A Tribute To Big Mama Thornton at Joe's Pub
A Tribute To Big. Mama is Conceived and Performed by the Poet/Performer/Singer/Visual Artist
Pamela Sneed.
It is an enormously moving Cabaret (Queer-Focused) about the Black blues-legend Big Mama Thornton.
The story is being told through music, spoken word and monologue which explain the history of the
birth of blues. That music was often stolen by the white singers/performers such as Janis Joplin and
Elvis Presley and many more.
Pamela Sneed's dynamic performance and rhythmic singing and the revelation
of the historical facts about racism towards black artists set the record straight. Most of them never
made money and died broke.
We learn the personal history of Big Mama Thornton and of her early life, how she started to sing.
Big Mama learned to sing from her mother who was a gospel singer and her father who was a preacher
in the church. She sang in small venues as the opening act for Big stars and eventually won a prize and
became the feature performer.
After singing a few melodious songs, Pamela breaks the fourth wall, take her hat off and tell us about
her own history.
She came to New York from Boston to study and reclaim her roots and Identity as well as Big
Mama's struggle through the times and reclaimed Big Mama and herself as proud lesbian who were
bold and thrilled to reclaim the origin of being queer black singers who gave birth to the blues long
before it was considered the part of a politically correct list.
The most brilliant performance by Pamela Sneed with great humor, honesty and energy excited the
whole house. Audience were with her all the way rocking and roaring.
REVIEWED BY
BINA SHARIF
ATCA MEMBER
Editor/Publisher: artsinternational.blogspot.com
Email: binashariff@gmail.com
Mobile: 212-260-6207
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment