In the latest musical extravaganza at Black Ensemble Theater, a high school senior named Derrick finds himself a stranger in the strange, pre-Siri land of the 1980s, filled with unfamiliar stuff like cassette tapes, Walkmans and Trapper Keeper binders. His crazy Uncle Mike has invented a time machine to school the naive young blood in the influential music of the decade, which he then magically unspools before him.
That’s the premise — serviceable if hardly original — for a celebration of the (mostly) Black music of the decade, including songs made famous by Lisa Lisa, Morris Day and Prince. To its great credit, this show, written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks, clearly was determined to offer a deep 1980s cut rather than getting stuck in the usual world of Whitney and Michael, although the King of Pop does make a conclusionary appearance. We hear songs by Bobby Brown, Keith Sweat, Sade (you can guess which one) and such titles as Experience Unlimited’s ‘Da’ Butt,” LL Cool J’s “I’m Bad,” Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power,” Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock’s “It Takes Two,” and many, many more, all the way down to Jon Bon Jovi, just for diversity’s sake.
The show has something like 40 numbers (maybe a few too many in a show that ran for 2 hours and 35 minutes on opening night), some performed in full, others in melody. As is always the case at Black Ensemble, you get a very solid cast of dancer-singers and a live band, under the musical direction of Robert Reddrick — someone who loves to challenge his cast with rapid-fire key changes. Black Ensemble is a well-established talent factory and I was mightily impressed on Sunday by Isaac Ray, who has worked here before, as well as by relative newcomer Jaitee Thomas (pronounced Jay-tee), who knocks it out of the park as Brown, Sweat and others.
But there are a few things here that are different from the previous shows I’ve seen in some 25 years of reviewing Black Ensemble shows, even aside from the obvious demographic shift at a theater that historically has favored jukebox shows of artists who first became famous in the 1970s and earlier.
There’s a spiffy little turntable, which means that Thee Ricky Harris and Brandon Lewis, playing the uncle and nephew, can slide on and off. Choreographer Christopher Chase Carter is at his best in the boy band segments but he comes up with exciting work throughout. And the set from Denise Karczewski (a giant boom box) is far and away the best design this theater ever has seen. It fills the place.
I think BET likely has a potentially long-running hit here, given the reaction from the audience which danced, sang along, cheered and grooved. I wish Brooks would look at the end of the show, which has things in the wrong order in terms of making dramaturgical sense and I’d argue that a few judicious cuts and pacing improvements are needed. There’s at least 15 minutes of dead air here. Hit the speed button on that turntable!
Still, if you’re into mix tapes, the choices made here will impress you, I think. The ’80s gets a loving tribute all right, and it inarguably needed one.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Review: “The Time Machine: A Tribute to the ’80s” (3 stars)
When: Through April 14
Where: Black Ensemble Theater, 4450 N. Clark St.
Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes
Tickets: $56.50-$65.50 at 773-769-4451 and www.blackensemble.org