Texas in Paris lies somewhere between a musical
and a play with music. The script, by Alan Govaner, dramatizes the real life encounter between black
spititual singer Osceola Mays (Lillias White) and cowboy singer-guitarist John Burrus (Scott
Wakefield) — both nonprofessional musicians — who fly to Paris in
1989 to take part in a concert that will present French audiences at the Maison
des Cultures du Monde with “the real Texas.” Coming from different sides of the
ethnic divide, they begin a relationship of cordial distance (more on his part
than hers; she tries to reach out) and, of course, through their music and
their being two Americans joined by the common experience, ground between them
is broken.
What’s
nice about the evening is that while it has an overall inevitable trajectory,
it doesn’t, in the steps along the way, go to obvious places or get overtly
sentimental. It’s sweet, low key, humanist and warm—if a little too long.
The music, replicating and emulating the music of the real-life figures as
recorded, is performed with convincing and rewarding authenticity. Understated
by thorough direction is by Akin Babatunde.
Go to David Spencer's Profile
Return to Home Page