Taking the poetic concept of E. Patrick Johnson’s nonfiction oral history book to even more fantastical heights, D. Soyini Madison’s adaptation of Honeypot: Black Southern Women Who Love Women has found a nurturing home at Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre.
Johnson’s original concept, which imagined a vibrant guide transporting him to the land of Hymen to chronicle the histories of Black lesbians, is further enhanced with music and dance. These art forms distinguish the various locales that Dr. EPJ (Jelani Julyus), Johnson’s stage counterpart, is whisked close to by the enchanting Miss Bee (Tuesdai B. Perry). From the banks of a river to a sweaty Mississippi style Blues club to a protest meet-up, Miss Bee encourages her found family to share their stories with EPJ. These trailblazing women provide their takes on the bible and the details of their romantic relationships while also, heartbreakingly, recounting the abuse that many of them endured. As a whole, these eclectic individuals provide an intimate look into the minds and souls of a portion of society too often ignored and underestimated as a whole.
Managing a work that defies theatricality, co-directors Madison and Tim Rhoze collaborate with choreographer Marsae Mitchell, costume designer Kotryna Hilko, lighting professional Josiah Croegaert and Ethan Korvne (on sound), to create a mystical play space for the skilled performers to inhabit. These production aspects also help to enliven the monologue heavy atmosphere once Miss Bee’s acolytes start revealing their truths.
The stories themselves are often a universe expanding delight. One storyteller recounts how her mother went to great lengths to exorcise the gay out of her. Another details an almost ecstatic, sex-positive look at her affair with a randy preacher’s wife. A later account finds two ultra-sophisticated women falling in love while at a party celebrating Essence magazine. Nicely, many of the participants detail how magical the queer community is when it comes together and how intrinsic it is to use creativity and joy to develop traditions outside of the mainstream world.
Of course, there is darkness mingling with the light here. The shared recollections of incest and violence result in one of the show’s most powerful moments between Julyus and actress Jasmine Robertson, who often imbues the stage with a magnificent presence while playing a wide variety of interviewees.
This section, though, is one of the few incidents where the show falters a bit. While infinitely important to be acknowledged, it is oddly placed within the show’s two act structure and surely would have been just as effective with a bit of judicious editing. There are other minor stumbles here and there, as well, with timing issues occasionally marring the comprehension of certain events.
Still the cast, as a whole, is almost breathtakingly charming and they often create hauntingly rhythmic tableaus with their synchronized movements and powerful choral vocalizing. One looks forward to seeing how this vitally essential work, coproduced here in conjunction with Northwestern University, will morph and change over time. Its essential beauty and the significant representation it provides gay women of color definitely makes it worthy of frequent revivals and continued recognition.
Honeypot runs through June 1st at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in Evanston, 927 Noyes Street. More information is available at https://wirtz.northwestern.edu/honeypot.