First performed in 2000, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin was written by Kirsten Childs, a former Broadway dancer and traces the life of Viveca (also known as Bubbly) from the early 1960s in Los Angeles to the mid-1990s in New York City. Nikki M. James takes on the part originated by LaChanze and is excellent as usual. The course is set for us to watch a girl grow up and deal with racial prejudices from playing with her white doll to a cop profiling her friend to Director Bob asking her to play a scene “less white.” Yes, Director Bob is a caricature of Bob Fosse (amusingly embodied by Josh Davis).
By intermission, I found the show very cartoonish which I assume was on purpose. Bubbly could possibly be a distant relative to You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown both in terms of tone and simplistic life teachings, with dashes of edginess added to make it seem less, well … bubbly. Then in Act II, we audition for shows, have sex (Julius Thomas III, gorgeous R&B vocals), listen to Granny’s advice and conclude with a serious revelation. A reasonably good version of so-so material.