Trav’lin: A 1930s Harlem Romance
Winter Park Playhouse, Winter Park, Florida
Music by J.C. Johnson & Friends
Book by Gary Holmes and Allan Schpiro
Musical Arrangements by John DiPinto
Directed by Shonn McCloud
Musical Direction by Chris Leavy
Choreography by Roy Alan
Reviewed by Carl F. Gauze
Jazz age Harlem was the place to be, the place full of Black entrepreneurship and hot jazz and all the moralizing the entertainment business creates. We meet Billie (Bloomfield), a woman with a past, aiming to restart her life in the big city. She gets sweet-talked by George (Johnathan Lee Iverson), a preacher and ex Pullman attendant. He starts out with pure intentions, but falls in love with Billie, and their on again, off again shenanigans drive the story. Trav’lin man Archie (Alexis) makes his money and handles his sex life commuting between Harlem and Chicago, doing what ever guys like him do to make money in musicals. And our last pairing ties goofy Nelson (Will Scott) with innocent Roz (Faith Bowles). They love dancing, and they seem to have a bright path to marital bliss, even though those evil book writers will do their best to keep them apart.
This brisk and soulful collection of romances blends seamlessly due to music by J.C. Johnson and Fats Waller. The tunes keep the story flowing, and the actors nail the gags, and you cheer for most everyone here. Those three couples feel real if a bit oversized, but who wants a small character in a big musical? George seems full of himself playing a high tone deacon in a Black church, even if it does trim his entertainment options. Archie explores the opposite issue, with modern rail service allowing him to cheat on more women that ever possible in the old days. And the “aren’t they cute!” pairing of Roz and Archie counterbalances out any marital misgivings.
As WPPH productions go, this one has a more elaborate set than usual, with multiple locations indicated by a flying barber chair and a rotating meat pie standard. But like all good musicals, they are just the fluff, the music (led as always by Chris Leavy and his team) steals your heart. It’s fun, and the multiple “mm-hmm” murmuring from the audience backs up my position. Looks like this is soul music month at the Playhouse, and they do it justice.
