Christmas to be a culmination of everything I love about theater. Here are local artists at all ages working in harmony to bring together different styles of art, from ballet to poetry to breakdance. “The joy in telling this story is amazing,” says Bomani. “Through entertainment we preserve important elements of our collective story.”
Take the Soul Train to Christmas was entertainment at its finest, and I left feeling grateful to have been able to watch it.
Take the Soul Train to Christmas runs at Hattiloo Theatre through December 17th.
