PLAY REVIEW: Peach State's 'Mahalia' fills the soul

Jun. 20—PLAY REVIEW

VALDOSTA — Just when you think Mahalia A. Jackson's voice can't climb any higher, can't reach any deeper into your soul, can't fill the air of Sawyer Theatre any more, she does all three simultaneously.

Depending on an audience member's choice, any song she sings in "Mahalia: A Gospel Musical" is arguably worth the price of admission to the second show of the Peach State Summer Theate 2023 season: "I'm Going to Live the Life I Sing About in My Songs," "City Called Heaven," "I've Been Buked," almost any song in the show.

And she carries the story part of the musical, too. She plays the famed gospel singer with pathos, with spirit and with a great sense of humor and timing. She gradually evolves from a naive girl to a famed gospel singer to the worldwide matriarch of gospel through the course of this performance.

Jackson finds the humanity in a larger-than-life singer of the mid-20th century. Audiences will feel like they have met and come to know a special soul during this performance.

And yes, Mahalia A. Jackson, the PSST! performer who also plays the Mayor in the Peach State production of "The SpongeBob Musical," has the same name as Mahalia Jackson, for whom "Mahalia: A Gospel Musical" is named.

Katherine LeRoy-Lawson, show director and choreographer, lets Mahalia be Mahalia. She lets the story take its time to unfold.

She sets the tone in creating a show that takes audiences from the wide-eyed wonder of Mahalia Jackson's early life to her being saved and baptized to her finding fame but never forgetting or leaving her love for Jesus to becoming a mentor during the Civil Rights Movement to a performer who brought Europe to its feet in praise.

LeRoy-Jackson and Tom Stoltz, credited for the show's book, lyrics and music, provide what feels like a complete musical biography to the gospel singer's life.

The entire creative team deserves applause. They create the world around Jackson. They are Ashlee Cheyenne Oliver, stage manager; Sarah I. Liffick, technical director; Zach Cramer, sound designer; David Springfield, music director; Maila Gutierrez Springfield & Ethan Ray Parker, vocal directors; Jason Lee Courson, scene & projection designer; Christian Specht, lighting designer; Christina Johnson, costume designer.

The show has a small but strong supporting cast, each playing a few characters before settling into primary supporting characters for the majority of the show. Braxton Allen is a sonorous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Justin Emmanuel Parker settles into Jackson's blind organist, and ZaKeyia Lacey shines as Mildred, Jackson's friend/booker/pianist. All are wonderful in the show and set up several memorable moments.

But "Mahalia" is Jackson's show. She is on stage from start to finish during the three-hour performance (which includes an intermission).

Asked during the preview interview that given she shares the same name, if she feels she was born to play the role, Mahalia A. Jackson said, "My mama knew something when I was born and then I married the right man."

She has played the title character in other productions of "Mahalia." Luckily, for South Georgia audiences, there are still several chances to see her play Mahalia Jackson between now and PSST!'s July 22 closing.

Peach State Summer Theatre's "Mahalia" plays again 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 24, then on other times and dates through July 22, Sawyer Theatre, Valdosta State University Fine Arts Building, corner of Oak and Brookwood. "The SpongeBob Musical" also continues. Monty Python's "Spamalot" opens 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 23, then all three shows play in rotating repertory through July 22. More information: Visit www.valdosta.edu/psst.

This review is based on the Saturday, June 17, performance.