Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue

Reviewed by Stephen Fife
A Fig Street Films Production
Through December 29

A few minutes into her autobiographical show, Ledisi tells a heartrending story about her mother, a member of the Black Panthers in Oakland. “She was my shero, my first and strongest shero, but every shero has her Kryptonite.” In this case, that meant her mom’s boyfriend — young Ledisi came home when he was in the middle of beating her mother, breaking her cheekbone. The 17-year-old Ledisi was so traumatized that she walked barefoot out into the night and kept walking for several miles. Ledisi caps this story by breaking into an inspired rendition of the blues standard “Trouble in Mind,” which Nina Simone also famously recorded.

The show’s full title is Ledisi: The Legend of Little Girl Blue: A Musical Journey into the Lives of Nina Simone and Ledisi. If that sounds awkward, then you’re right, it is. Ledisi is a deeply soulful jazz singer, attested to by her nine Grammy nominations and the many passionate fans who sit at the cocktail tables near the stage. But it’s no easy task to put together a show spanning a 25-year career, and this evening feels scattershot, lacking a strong through-line.

It begins with Ledisi coming onstage dressed regally as Nina Simone in a high headdress and African robe. The four-piece jazz band plays the lead-in to the blues song “My Baby Just Cares for Me.” Ledisi as Nina keeps tossing diffident comments at them, like “The band is playing too loud,” and “Well, don’t stop playing!” Then she does a rendition of the song as Nina Simone, with the searing pain filtering through that aristocratic and elegant voice.

I conclude at this point that the show is going to be a biographical play about Nina Simone through a playlist of her most famous hits interspersed with anecdotes from her life. But then Ledisi removes the headdress and changes her costume. “Nina Simone saved my life,” she says, describing a difficult time in her early adulthood when nothing was working out in her life, and she had contemplated suicide … but then Nina Simone’s voice came over the radio, luring her back into life’s fray. “Nina Simone was one of my greatest sheros, making it possible for singers like me to believe our dreams could come true. But my first shero was my mother….”

Then Ledisi launches into that traumatic story about witnessing her mother’s beating, and while Nina Simone remains an important presence, the rest of the evening has Ledisi herself centerstage.

First the pluses. Ledisi’s an accomplished singer, able to scat-sing a jazzy version of “Alright” as well as command our imaginations with the blues classic “I Put A Spell on You.” She has a mellifluous voice, a lovely tone, and it’s never less than pleasant to hear her in person. She is backed up by an excellent jazz combo (especially Brandon Waddles on piano), three terrific singers, and a sensitive lighting design by Eric Branson.

But, other than the story about her mother and a few other interesting anecdotes, the show lacks a gripping narrative. One song is accompanied by a photomontage of young black men, like Philandro Castile, who have been gunned down by the police. Another song is paired with photos of her cultural heros and sheros, who oddly include Marilyn Monroe and Julia Roberts (and, yes, Michael Jackson). But who is Ledisi besides a remarkable vocalist with a social conscience?

I can’t say I know.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills; Tues., 12/17 – Sat., 12/21 at 8 p.m.; Thurs., 12/26 – Sat., 12/28 at 8 p.m.; Fri., 12/27 & Sat.-Sun., 2:30 p.m.; Sun., 12/29, 7:30 p.m.; through Dec. 29. (310) 746-4000 or TheWallis.org. Running time: two hours and 10 minutes with one intermission.