We Were There
We Were There: Texas In Paris
This edition of We Were There was written by Larry Powell. A skilled actor and budding writer in his own right. He attended a performance of “Texas In Paris” at the York Theatre Company which starred Lillias White, whom he recently shared the stage with in Billy Porter‘s “While I Yet Live“. Read his experience of the show below. This show closes on March 1st.
As cold as it’s been it’s always nice to find someplace warm where you can enjoy yourself for a moment but it’s especially nice when you find yourself in the midst of something special. That’s what happened to us on the night we witnessed Alan Govenar’s “Texas In Paris,” at the York Theater Company. This 80-minute show is filled with music and well-crafted moments that will make you laugh a good laugh at one moment and shed a good tear the next. The play is performed without an intermission but it doesn’t feel long at all. I always credit that to great direction and performances and it’s as true here as ever.
This is a musical play about a couple of fine musicians from the Texas south who get a chance to tour France in 1989 playing their Southern Spirituals and Cowboy Songs. Their names are Osceola Mays and John Burrus and they are a joy to spend a hour and a half with. Based on true events, the playwright, Govenar writes fully realized characters who actually talk to each other as they really would in that time. Govenar actually produced the real tour and was as much apart of these people’s lives as they were his. This anchors the conversations and events of the play in authenticity which eases the audience into the deeper levels of the relationship between the two artists.
Lillias White plays Osceola Mays a good, down-home black woman from South Dallas who was the granddaughter of a slave. Osceola is full of humor, honesty, and history. Ms. White tributes Ms. Mays with such a nuanced and gracefully powerful performance that it truly sets the room on fire. It is very easy to believe that this character could actually tour France and play Paris with great success… because well, Lillias White can do just that. A Tony Award Winner, she is one of the great talents of our time. Ms. White has the audience in the palm of her had with her timing and tone both in her singing of the spirituals and playing of the scenes. It’s particularly the way she tells the story through her songs that truly communicates the heartbeat of the piece. She sings every song a capella but if you listen closely you’ll hear a band of angels playing along with her. By time she sings “Oh Freedom” there’s not a dry eye in the house.
John Burrus, a former rodeo cowboy– a white cowboy, is the other half of the duo and is also beautifully realized by Scott Wakefield. Scott has a quiet strength about him that grounds the piece in a totally different way and it’s at times chilling. It takes a great musician to tango with the great likes of Lillias White and Mr.Wakefield is perfect. He plays his instruments live (guitar, banjo, harmonica) and sings his cowboy songs with such humor and passion that you may stop and question… wait, he’s an actor right? This isn’t actually John Burrus is it? His performance is beautiful and honest.
Texas In Paris” is a lesson in the simplicity of storytelling. There is power in just having two people on stage sharing stories with one another. Especially when these two people, on a normal day in society, would have never been able to do it. Plays about race can get a little preachy at times and after awhile you get tired of it but not here. By the end of the play, the skillful and precise direction of Akin Babatubde guides the audience to a wonderful moment in time. It’s a moment where two great artists who at first were strangers to one another find understanding through compassion, joy, and a love for music. You may find yourself leaving The York Theater ready to talk to someone on the ride home… someone you’ve never thought of talking to before… and that’s a good thing… a real good thing.
–Larry Powell