‘Her Hair’ weaves together compelling characters

For many folks, going to the beauty salon provides the budget equivalent of a visit to a psychiatrist’s office. Many black women confide in their hair stylists who, in turn, dish out common sense advice.

This intimate relationship provides both comic and dramatic possibilities in “And Her Hair Went With Her,” the current production at the Unicorn Theatre.

Zina Camblin’s funny but inconsistent play provides a showcase for two engaging performers, Nedra Dixon and Teisha M. Bankston. They portray two beauticians at a black salon … and all of their eccentric clientele.

Dixon plays Jasmine, the practical-minded owner of the establishment. Bankston is Angie, Jasmine’s employee, an idealistic single mom raising a 5-year-old daughter.

Jasmine is a mother hen. Angie is wannabe political activist.

Although their personalities sometimes clash, they enjoy a shared passion for the music of jazz singer Nina Simone.

As the play opens, we learn that Jasmine has won a pair of tickets to a Simone concert. She is quizzing Angie about their musical idol while holding out the possibility that Angie could get the second ticket.

The show is essentially a series of absurd comic vignettes that feature Jasmine and Angie as they relate to their customers. There is one notable exception, however, to these lighthearted scenes.

Angie, secretly researching a book she’s writing, regularly visits a women’s prison to interview an emotionally scarred inmate (Dixon) who is awaiting execution.

While these scenes are compelling, they’re also jarring. They don’t integrate well into the story’s flow and add to the play’s erratic tone.

But director Jacqueline L. Gafford draws competent performances from her players and the individual scenes are well-staged and paced.

The production values are solid, too. Set designer Jason Coale and lighting designer Alex Perry provide fitting ambience.

But like an uneven weave, “And Her Hair Went With Her” could use a bit more coiffing.

“And Her Hair Went With Her” runs through May 23 at the Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. For tickets, visit www.unicorntheatre.org or call (816) 531-7529.

LULLABY OF 42ND STREET

William Zinsser said, “The familiarity of Harry Warren’s songs is matched by the anonymity of the man... he is the invisible man, his career a prime example of the oblivion that cloaked so many writers who cranked out good songs for bad movies.”

While his name may not resonate with modern audiences, Warren was a songwriter whose output was nearly as impressive as that of his more noted contemporaries, including Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Jerome Kern.

“Lullaby of 42nd Street,” the latest revue from the Quality Hill Playhouse, is a fitting salute to a talent who had 42 songs on the top 10 list of “Your Hit Parade,” 21 of which reached No. 1.

Four gifted singers, Lauren Braton, Molly Hammer, Julie O’Rourke and James Wright, join pianist/emcee/director J. Kent Barnhart in a lighthearted overview of Warren’s eclectic work.

All of the singers are solid and make the most of their opportunities in the spotlight.

Wright lights up when “Lulu’s Back in Town,” O’Rourke claims “There Will Never Be Another You,” and Braton offers a lovely interpretation of “Serenade in Blue.”

But the showstopper belongs to Hammer, who nails a rousing rendition of “At Last.”

Steve Lennhert and Ken Remmert provide solid accompaniment on bass and drums.

While Warren may remain obscure, this melodic tribute proves that his music holds a worthy place in our memory.

“Lullaby of 42nd Street” runs through May 23 at the Quality Hill Playhouse, 303 W. 10th St., Kansas City, Mo. For tickets, visit www.qualityhillplayhouse.com or call (816) 421-1700.

THEATER NOTES

Padgett Productions will present the campy, tongue-in-cheek comic musical “Little Shop of Horrors” May 7-23 at the H&R Block City Stage in Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City, Mo.

Based on Roger Corman’s 1960 low budget movie of the same name, the show features songs by the Oscar-winning team of Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

Nick Padgett and Pamela Todd take on the leading roles and the production is under the direction of Vanessa Campagna.

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