On the stage is a man, lying down. He gets up, and men and women in 1920's clothes and tuxedos, help him get dressed. After the sound of drums comes a blues tune on the guitar. A voice speaks: "The slave will be punished by death on his master's declaration. (...) No Blacks in the room. We tolerate you on stage." In a few minutes, we are transported from the cotton plantations in the United States to the Cotton Club, a concert and dance hall in New York's Harlem district. Cab Calloway, one of the club's stars, sings "Minnie the Moocher" and its cheerful refrain, "Hidehidehidehi / Hodehodeho," the first of the songs of Black Legends, on stage at the Bobino Theater, in Paris.
With nearly 40 scenes, and as many songs, Black Legends is a tribute to the great performers, the great tunes, and the evolution of Afro-American music (from gospel to hip-hop, through jazz, soul and funk), with, as a common thread, the stages of emancipation of the descendants of slaves, the affirmation of their identity and the fights led by men and women, anonymous and key personalities.
Rather than resorting to a vague plot with characters for moving from one song to another, they have preferred – a more interesting and well-conducted choice – to use excerpts from speeches (Martin Luther King, Barack Obama etc.), to give historical references via the various performers of the show and to offer visual elements underlining the social significance of many songs, in an imagery put into play for its evocative power. In white tunics and pointed hoods, members of the Ku Klux Klan move forward while the song "Strange Fruit", immortalized by Billie Holiday in 1939, plays – these strange fruits hanging from the trees being the bodies of tortured people whose only fault was the color of their skin.
Educational message
There are protest signs during "A Change is Gonna Come", recorded by Sam Cooke in January 1964, a song of hope for change. The Civil Rights Act, signed on July 2, 1964, which was to end racial segregation, among other things, long met resistance. And raised fists for James Brown's 1968 song "I'm Black and I'm Proud," a pride anthem. An African-American soldier sent to Vietnam is surrounded by hippies with long hair and afro cuts during "What's Going On" (1971), by Marvin Gaye, about the horror of combat experienced by his brother.
The whole troupe, 14 women and men singing and dancing, and the orchestra of six performers (trumpet, saxophone, keyboards, guitar, bass and drums) skillfully recreate a repertoire that is generally well known. A system of scaffolding, where the orchestra stands, on two floors, and light effects make a house, church, grandstand and music hall stage appear, among others.
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