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A CurtainUp Review
Shida: A New Musical
Based on a true story with little dialogue and no intermission, Shida's story evolves through the music sung by Bayardelle in various characterizations. At the top of the show, a woman saunters down the aisle from the back of the house, singing "Let My Light Shine." This is Shida, in the grip of drug addiction. The light she needs comes from the crack pipe in her hand. The story flashes back to Shida as an an imaginative, outgoing nine-year-old living with her mother and excited to be starting a new school. With motherly pride, Mrs. Brown gives Shida two treasured bracelets once owned by her grandmother. The child, feeling on top of the world, is jittery with enthusiasm, ready for her new adventure in the fourth grade at Saint Mary's All Girls Catholic School. She meets Jackie at recess, sassy and street-wise, who brags, "Everybody calls me "The Double-Dutch Girl" because I am the best jumper in this school. First, zero, God, no higher! Come on, turn faster!" Shida is captivated and the two become best friends. Her teacher, Ms. Small, sees and encourages Shida's potential and enters her in a spelling bee. On the night before the spelling bee, however, Shida's innocence is shattered when she is raped by her mother's boyfriend. "Uncle Steve" continues to abuse her for five years and at age 14, she is pregnant. Still a child and struggling with indecision, Shida loses her zeal for school although she remains a strong enough student to get a scholarship to NYU. When she dallies with an abusive high school lesbian, Jackie scolds, "How can you love when you don't love yourself? You give all that you have/ But don't respect yourself/ Tony gotta go." In college, a boyfriend, Joe, brings Shida into the world of drugs. Bayardelle displays Shida's essential strength through the difficult years as her life continues to spiral down. Her father, whom she never met, has another family, her mother dies of cancer and faith deserts her. She cries out, "What kind of God would let a grown man rape a little girl? What kind of God would give a beautiful, beautiful lady cancer? She was all I had. You call yourself a God of love. Really? What kind of God Are You?" In the grasp of addiction, Shida moves off the stage to challenge and threaten the audience. Yet, through it all, two steady influences save her life: writing and Jackie, the childhood friend who remains in Shida's corner, calling her out on her bad choices, loving and supporting her. With fast-paced direction by Andy Sandberg, the engine driving this production is Jeannette Bayardelle, a package of varied body, vocal and facial expressions. The few external props include a shawl for Shida's mother. Eyeglasses and Bayardelle's pursed mouth evoke Mrs. Small, and as Jackie, Bayardelle is totally cool. The songs mingle with the sounds of the streets. Charlie Corcoran designed a set with opaque panels to screen Jesse Vargas on keyboard, Patrick Carmichael on drums, David Matos on guitar and Leo Traversa on bass. To one side is a fire escape where Shida goes to smoke her crack pipe. Nuanced lighting by Grant Yeager adds to the characterizations. In this world premiere of her emotionally gripping tour-de-force, Jeannette Bayardelle grabs hard and takes you on her shattering journey from horror to survival. Shida is not easy to watch but the in-your-face reality and passion is worth the ride.
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