Casting “Let My People Go” – Part 2

JoAnne Tucker / / "Let My People Go"

I excitedly told Louis that I had chosen my three cast members and wondered if he had found dancers and a drummer.  He said he had an excellent female dancer in mind but was having a problem finding a male dancer, and he definitely wanted a male dancer especially since both of my dancers were female.  “Could you find a black male dancer?” he asked in his bold way, so that it was impossible for me to say anything but “YES!”

And so the search began.  Usually when looking for a dancer I held auditions, but in this case I thought it was best to ask around for a referral.  I did so with no luck and was really getting discouraged.  As it got closer and closer to our beginning rehearsal and I still hadn’t found anyone, I happened to mention something to my daughter Julie who was a junior at Bennington College.  Much to my surprise and delight she said she might know just the right person for us.  A friend of hers was a dance major and might be available during the field-work term.

Bennington describes this term as an opportunity for every Bennington student to spend seven weeks in the winter “at work in the world pursuing jobs, internships and entrepreneurial endeavors related to their studies, their professional ambitions and their own curiosities.”

I asked Julie to find out if her friend was interested and let him know that if he was right for the piece we could offer a small salary for rehearsals and performances, and a great opportunity to help create a piece and then tour with it for at least the first month before he returned to school.  There was also the possibility of offering a place to stay, as we had an extra bedroom.  Julie would be home for the field-work term working in theater in New York City and so they could hang out together when they wanted to.

Julie confirmed that her friend, Rob Danforth, was definitely interested, and when I met him I knew that he would work out fine.  I let Louis know, and he said that Loretta Abbott would be available to work on the piece and tour with us.  He didn’t tell us much about her, other than he had worked with her often.

Publicity picture that Loretta provided us in 1989

We would learn that Loretta had worked with Louis on the 1970 Broadway show “Purlie” that he had choreographed and received a Tony nomination for, as well as the movie “The Wiz” which Louis had also choreographed. Much later we found out that Loretta had other amazing credits, including “being one of the foundation builders” of the Alvin Ailey Company, according to the current artistic director, Robert Battle (http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2016/jun/27/loretta-abbottdance-was-her-life).

Loretta dancing with Alvin Ailey in the “Wade in the Water” section of Ailey’s “Revelations” (http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2016/jun/27/loretta-abbottdance-was-her-life).

In a 1991 Avodah Newsletter, Kezia wrote this beautiful piece about Loretta:

Loretta, who has helped to sculpt our piece from its beginning three years ago, is most accurately described as a more-than-full-time professional multi-artist; dancer, actress, singer, choreographer, and lecturer-demonstrator.  She tours with her own solo program, “Women of Color”; dances with Sultrana Gospel Dance Theatre, Novantiqua Renaissance Dance Theatre, and Gotta Dance; was Marvin Gordon’s choreographic assistant; boasts Broadway and film credits and appeared last fall in “Porgy and Bess” at the Metropolitan Opera. These accomplishments (and there are many more) testify to Loretta’s ability to capture any audience, but they do not reveal her incomparable professionalism, modesty, wisdom, deep concern for family and friends (and strangers), endearing warmth and keen sense of humor.  Loretta’s standard bio fails to mention that her shoes are usually the same color as her clothes (pink, purple, orange); that she always wears at least 5 pieces of costume jewelry, at least one scarf, and that always something glitters.  And, of course, (for why else would anyone mention it), the effect is always delightful.  Loretta is a workaholic yet always finds time for others; she never rests yet maintains an unshakeable disposition and endless energy; she seldom has time to read a book but is a virtual scholarly archive of information ranging from word derivations to Jitterbug instructions. She is, simply a rare talent, an ideal colleague, a prized friend and an admirable example for us all.

It is with deep sadness that I share that Loretta passed away on June 5, 2016.

Meanwhile, back at casting . . .

As for a drummer, Louis was confident that he wouldn’t have a problem finding one.  And he didn’t, but it would be nearly the end of the rehearsal period before we would meet Leopoldo Fleming.  I never knew much about Leopoldo, so wanting to fill in some details for this blog, I Googled him and found his bio for a 2013 Staten Island Jazz Festival:

As a musician, composer, lyricist and arranger Leopoldo is a great personality with a rich and multicolored palette.  His inspiration stems from his Latin-Afro-Indian roots, his childhood in Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, his many years as highly active on the jazz and beyond music scene of New York, and his international experience from since his youth collaborating and touring with US, Caribbean and African stars all over Europe, Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Orient and Australia.  Since 1951 Leopoldo’s home is New York, however, from 1987 to 98 he had residence in Vienna, Austria, and since 2006 he has a base in Copenhagen, Denmark, too.

To read more about Leopoldo: http://www.utasi.org/jazzbio1.html.

Now our originating cast was set and rehearsals could begin.

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4 Replies to “Casting “Let My People Go” – Part 2”

  1. What a stellar group you had … I never got a chance to see it – what a pity!
    There must be a video lurking around somewhere.

    1. Yes… quite a special group. I’ll be posting a video of the original cast as part of next week’s post. And so many other talented people toured with “Let My People Go” during the 10 years it was an active part of Avodah’s repertory.

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