Jelly’s Last Jam
Book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson
Directed by Tyrone Robinson
Through April 26, 2026, at Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol
(215) 785-0100 or brtstage.org
Review by An Nichols for the Broad Street Review 4/7
…The production elements succeed: Dr. Yatande Whitney Hunter and Dewitt Fleming Jr provide smoking-hot group choreography that fills the stage. Industrial influenced scenic design by Jason Simms, Levonne Lindsay’s imaginative period costumes, and lights by Alan Edwards all kill…
Director Tyrone Robinson (check out his recent interview on the BSR Podcast) continues to excel at staging group ensembles with picture-perfect tableaus. He stays true to the spirit of the original Broadway production, but he takes a light touch through the first act on Morton’s colorist statements. I felt Robinson was being careful not to upset the audience with internal racism during the first act. But these statements resonate harder during the second act.
