Lonesome Blues
by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatundé
About
Details: A Musical Journey Through the Memories of a Legendary Bluesman
Written by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatundé
Directed by Katherine Owens
Starring: Akin Babatundé
Website | Cast Recording
Lonesome Blues is the celebration of the legendary bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson: born blind, but ultimately able to express his deepest emotions through music. Discovered on a street corner in the Deep Ellum section of Dallas, Texas in 1925, Jefferson made more than 80 records over the next four years, becoming one the most prolific and influential performers of his generation and propelling the growth of rhythm and blues, soul, doo-wop, rap, and hip-hop.
Building on the success of their earlier musical Blind Lemon Blues, presented by the York in 2007 and 2009, Alan Govenar and Akin Babatundé have used new research to probe deeper into the life and psyche of Blind Lemon Jefferson. In Lonesome Blues, Babatundé plays more than ten different roles, channeling the spirits of men and women alike, in a journey that is at once evocative, troubling, and transformative. Songs and monologues bring to life the voice of Blind Lemon Jefferson, his community, and his musical contemporaries, including Blind Willie Johnson, Lillian Glinn, Hattie Hudson, Bobbie Cadillac, and Lead Belly—all coming together in Jefferson's mind on the day of his death, December 19, 1929, in Chicago.
Lonesome Blues premiered off-Broadway at the York Theatre (June 12 - July 1, 2018). The touring production of the show is represented by Columbia Artists.
Reviews
Theater Pizzazz
by Alix Cohen
"Akin Babatundé is outstanding! The performer delivers forceful personification. Confident vocals slip/slide with terrific range and evocative accentuation."
TheaterScene.com
by Deirdre Donovan
"The musical Lonesome Blues is refreshingly intimate. Lonesome Blues is part biography, part concert. For 80 minutes [Akin] Babatundé disappears into the bluesman Blind Lemon and tells his story with unexaggerated concentration and deep commitment. Babatundé doesn’t inundate us with biographical facts all at once but slowly parcels out this, and that, detail about the musician who was dubbed “The Father of the Texas Blues.” Babatundé and [Alan] Govenar’s original songs blend right into the dramatic fabric of the show and give us a better foothold on Blind Lemon as an artist and man. Lonesome Blues, directed by Katherine Owens, is an ideal way to acquaint oneself with the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson. Babatundé has the pipes and acting talent to give flesh-and-blood to the legend."
Wolf Entertainment Guide
by William Wolf
"Akin Babatundé brings [Blind Lemon Jefferson] dramatically to life in Lonesome Blues. It is a tour de force performance, with the actor-singer ruminating on Jefferson’s life and singing his repertoire. Developing a distinct, wounded personality, he exhibits the inner longings and passions that Jefferson expressed, in addition to singing a vast number of songs in the style associated with the man who had such an influence on the art of the blues. The show affords an opportunity to become acquainted with this icon in the history of the blues, and to the credit of Babatundé, one comes away with a solid impression of the man and his life, as well as the particular approach be brought to the music scene. One can conjure a vision of him ensconced outdoors on a street and singing to passersby, as well as imagining what it may have been like for him being recorded after his talent had been discovered by a record agent."
Guerrilla Journalism
by Dana Driskell
"The great music and great associated stories make for an entertaining and informative theater experience."
Show Showdown
by Wendy Caster
"Akin Babatundé, with the outstanding support of guitarist David Weiss, is giving a heck of a concert in Lonesome Blues at the York Theatre Company. Babatundé's voice travels from pure falsetto to rumbly bass and back again, and it can thrill every step of the way. Babatundé's interpretation of the blues offers a wide palette of emotions, and he's charming. The show offers a dynamic and rewarding evening in the theatre."
Off Off Online
by Nicole Colbert
"Akin Babatundé is a charismatic performer. His training as an actor, which is clearly extensive ... allows him to physically embody the character and move through the history of the story gracefully. In Katherine Owens’s production, Babatundé, who is accompanied by the talented David Weiss on guitar, handles the story, songs and plot changes beautifully. He is helped along by James Morgan’s simple set and moody lighting by Steve Woods. Texas blues was swingier and more upbeat than Delta blues. Although the music captures the difficulties of being an itinerant and blind black musician, Jefferson’s songs, like “Choo Choo” and “Rabbit Foot Blues” will have you tapping your toes and clapping along to the music in this simple yet powerful one-man show."
DC Metro
by Deb Miller
"[Akin] Babatundé fully embodies the man with his natural movements, Deep-South dialect, and powerhouse vocals, delivering the disjointed non-linear recollections that flood his mind and the music that comes from the depths of his soul. He demonstrates his astonishing range, from the jaunty rhythm of “Deep Ellum Blues” and the saucy humor of “Happy New Year Blues” to the grit of “Black Snake Moan,” from his soft falsetto in “Motherless Child” to his low-down notes in “Mosquito.” Lonesome Blues is more about feeling than narrative, and Akin Babatundé skillfully delivers the range of emotions in The York’s “free-form” production."
Musical Theatre Review
by Ron Cohen
"In Lonesome Blues, Blind Lemon is embodied with stunning authority by Akin Babatundé, who co-wrote the show with the writer and documentary film-maker Alan Govenar. Lonesome Blues, directed by Katherine Owens, hits the stage with a grand assuredness about what it wants to say and wants to do. It’s the music that is the heart of the show, and Babatundé delivers it with a rich musicality to match his own impressive physical proportions. His voice can go to a somewhat unearthly falsetto, used with especially good effect in the traditional gospel ‘Motherless Child’, and then burrow deep with a thunderous baritone calling up the trumpets of heaven as in the fierce ‘Black Snake Moan’. Lonesome Blues impresses one mightily with the scope and feeling of its subject’s art. Blind Lemon’s expressions of the highs and lows of his own humanity should make even the most lonesome in his audience feel less so."
Awards
The show received an Audelco Award nomination for Solo Performance for Akin Babatundé.
