Customer Reviews

The Gospel At Colonus (1985 Philadelphia Cast)

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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The Gospel at Colonus is one of the great musical experiences of Gospel music apart from the natural home of Gospel - the church. Here Morgan Freeman, before his breakout roles in the 1990's, acts out the roles of narrator and of Oedipus the King, to perform an updated version of the Oedipus at Colonus story (original by Sophocles). The staged version, seen at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and in Philadelphia (where it was taped for Great Performances/PBS), was on Broadway for only a few short weeks.

The original cast performance actually combines the staged version as seen live at the American Music Theatre Festival,with two fragments from an earlier "concept album" - no longer available (1984, Warner 25182).

In the story, Oedipus - having committed his unknowingly incestuous and murderous acts against his parents - now seeks rest and redemption at Colonus where he was destined to die, accompanied by his daughters. The Gospel at Colonus, staged in a pseudo-church environment, brings the sin and redemption story into the Gospel milieu. Singers and actors act the roles, sometimes more than one per part. The J.D. Steele Singers - especially the phenomenal Jevetta Steele - and the remarkable Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys of Albama are the core performers. They sing with passion and fervor, and enliven the music with gospel-like improvisation.

The music, by Bob Telson, is filled with many beauties and joys. Most notable are the opening "Live Where You Can", the lovely solo "Fair Colonus", and the deeply moving "Numberless are the World's Wonders" - the later of which is based on the "Polla ta dhina", which served as a text which later inspired Shakespeare.

No song is a wasted moment or a throw-away, nor is there any excess, such as those fillers which provide so often filler while staging is being changed in so many shows.

Treat yourself to a real delight. If you seek real gospel music, go to the masters, such as Mahalia Jackson! . But if you love both gospel and theatre, and want something more than the usual fare, then go and grab this album while Nonesuch still makes it available.

Thank you Nonesuch for giving us this great gift of theatre preserved on cd!!!

The old joke for a bad musical used to be "you leave humming the sets." The reverse, the absolute opposite, has to be, "you leave humming your soul." This unlikely mix of classical Greek theater and Pentacostal spiritual tradition brings home searing messages about redemption, forgiveness and family, and rocks your world.

I first saw this transformative play in its Los Angeles out-of-town outing in the mid-80's. Within 10 minutes, I jumped up on my chair and swayed from side to side, along with my date, and, once I cared to check, most of the audience. I was raised in both of these traditions; the classical theater and gospel informed both sides of my family. I was breathless by intermission and speechless with joy by final curtain. I saw it several times more in LA, and then on PBS Great Performances, weeping and dancing like an idiot in my own living room. A few years later, after Broadway, it came to SF, where I had moved. Of course, I saw it there, dragging more of my quickly convinced friends.

This CD captures enough of the magic of the performance, the spine-tingling vocals (the amazing Jeveretta Steele in Lift Him Up) the collage of spiritual-RB-blues styles (want blues? Lift Me Up, for one), the beautiful lyrics (Numberless Are The Worlds Wonders), the musical flesh that informed the frame of the classical Oedipus myth -- enough to make the purchase more than worthwhile.

But let me add my voice to those who want the full experience! PBS, please release the Great Performance production! For one thing, it preseves an early performance of the great Morgan Freeman, before Hollywood (also in the LA production, and unforgettable), and the visuals of the Pentacostal experience, through which the audience's emotional response is echoed, and cued, just as a Greek chorus but a lot more fun.

I'm a fairly old lady, I've seen and enjoyed a lot of musicals, in LA, SF, and a lot on Broadway over the last ten years. I have NEVER been so affected.

In 1985 my then wife, a cultural activities enthusiast, enrolled us in The University Of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Theatre Program. When she told me the premise of Gospel At Colonus, I could barely contain my supercilious disdain. The story of Oedipus, as performed by a gospel choir, what priceless lunacy!

(Actually, I did even then have a taste for gospel music. As a choirboy, driving to our frightfully correct Episcopal Church, I listened to WDAS on the car radio, which broadcast services from The Cornerstone Baptist Church in North Philadelphia. The preaching and singing were mesmerizing. "That," I thought, "is how people should feel about their religion, that is the joy and faith and jubilation of true belief.")

We entered the Annenberg with elitist skepticism and left exalted and humbled. This was not only one of the greatest performances I've ever seen; it was one of my life's memorable moments.

When The Brooklyn Institutional Radio Choir opened full force with Live Where You Can, I felt a lump in my throat, I got goose bumps, and I immediately burst into tears. It was so exquisitely beautiful, so powerful, and so completely righteous that I went into a sensory overload. I spent the next hours in a state of rapture.

As narrator, Morgan Freeman was dignified and formal, with a rich, stentorian voice. Freeman's enunciation and delivery were impeccable, he massaged the words, listening to him was intoxicating. (In 1985 he was not yet one of our most distinguished actors, he was "that guy" on Electric Company, a PBS kid's show.)

The choir would have been enough, but as The Original Five Blind Boys From Alabama entered, (a chain of men hand to shoulder), it almost seemed that spirits were being summoned. Clarence Fountain, lead, sang with such intensity and conviction that it felt like every note might have been the last one of his life, and he wanted to give it everything he had. Jevetta Steele's voice rang out clear and pure, a wonderful counterpoint to Fountain's raw, shout delivery.

This was one of those extraordinary moments when everything comes together. The quality of the songs is superb throughout; the musicians are all exceptionally good, and the collaboration created something that is far greater than the sum of the parts - something musically enchanting and spiritually satisfying. Not to be missed.

As with the other reviewers, I also saw the show: 4 times in 1987 with Morgan Freeman and Pamela Poitier; twice in the 1997 (I paid for 15 people to see this show). I have the soundtrack on vinyl, cassette and CD; I am also blessed to have a copy of the PBS broadcast. It is so true: the setting of a Black Pentacostal church couldn't be a better choice for this tragedy, and yet, the message of forgiveness of sins and redemption of the soul is not missed. Once you find the video, you won't let it out of your sight. This show helped me to resolve unspoken issues with my deceased father, forgive him for what I felt were his shortcomings, and resurrect the spirit of good memories.

When I saw this on PBS, I knew I needed to have it in my collection. Sadly, I have not been able to find it in video form. Don't get me wrong, the CD is excellent! Unfortunately it doesn't do justice to seeing the performances. Morgan Freeman, Carl Lumbly, The Five Blind Boys, The Steele Family, gave truly inspring performances! If anyone has this in video format, please, please make it available for others to see. Classic does not begin to describe this performance.

This is one of my favorite live gospel performances with classics by Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Sam Butler, the J.D. Steele Singers and JJ Farley and the Original Soul Stirrers. I got a chance years ago to see the PBS Great Performances version, but someone PLEASE tell PBS to re-release it and let a whole new generation see what great live gospel is all about. My favorite song is the joyous "Lift Him Up' where soloist Carolyn Johnson-White gives a lesson in both vocal control and letting loose in one solo.

I have this video and CD, this is the "best" Gospel stage play I have ever seen. With Morgan Freeman and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. If you agree e-mail me and let me know hammer4945@yahoo.com

I first saw this production on PBS in 1985, and was astonished at the arrangement by Bob Telson, whom I met shortly before this performance. He is absoutely great. The vocals by; Javetta Stelle, along with her brothers and sister sung like they have been singing together all of their lives, and of course they have. The Five Blind Boys of Alabama were Magnificent, Clarence Fountain was in rare form. Sam Butler and the Soul Stirrers were brilliant too. It was an evening that I will never forget. I have attended two other great events in my life, hearing the Original Caravans live in concert, and Aretha Franklin at the taping of "Amazing Grace". I am glad that I had the presence of mind to tape it to show to friends, and before I wore it out I made Several copies so that I could enjoy it longer. I would love to have it on DVD. I might have to transfer it to disk and burn my own. This is something I will keep for the rest of my life. La Shante'

Unfortunately, many Blind Boys fans will miss this one as far as theirdiscography goes. Next to their 92CD "Deep River" it doesnt get any better than this. Now this is notlyrically Gospel, but the Blind Boys, Soul Stirrers and Brooklyn'sInstitutional Radio Choir lend al the energy of the Gospel sound to an age old tragedy.The only thing better is to see it! It was airedon PBS back in the early 80's. Thisis the Blind Boys LIVE!

I was introduced to this show through a Theatre Arts department professor at the college I attended a few years ago, and immediately purchased my own CD of this extraordinary music and these remarkable performances! Perhaps not to all tastes (in fact, several people I've played this for have strenuously disliked it!); nevertheless, the combination of Greek tragedy and Black Pentecostal creates a unique experience, both as musical theatre and religious fervor. Without a doubt, the ancient classic by Sophocles (his final play and written when he was 94!!!!) which is about redemption from mankind's sins, and especially the sins of Oedipus (who killed his father and married his own mother, well, everybody knows the story) fits perfectly into the Pentecostal tradition. I don't consider myself particularly "religious", am not a member of any particular church congregation, and I am a white man, but this music and its presentation moves me deeply! I have never tired of listening to this version of Sophocles play, nor the great themes of forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption so superbly translated into this very modern idiom. "Numberless are the world's wonders" is my favorite song in the show. The lyrics of that song are taken almost verbatim from Sophocles. All the other songs are also winners, and the lively performances throughout will have anyone with a beating heart and blood in the veins standing up, clapping hands and tapping feet! A truly GREAT show (and I don't use the word "great" much). Now I wish the video of the show (which was on Great Performances) would be re-released. Is anyone out there who has any influence about this listening to this request?