‘A Woman’s Songbook’: A Theatrical Hit!

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]Woman’s Songbook hit all the right notes, even for the newcomer to theatre—a fact underscored by the audience reaction. A Woman’s Songbook started as a “mere list of songs” but quickly developed into a cast of four with musical accompaniment from the Naked Chords, all glued together by the dynamic trio of Adrian Augier as producer, Drenia Frederick as director and Kenson Hippolyte as musical director. Staged last weekend at the Palladium at Sandals Grande, the production attracted a fine turnout for two nights: an opening gala on Friday followed by a second performance the following evening.

A Woman’s Songbook is a musical with four modern West Indian ladies who share their stories of strife, struggle, heartbreak and endurance. It was performed in a way that reminded the Saint Lucian audience, regardless of gender, of special memories and personal encounters. There were those moments, too, when things normally overlooked in real life, or to which we usually turn a blind eye, suddenly took on new meaning; new importance, all thanks to the effective writing of Adrian Augier, himself obviously Looshan to the bone.

Claudia Edward as Sophia, Darleene Annius as Cathy, Dianna Philip as Rhonda and Jesmara Nelson as Lucy, were a quartet of women that, despite their unplanned meeting, were able to laugh, confide in and encourage each other. A lesson to be remembered.

The Naked Chords: Benton Jules, Randolph Henry, Stenick Tally and Anthony Joseph, along with the vocalists, accentuated, via timeless songs and melodies, nearly every facet of raising a child without a man, living from paycheck to paycheck, often forced to depend on “the hairy bank”.

The performance would not have been complete without incorporating the zesty Kwéyòl language which arguably made the rude phrases that we know Lucian women to use, a bit more aggressive and often funnier than usual. And perhaps the script’s difference with plot solutions was what made A Woman’s Songbook an exceptional number. As opposed to usual local drama, where the victims remain victims, these women were determined to confront their challenges from the onset.

Congratulations to the cast and wonder workers of A Woman’s Songbook. The audience begged for more. So will future audiences.