“Gee’s Bend”at Hartford Stage glorious celebration of life

HARTFORD — Often plays that trace historic events can be meaningful, but allegorical and dry. That is not the case with the brilliant and beautiful “Gee’s Bend” by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder, running at the Hartford Stage Company through Feb. 14.
This musical drama follows the life of four black women, played by three actors, and one black man from 1939 through 2002 in the very real Gee’s Bend, Alabama where Martin Luther King came to speak.
It traces the Civil Rights ground roots movement where marchers were attacked by police with gas, clubs, and whips in what became known as Bloody Sunday in 1965, as well as other historic events leading to significant social changes.
The remarkably talented actors transition from young teenagers to middle-aged adults to elderly people seamlessly.
Sadie, played by Kimberly Hebert Gregory, starts out as a naïve 15-year-old who falls in love and marries an older man, Macon, played by Teagle F. Bougere.
Macon buys land thanks to low interest loans that were offered by the federal government and they start a family, which follows actual historic events.
At one point later in the play they speak of moving up north to Bridgeport, Conn., to escape the very real threat of violence in the south.
Sadie has a sassy sister who loves to sing and not do too much else, Nella, played by Tamela Aldridge. She is the comedian of the family and is witty even in the direst situations, providing much-needed comic relief.
Miche Braden plays Alice, the mother of Sadie and Nella. She also plays Sadie’s adult daughter much later in the play, and is the musical director and arranger for “Gee’s Bend.”
The women of “Gee’s Bend” make hand-sewn quilts from scraps of material that eventually become collector’s items, with additional quilts designed by Michael Schweikardt.
Nella, who doesn’t sew, says, “These white folks are paying a lot of money for our trash.”
In fact, the real quilts by the real women of Gee’s Bend were displayed in an exhibit at the Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts in 2002, and have been recognized as works of art, according to the terrific program accompanying the play.
At times the drama seems somewhat like the 1985 film-turned-musical, “The Color Purple” particularly when the husband, Macon, tries to reel in his woman, “for her own good,” and traces the personal growth of Sadie as the lead character in the movie, Celie, does.
The music is fantastic, ranging from soulful gospel and evolving to contemporary music, tracing the time progression of the play, with original music and sound design by “Broken Chord Collective.”
This fine play is more than just words — it is a collaborative process, confidently lead by director Hana S. Sharif.
Visually compelling and arresting, the apparently simple set designed by Scott Bradley is a visual dream, with a multi-layered quilt-like background that has a symbolic river, beautifully rendered, undulating through it.
The lighting, designed by Lap Chi Chu, works with silhouettes, and is perfectly complimentary to the set, particularly when the rippling water reflects off the quilt-like back drop and the stark orange glow highlights the two sisters and daughter near the end.
“Gee’s Bend” celebrates the perseverance, hope, and artistry of the human spirit, and is a moving tribute to Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement.