I am currently reading an exceptional book, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. Equal parts harrowing and historical, three individual’s memories and countless research contextualizes the massive movement from 1915 through 1970 by black citizens escaping the Jim Crow south. Unrelatedly, I received an email from the York Theater Company about its Musicals in Mufti series (Indian word for “in street clothes,” here meaning without the benefit of a full production). The first show this year was going to be Hallelujah, Baby! directed by my childhood friend Gerry McIntyre. I didn’t really know much about the show other than it made Leslie Uggams a star so I decided to go check it out. Who knew escaping Jim Crow could be packaged as musical comedy (albeit with an edge)?
Hallelujah, Baby! covers the civil rights movement from 1910 through the 1960s (although an update brought it to the present). Georgina (Stephanie Umoh, charming) is a young woman living in the south longing for a better life. Her mother is a maid (Vivian Reed, Bubbling Brown Sugar, still a colossal force of nature). Georgina longs for a better life and “My Own Morning.” While reading a serious book about this period, I luckily got to experience a 1967 musical comedy covering essentially the same story arc. The show has quite the pedigree. Composed by Jule Styne (Funny Girl, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) with a book by Arthur Laurents (Gypsy, West Side Story) and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green (On the Town, On the Twentieth Century), Hallelujah, Baby! won a pile of Tonys including Best Musical and Best Actress.
Now in its 24th year, the York Theatre’s Musicals in Mufti series curates rarely produced or originally underappreciated gems. One week of rehearsals and one week of performances with scripts in hand, the audience gets to experience the heart of a show. For me, it was considering this big Broadway musical dabbling in civil rights during the tumultuous 1960s. Although naturally a tad dated, Hallelujah, Baby! is filled with excellent songs. The structure of following an outwardly ageless 25 year old woman (and her two male suitors) through different eras was a clever conceit.
A full production would offer the chance to really delineate the periods, costumes and styles. In the meantime, we have this excellent short-lived off-Broadway study. As evidenced by our recent news cycle, the struggle to completely escape Jim Crow is sadly not over. Putting the show in historical perspective: this story was told by a creative team of white people in the 1960s. Fifty years later, Lin-Manuel Miranda has given us Hamilton. Where will we be in 2060? While this year’s Mufti series is a celebration of three Jule Styne shows, this entertaining production of Hallelujah, Baby! is also a rare opportunity to look back half a century and consider the Broadway community’s commentary on social issues and American history. That’s a pretty big payoff for seeing a Gerry Mac show! Next up in the Mufti series: Bar Mitzvah Boy and Subways are for Sleeping.