Jeanette Bayardelle is no stranger to starring roles, with powerhouse productions such as Hair, The Color Purple and Girl From the North Country all under her belt, and roles on Broadway and national tours aplenty, we are very lucky to have her in London and the intimate venue of the Vaults. What makes Shida The Musical stand out from Bayardelle’s other achievements is that this is her story, or more accurately the story of her best friend in which she plays a supporting role.
But her role in creating Shida is anything but supporting, not only does she play every character from Shida at various life stages to her mother and teacher, but also Jackie, the best friend that is based on Bayardelle herself. Not content with taking on every role in the musical, Bayerdelle is also the writer of the book, music and lyrics, so we are left in no doubt that this is a hugely personal story, and one that has been painstakingly crafted over a number of years.
While its based on a true story, it’s one we are all familiar with; a straight A student gets herself in to trouble, loses everything she’s worked for, and needs to rely on the help of friends to turn her life back around. It would be dismissed as unoriginal if we didn’t know the reality behind it, and if Bayerdelle weren’t such a passionate performer.
The narrative gallops through at a ferocious pace; running at just seventy minutes there is simply no time to explore the various characters or their motivations any further. Shida has to grow up quickly, so that is reflected in the pacing, but the characters are so interesting and with so much scope, you find yourself just longing for a little more depth.
The score is a soulful and stunning mix of Gospel, Rock and R&B, Bayerdelle certainly showed off what she is capable of belting out some incredible notes, but the true beauty often came in the gentler ballads which reminded us of the heartache in Shida’s story. These songs are wonderfully written and feel like they’ve come straight out of a Broadway hit, yet like the narrative, they always seem to end too quickly.
The onstage band, led by Musical Director Noam Galperin bring a superbly visceral feel to each of the numbers, ‘When I Grow Up’ feels modern and hopeful, while ‘What Kind of God?’ is a deeply emotional look in to Shida’s inner thoughts. Within the cavernous Vaults, the production sounds fantastic, a testament to Chris Drohan’s sound design.
Director, Andy Sandberg, who also directed the off-Broadway production of Shida, has ensured that Bayerdelle doesn’t race too far in front, her passion for the piece is infectious and it’s obvious how much she wants to share it with the audience.
As it stands Shida The Musical is a fantastic showcase of a wonderful talent, as a writer and performer Jeanette Bayardelle assuredly holds all the aces. But perhaps it’s too good for this kind of set up, there’s a certain charm to a one-woman musical, but with a score like this the audience would definitely appreciate more, whether that be a bigger cast, longer running time to explore the story more deeply, or both.
