Klub Ka, The Blues Legend
Klub Ka, The Blues Legend
Book and Lyrics by James V. Hatch and Suzanne Noguere
Composer Christa Victoria
Artistic Consultant Camille Billops
Klub Ka, The Blues Legend is a multicultural musical fantasy in the tradition of The Wizard of Oz. But the stakes for our young heroine’s odyssey are much higher. Suji has been abused by her father for years. Now a teenager, writing poetry and longing both to escape her father and to become a real poet, she is captivated by a 1920s blues record. When the singer, Papa Gee, materializes from the record, she is set on a journey to Klub Ka, the home of all blues poets who have ever lived. Her journey is a test at every turn. Guiding her way into the Driftwood Bar, the Egyptian underworld, and the Swamp of Great Despair are Fixit, the shape-shifting Yoruba trickster Eshu Elegba, and the Three Karmas (Fates).
Klub Ka, The Blues Legend was given a full stage production at the University of Iowa in November 2002 as part of its Partnership in the Arts program and an Equity showcase production at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York City in February 2004, both directed by Tisch Jones. As part of the "Take 5" Performance Series, it had a staged reading at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, directed by Jennifer Nelson, artistic director of the African Continuum Theatre Company, in 2006. The play is a stage adaptation of the authors’ novel, The Stone House, A Blues Legend.
Cast of Characters
Papa Gee, storyteller and old-time blues singer on Okeh Records
Suji (Thingamabob), abused girl longing to be a poet
Daddy, Suji’s abuser father, a.k.a. the Fox and Captain Daddy
Eshu Elegba, the trickster, plays Fixit, the trashman; Daddy Blue, the minstrel man; and Thoth, Egyptian god of learning in the Underworld
Mama Inanna, Mother Nature
The Singing Karmas (The Three Fates), who also play three abused girls:
Zzaytha/Neola Lynn, a.k.a. Farm Girl
Xit/Minnie Pearl
Pricker/Bunny
Francis Thompson, Victorian poet
Scripts and music are available as well as a promotional video, which can be viewed here.