In a marketplace in a Western Sudanese town, a man who proudly proclaims that he is a Poet is trying to sell his poems to the locals. “Rhymes have I” he cries. From the ragged state of his clothes, he obviously is not selling a lot of rhymes. Perhaps if he lived here and now, he might get a job with Hallmark; they need a steady supply of rhymes. But our poet lives in the 14th century, in the Mali empire in North Africa where the Sahara Desert meets the fertile lands of the Niger River and its fabled capital of Timbuktu commands the trade on the routes across North Africa, using its own gold mines and the products imported from the East to build great wealth and prosperity.

Fate will be good to the Poet in Timbuktu. But first, here on the banks of the Niger, he encounters the famous river pirate M’Ballah. M’Ballah is looking for a magician to remove a curse on his family that caused his son to be taken from him. M’Ballah hears the poet rhyming and assumes he must know magic words that can break the spell. The Poet accepts the bag of gold that the pirate has promised to the person who can help him find his son, and he leads M’Ballah into Timbuktu to find his son.

In the city, the Poet uses some of the gold to make both himself and his daughter Marsinah more presentable in new clothes and “Baubles, Bangles, and Beads,” as the Poet sings rhyming. As they wander the city, Marsinah meets a young man also shopping. They are instantly attracted to each other. Marsinah knows the young man only as “Dodo,” the name used by his friend who is with him. Only later does she discover that he is the Mansa, the young emperor who has just ascended to the throne of Mali.

Her father the Poet is picked up by the police because the gold the is spending has markings on it that indicate it comes from the river pirate M’Ballah. The Wazir of Police, a notoriously corrupt and cruel official, first orders the executioner to lop off the Poet’s head; then defeated by  the Poet’s clever defense, to lop off his right hand, which the poet explains is essential to his profession, he cannot tell a story without using his right hand. Finally, the Wazir decides that such a clever man might be handy to have around the court. 

The Poet has also caught the eye – and more – of Saleem-La-Luum, the Chief Wife of the Wazir of Police, for whom any affection for her husband has long since dissipated. She and the Poet devise their own way of dealing with the restraints of the court.

The Poet is a typical mature male figure, and at The Black Rep Duane Martin Foster is a typical musical theatre leading man, with voice and physical presence responding accurately to the demands of the part. Given the structure of the musical, Sahleem-La-Luum, the Chief Wife of the Wazir of Police, is the female lead, and Amarachi Kalu, who plays her at The Black Rep, juggles well her times of seduction and her times of authority. With a lively and convincing performance of the Poet’s daughter Marsinah, Evann De-Bose makes charming the romantic lead, and Dereis Lambert has a nice youthful restraint as the young Masa in love.

Delighted as I was to see Drummond “Drum” Crenshaw on the stage again, I found it difficult to respond as I should to his villainous Wazir of Police. I have always liked and enjoyed Drum’s performances, and I couldn’t be quite as appalled and outraged by his villain as I should have been. Such is theatre.

I did find thoroughly convincing another welcome returning actor, Keith Tyrone Williams as M’Ballah the River Pirate. 

Kimmie Kidd did not have enough to do as a supporting figure in the Wazir’s court, but did it perfectly. So did Brian McKinley as the Masa’s friend. 

Bradford Rolen is a fine authority figure as the Chief Policeman, joined in the ensemble by Byron Jenkins, Alan Phillips, Deante Bryant, Herman Louis Gordon, Jr., and Gregory Carr II. 

Fine work in the ensemble as princesses and ordinary women is done by Samantha Madison, Venezia Manuel, Haley Rhiney, Emara Neymour Jackson, Brea Johnson, Daija Jones, and Tyja Lynxx.

Dunsi Dai’s set makes good use of the traditional Mali architecture, though I was sorry no one got to climb on it. Kristie Chyere Osi cleverly designed the uniforms for the police and dressed everyone attractively. Sean Savoie did his usual fine work with the lighting, Justin Schmitz with the sound, and Mikhail Lynn designing the props.  Haley Rhiney’s welcome choreography keeps us firmly in Africa and supplies important bursts of energy and invention.

Tracy D. Holliway-Wiggins is the Stage Manager, assisted by Christina Yancy and Allie Forte.

Director Ron Himes and Musical Director Colin Healy could not entirely resolve the strain between the period of the words and of the music. If anything, I thought it too much repressed the music and its lyricism; had it not, it might too easily have lost touch with Africa. Still, they managed to make it pretty much all harmonious  and certainly enjoyable.

—Bob Wilcox

Photo by Keshon Campbell
From the left, Kimmie Kidd as Najua, Duane Martin Foster as the Poet, and Amarachi Kalu as Sahleem-La-Luum in Timbuktu!