Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
The Geffen Playhouse
Through March 24
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Nat King Cole, who died in 1965, was among a small coterie of African-American entertainers in the mid-20th century who were publicly acclaimed for their art but privately subject to the humiliation and abuse typically meted out to people of color, irrespective of their status. In 1956 he was attacked by three white men and injured while performing on stage in Alabama. The KKK burned a cross on his lawn after Cole purchased a home in Hancock Park. And The Nat King Cole Show, the first television show to be hosted by a black entertainer, was canceled after one season because it could not secure commercial sponsorship.
But unlike other black celebrities like Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Belafonte and Dick Gregory, who were outspoken and involved in the Civil Rights Movement from the beginning, Cole initially held back. Despite the racist indignities he endured, he continued to perform for all-white audiences, unlike Davis, who refused to play segregated venues until his boycott finally forced the integration of clubs in Miami and Las Vegas.
Eventually, Cole’s acquiescence was publicly called out by NAACP luminaries Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins: While at a NKC concert in Harlem, people turned their backs in protest during his performance. After that, Cole did an about-face, and began to donate time as well as money, assisting, among other things, in planning the March on Washington in 1963.
Not all of this background is referenced in Colman Domingo and Patricia McGregor’s Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole, directed by McGregor at the Geffen Playhouse through March 24. The play is set in Cole’s dressing room in December 1957, on the final night of his broadcast. It proceeds not as a straightforward biopic (as perhaps some audience members, including myself, had anticipated), but as a conjuring of what might have gone down in the mind of this artist as he is challenged by the racist anxieties and ball-breaking demands of his producer and the network.
When the play begins, Cole (Dulé Hill) is readying to go on when the stage manager (Brandon Ruiter) enters, upset because guest star Peggy Lee has not arrived and convinced that Cole will not be able to carry the program by himself. At some point thereafter, the play segues into a series of surreal reveries featuring Cole’s family members, associates and fellow celebrities, among them his fatuous producer (Bryan Dobson), his mom (Zonya Love), Eartha Kitt (Giseal Adisa) and Betty Hutton (Ruby Lewis). But the dominant apparition is Sammy Davis Jr. (scene-stealing Daniel J. Watts), an electrifying spirit who, throughout the play, dares the suave but troubled crooner to confront his demons.
All this happens near the top of the show — which is problematic for audience members who don’t know much about Cole except to have listened to and appreciated his music. For one thing, it’s unclear at what point the narrative becomes a dreamscape; more of an issue is the lack of an adequate framework for dream encounters. In other words, we haven’t spent enough time with this character outside his fantasies to fully appreciate what’s brought them on. While the show gets us on board with it theme — an artist painfully besieged by ugly systemic race prejudice — the chronicling of it is confusing.
Otherwise, there’s a lot to like. The singing (Cole’s greatest hits, but sung by various members of the ensemble), the choreography (Edwin Godineaux), the live instrumentals (music supervision, arrangements and orchestration by John McDaniel) and the supporting performances are mostly vital and vibrant. Hill, who resembles Cole, seemed to me more an anchor for the production than an illuminating star; while he looks like Cole, he’s a capable singer, not a great one. Where Hill shines is in the terrific tap dance duos he performs with Watts’ Sammy Davis Jr. Watts compels whenever he’s on stage. Other highlights include Love’s powerhouse rendering of “Orange Colored Sky,” Gisela Asida as a sizzling Eartha Kitt, and a glamorous Ruby Lewis as both Betty Hutton and Peggy Lee.
Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood; Tues.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 3 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. through Mar. 24; (310) 208-5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Running time: approximate 85 minutes with no intermission.
