I Just Stopped By to See the Man

I-m James Taylor and this is Theater Talk on KCRW.

I JUST STOPPED BY TO SEE THE MAN. Jeffreys is clearly intoxicated with the blues, and appears to be well versed in the music-s free structure, plaintive lyrics, and most of all: its colorful, almost mythical, lore. But as Jesse, the play-s main character makes clear: "In order to sing the blues, you got to know the blues" In order to sing the blues, you got to have the blues." Jeffreys and the people at the Geffen Playhouse certainly know the blues, and they may even have the blues, but they haven-t been able to stage the blues, as the music becomes only background score to a crude, rather conventional dramatic scenario.

THE MOD SQUAD, but he started his career on stage and his performance at the Geffen is a welcome return to the theater. Williams- gravely voice combined with his wild, gray hair gives him instant credibility and if it weren-t for the banality of many of his lines, one could forget he was "acting" at all.

HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, he is unpersuasive here as a Mick Jagger clone. Granted, Leitch is given rotten lines like "I love guitars, they-re like girls to me," but his presence fails to create the illusion that he could have entranced thousands of rock fans, let alone this one blues musician.

I JUST STOPPED BY TO SEE THE MAN may be a temptation for both theater and music fans, but simply listening to an authentic blues record evokes without the help of actors, lights, or sets the world of the Mississippi Delta in a much more direct, profound fashion.

I JUST STOPPED BY TO SEE THE MAN runs at the Geffen Theater through October 19th.