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Friday, March 20, 2015

In Context: The Tallest Tree in the Forest

Daniel Beaty celebrates legendary performer and political activist Paul Robeson in The Tallest Tree in the Forest at the BAM Harvey Theater March 22—29. Context is everything, so get even closer to the show with this curated selection of articles, interviews, and videos related to the production. Once you've seen it, help us keep the conversation going by telling us what you thought below.

Program Notes

The Tallest Tree in the Forest (PDF)

Read

Comic
BAM Illustrated: The United States vs. Paul Robeson (BAM blog)
Illustrator Nathan Gelgud looks at Robeson's radical politics and turbulent relationship with the US government.

Article
The Many Faces of Paul Robeson (BAM blog)
An overview of the many hats Robeson wore as a public figure and outspoken champion of peace and justice.

Article
Daniel Beaty on Acting vs. Writing Paul Robeson (Backstage.com)
“We don’t even have an African-American superstar to the magnitude he was. Honestly, the closest in terms of awareness in culture across the globe would be, like, Barack Obama or Michael Jackson.”

Website
Robeson in All God's Chillun's Got Wings (PBS.org)
Robeson played the male lead in Eugene O'Neill's controversial play about an interracial marriage.


Look & Listen

Video
Daniel Beaty on The Tallest Tree in the Forest (Guggenheim)
Excerpts from Beaty's presentation and discussion of the piece at Works & Process at the Guggenheim in 2013.

Audio
Paul Robeson 1958 interview (KPFA)
Robeson's life, in his own words.

Video
"Ol' Man River"
Robeson's iconic rendition of the Showboat song.

Now your turn...

So how did you enjoy the show? Likes? Dislikes? Surprises? Tell us what's on your mind in the comments below.

21 comments:

  1. I had a front row seat, and had a chance to observe a genius of craft at work. Daniel Beaty was an entire cast in one person. He is a gifted actor, tackling one of the giants of the 20th Century, and he absolutely smashed it. Fabulous show; if you're lucky to catch Daniel Beaty now, you'll be able to say, "I remember him when..." Stellar performance.

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  2. My family and I just saw "The Tallest Tree In The Forest". WOW! Daniel Beaty's brilliance took our breath away.




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  3. Beaty was fabulous. A diversity of talent .... perhaps similar to his subject, Robeson! His capacity to hold a dialogue between multiple characters as a solo performers was not something we can remember experiencing. We were blown away.

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  4. It was a great show. Beaty improved as the show went on. His voice is amazing. It was very informative and gripping. Not a light show for sure. I cried the entire second half.
    The effects of the back projection of footage was a nice addition and I loved having the accompanying musicians on the stage with him.

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  5. Absolutely awesome performance at BAM Harvey Theater 3/22, I cannot recommend this show highly enough.

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  6. My friends and I enjoyed the performance and the selected content about Robeson's life. I would definitely recommend seeing this play.

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  7. Fantastic performance and a thought provoking slice of history in all its complexity. Still so relevant to today's political and social dilemmas. A must see.

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  8. Unbelievable acting to tell a story that's simultaneously historical and timely.

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  9. What a stolid, awful show.

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  10. I loved the show and was very impressed by Beaty and his ability to play so many parts. This show should be seem by a wider audience. Congratulations to BAM for bringing it to NY.

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  11. A fabulous informative show, Daniel Beaty was just soo wonderful, animated and what a voice.
    A real treat.

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  12. Bam should extend this show! This is the best theater I have seen in a long time. Paul Robeson was an important figure in my family. Thank you, Mr Beaty for giving him the attention he deserves.

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  13. My husband and I enjoyed Beaty's performance immensely, as well as the writing, music, and staging of this show. I agree that the show should be extended and more extensively publicized.

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  14. I cannot say enough good things about the performance, the theater, and even my seat. Beaty carries on all conversations by himself --conversations with everyone from his wife to Harry Truman and his impressions of the U.S., Russian and French press as well as his languages including Yiddish are sometimes amusing and sometimes appropriately tragic. There is no need for other actor/parties to be present! Such a fascinating period in our history --a favorite of mine --late 40's …McCarthyism and the House Un-American Committee in full swing with Paul Robeson's life as a Black person in the middle of all of it. Oh, and I failed to mention his beautiful voice --yes, he sings too!

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  15. I'm afraid to say that this was a very poor piece of theatre. Badly written, and lacking in any kind of drama or emotion, it resembled the Paul Robeson wikipedia page joined up with silly voices and some songs. Poor like a school play than a serious piece of writing, more like a singer than an actor. I've never had a better laugh than listening to Daniel's attempt at a Welsh accent via Cape Town. Why is BAM putting on such a poor piece ? Seriously poor standard with very little to commend it, sorry. Must do better.

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  16. I have had the excellent fortune to know Paul Robeson Jr over a short period, as his foundation contributed significant financial support to a project of mine some 25 years ago, in the late 80s, and I reciprocated by attending and supporting some of his fundraising events.

    I have read most of the biographies written about Paul Robeson. I have original printings of "Paul Robeson, Negro" by Eslanda Goode Robeson, aka Elsie, and "Here I Stand" by Paul.

    I was looking forward to seeing how well this artistic creation would be able to do justice to the political thought processes that Paul had to engage in, and to the issues of gender justice that Elsie had to confront way before those issues fully arrived on the national stage in the early 70s.

    I have too many thoughts and feelings about this work to put down here. Suffice to say, the authors and performers did a heroic job of untangling some of the major distorted myths about Robeson's political positions that seem at first glance contradictory, contradictory with the help of agents who have a stake in tarnishing this artist's - notwithstanding his flaws - singularly principled stands.

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  17. Btw, the script got Peekskill events wrong. The concert was scheduled for August 27, but rioters successfully shut it down, and the concert was postponed until September 4. That concert was still marred by the presence of a sniper's nest that was flushed out before the show started.

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  18. It takes someone special to try to bring Paul Robeson to the stage again. Paul Robeson, Mr. Beaty is not. But, Mr. Beaty did convey the power and compelling energy and heartbreaking tragedy of Paul Robeson's life, gifts and struggle. For anyone who did not know Paul Robeson, Mr. Beaty gave a clear idea and even some thrills in his performance. For those of us who did know Paul Robeson, Mr. Beaty's performance was a strong one and the music, visuals, and historical facts reminded us of the incredible suffering and courage of our people, both African American and caucasian, for civil rights.

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  19. I thought this was awful. Leaden, pious, preachy self-congratulatory, amateurish, utterly lacking in theatricality.

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  20. Thank you Daniel Beaty & BAM, for presenting the story of larger-than-life Paul Robeson. Now more than ever, we need to know about people like him and I highly recommend this play. My only criticism is that the beginning was a bit slow, but the development of the characters became stronger as the play unfolded and I found the second half completely riveting.

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