Why you should Follow Me to Nellie's

I admit it. You may have seen me entering a house of ill repute last night. This house is run by a very respectable lady. The girls are beautiful, a little troubled, but beautiful, and so is the setting which transports its guests across time and space. It’s a fine old house for an age-old profession. But there is something decidedly new afoot, which accounts for all the drama.

By the way, I went with my wife and two of our closest friends.

Follow Me to Nellie’s is the first full production of the new theatrical year at Premiere Stages in Kean University. For me, it furthered the theme introduced just last month by the staged reading of Egyptian Song. In both plays, song expresses the yearning of the spirit for something more.

Na Rose, the blues singer in Follow Me to Nellie’s, says it this way: “In my stomach. In my heart. Like it’s gonna burst with some kinda longin’…I just feel… full. Overflowin with want. Like I’m dreamin somethin that may never come…”

The year is 1955; the place is Natchez, Mississippi – the deep south – all of the historical factors we know so well are at play. A new arrival in the city, with plans for change, triggers events. His arrival occasions a view for us of a world in which the madam's understanding of the social fabric is as intricate as the patterns we see in the oriental rugs on her floor, as detailed as the carpentry work the set designer has so carefully achieved.

But everything's about to change, or is it?

Written by Dominique Morriseau and directed by John Wooten, the play stars a cast of eight.

Lynda Gravatt reins as the indomitable madam, Nellie.

Kelly McReary brings her impressive charm and her voice to the part of Na Rose.

Warner Miller returns after his Premiere Stages starring role in Lost Boy Found in Whole Foods with another commanding performance.

Harold Surratt, just off a run in Cormac McCarthy's Sunset Limited, shows wisdom and measure as Rollo.

Adam Couperthwaite gives us enough vulnerability to make his character dimensional and convincing.

The three ladies of the night -- Michelle Wilson, Ley Smith and Nyahale Allie -- present like the Three Graces of Greek Mythology, effectively displaying their differences, like a personality study.

Sometimes a script throws down a role where the complexity offers singular potential; Ms. Allie picks up this baton and runs with it.

There are 8 more performances of Follow Me to Nellie's through July 31: 8:00PM Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and 3:00PM Sundays.
Box office: 908-737-7469 www.kean.edu/premierestages