The Total Bent

Reviewed by Daphnie Sicre

From the creators of "Passing Strange," Stew and Heidi Rodewald, comes "The Total Bent," a gospel/blues/rock musical about the relationship between a preacher (Vondie Curtis Hall) and his son (Ato Blankson-Wood). With text by Stew and music by Stew and Rodewald, this small musical has a lot of bite.

Set mostly in the 1960’s, it tells the story of gospel preacher Joe Roy, trying to resurrect his career. Working along his side is his son, Marty, who urges him to sing about the civil rights movement. Joe refuses to stand behind the movement, causing a rift between him and his son. Soon we discover the rift is deeper than civil rights with hints of Marty’s homosexuality. Shortly, Marty meets Byron Blackwell (David Cale) a British wanna-be producer obsessed with Black music. Together, Marty’s music rises to the top through a very visual transformation, but not short of controversy as Byron also tries to signs Joe.

Image Sourced by The Public Theater

The only problem with the musical is the book; it is hard to follow at times. Time and space are not always clear, but what is clear are the phenomenal musical arrangements, songs and melodies. Stew also does an excellent job at introducing comical side comments from the onstage band that interacts with the characters, audience and each other.

Although this musical might not be everyone’s cup of tea, as it does not follow a traditional American musical theater format, the music and the vocal arrangements are superb. Stew and Rodewald are excellent composers plus Hall’s voice is heavenly. Equally as gifted is Blankson-Wood’s voice, as it hits all sorts of vocal ranges. More than once I had to re-adjust my seat to make sure it was him singing all those arrangements. Jani Kearse and Curtis Wiley do not fall short of talent either--respectively they play Andrew and Abee, Marty's backup singers.

The musical feels more like a rock gospel concert than a musical, but that is ok. If you want to hear incredible music through story, "The Total Bent" has it. And if that is not enough, trust me. These songs will make you think about social justice, sexuality and God.

The Total Bent by Stew. Music by Stew and Heidi Rodewald. Directed by Joanne Settle. Set Design: Andrew Lieberman. Costume Design: Gabriel Berry. Lighting Design: Thom Weaver. Sound Design: Obadiah Eaves and Sten Severson. Hair and Wig Design: Cookie Jordan. Music Director: Marty Beller. Music Coordinator: Dean Sharenow. Choreography: David Neumann; Production stage manager: Chris DeCamillis. The Public Theatre. 425 Lafayette St, New York, NY.  Ran from May 10 - June 19, 2016.

Daphnie Sicre is a full-time instructor at BMCC-CUNY, where she teaches courses in theatre, social justice, and advanced public speaking.  Some of her NYC directing credits include: "Shower Me" at FringeNYC, "Stranger" for Stage Black where she won a Best Director Award and the Audelco nominated "Not About Eve."