Reasons the Play

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City Colleges of Chicago, Harold Washington College *

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101

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Arts Humanities

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pdf

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Miracle Brown THR ART 131 Play performance 5/9/23 Reasons - Earth, Wind, and Fire On April 9th the Black Ensemble Theater presented the play Reasons . Based on a true story and journey of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s bandleader, founder, and song writer Maurice White. I honestly choosed the Older Maurice who was the narrator of the Reason’s play. Mother Dear Maurice White the grandmother from the south who actually raised Maruice as child to young adulthood and his mother Ms. Edna who never lost contact or stopped loving her son. From the start until the finish the older Maurice takes the audience on a journey from childhood to adulthood. His character narrates the entire play and pops in during milestones, trauma experiences, and successes. His role as a narrator seems to enhance the actors and actresses' characters. I am not familiar with Mr. Maurice White as an artist with the exception of watching videos and listening to his band play with my parents and attending events. I’d noticed his costume was very similar to the videos in the 70's: open shiny sparkling vest, slim fitting pants, and platform shoes. The wig he wore. I wasn't a fan, it looked like a bush of a bird's nest. Perhaps the staff selected the oddly shaped afro wig due to the dancing and singing. Needless to say, his character deepend as the play went along; Maurice was a vegetarian/vegan, he spiritually embraced holistic living, musically impacted by Egyptian history, and often visited spiritual leaders for readings.

The character of Mother Dear, Maurice's grandmother, touched me emotionally. She could not have children of her own and Maurice's mother fell into hardship and needed to relocate. As his mother she asked Mother Dear to care for Maurice while she looked for better opportunities. Mother Dear raised Maurice in church and sent him to school. Church and school is where he got exposed to music and eventually created a new genre of soul music. Mother Dear’s character was an older woman who seemed to be in her late 50’s early 60’s. She was in a slender plain dress and simple flat shoes and her wig was really short and favored a man toupee. Her era appeared to be the early 40’s. I am not sure why the cast wore horrible wig choices. It was my assumption that they needed those styles because of all of the movement. Her character alone made me feel welcomed and encouraged. She was a true mother figure, encouraging be the best and for him to seek his mother in Chicago. So that he can find other opportunities to grow. Ms. Edna Maruice's birth mom relocated from the south to seek a better life in Chicago. She left Maruice with Mother Dear for a few reasons. Mother Dear didn't have any children of her own, she was stabled, and Ms. Edna trusted her. Ms.Edna, a young and inexperienced mother left him at the age of 4yrs due to hardship. Although Ms Edna explained that she had to leave him he was a resilient young man the narrator indicated that he didn't really cry or become sad. Equally important she never lost contact and expressed to Maurice that she loved him dearly every moment she could. Ms Edna wrote Maruice when she could to keep him and Mother Dear updated. Ms Edna was a thin young attractive woman, her wardrobe changed over the course of the play from rags to fancy threads and dresses. She married an African American doctor in Chicago and had more children. The second oldest would be Maruice’s half brother Verdine, the future lead guitar in the band.

The sound was unique; there was a live band and there was no lip syncing. The cast sounded just like Earth, Wind, and Fire. My mom said it was as if the spirit of the band had entered the building. There were lower steps and a stage designed like a concert stage and moving props to showcase each scene such as Maurice’s home in the south, his move to Chicago, working at home and on the road with the band just to name a few. The actors utilized the theater steps as the Older Maurice described and or sang along. Each inch of the theater was utilized by the actors. I thought that was great and it made me feel a part of the play. The actors would walk, even dance or sing on the side or in front of you. What is being attempted here is, a tribute and back ground story on how Earth, Wind, and fire formed. It takes the audience on this journey of how they started out from humble beginnings and becoming musical geniuses and reveltuionaries that changed the music world. They did and took a vision no else saw and said would not work and brought it into fruition. They became a powerful music band. This was a very powerful attempt and story everybody had received the message and it got everybody in a great positive mood. Everyone was out of there seat dancing and in the groove everytime the music came on and the performers started dancing. To me it was like every scene had sparked a different emotion within me I was happy and then sad at some points. But overall they were conveying a message to us all. This play was worth the attempt it taught me to never give up on dreams and keep pushing and pursuing them despiste others beliefs and opinion. Why should you give up today when tomorrow could be the day you win. When Maurice talked to Clyde Davis and he turned him and his band down he still made his way to fame and declined when Davis try to sign his band after rising to fame.

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