A well-managed tribute about a tragic pop figure
The accent. The attitude. The red bustier. The tattoos. The heels. The black trench coat. The hair. Above all, the voice.
All these elements are well represented in “Amy Winehouse: Back From Black,” which brings the British bad-girl pop singer — who died from alcohol poisoning in 2011 at the age of 27 — back to life for a couple of saucy, debauched hours of powerful pop ballads.
In the show at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury through Sunday, Winehouse doesn’t explain herself or express regret or provide a distanced perspective on her mercurial music career. She sings and snarls and recreates some of her biggest successes and debacles.
Winehouse’s tragically shortened life and brief pop career (of just two albums) makes a bio-musical about her both manageable and comprehensive. Unlike shows about, say, The Four Seasons or Carole King or Motown, whole decades don’t have to be boiled down to a few lines of dialogue, and there’s no need for medleys.
“Back From Black” offers 15 separate songs: seven from the iconic “Back to
Black” album, a couple from Winehouse’s debut “Frank,” her rendition of the Zutons’ “Valerie” (originally released on a Mark Ronson album) and other covers or obscurities. It’s a good mix with some surprises (the old chestnut “Sunny Side of the Street”) and some numbers where the lyrics are used to strong dramatic effect as they crisscross with the singer’s real-life problems.
Winehouse’s troubles include alcoholism, bulimia, self-harm, drug abuse and difficult romantic relationships. Songs such as “Rehab,” “Love is a Losing Game” and “You Know I’m No Good” do not need to be tweaked at all to provide a suitable soundtrack for the singer’s anecdotes and confessions.
“Back From Black” was created by married theater-makers Sarah Knapp (who directed and also wrote the expansive monologues humbly credited in the program as “continuity”) and Steven M. Alper (who, as music director, crafted the song arrangements and leads the onstage seven-piece band as its pianist).
Winehouse is played with reverence by Alex Renée. She does a good job with both her singing and speaking voices, hitting their extremes without going over the top. She can also seemingly do a major costume change in a split second.
For a show about a famously reckless and self-destructive performer, “Back From Black” is formalized, straightforward and non-threatening despite the occasional cascade of swearwords. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The show becomes about the songs and about knowing that Renée will get through them with style and grace. This is a fine way to pay tribute. Not every show about a volatile rock star has to be “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Knapp and Alper are smart to surround Renée with a larger-than-expected backing band of seven players, three of whom make up a blistering horn section, anchored by the steady, admirably understated guitar played by Brendan Saadat.
There are even a couple of backup singers who double as supporting characters in the between-songs dramatic segments. Joshua Nacionales and Moses Jacob — playing Zalon and Heshima Thompson, the real-life brothers who backed Winehouse on tour — perk up some of the numbers with strong harmonies and smooth dance moves. Unfortunately, their characters are woefully underwritten, and the pair spends much of the show in the corner shaking their heads at Amy’s latest misfortunes.
That’s not the only part of “Back From Black” that needs work. There’s an unnecessary intermission just an hour into the show, which kills the momentum that has just started building. The second half of the show is further stalled by a too-long jam so Winehouse can introduce everyone in the band. Some of the narratives are underwhelming and whole sections are pretty thin. The set, which evokes the cemetery setting from the “Back to Black” video, is inexcusably tacky.
And yet ... those songs! Those clothes! Those shoes! That hair! Anybody paying tribute to Winehouse has plenty of tools with which to captivate, and this show offers strong musical backing and plenty of informative patter, bringing her the Amy Winehouse legacy back in some semblance of style.
“Amy Winehouse: Back From Black” runs through Sunday at Seven Angels Theatre, 1 Plank Road, Waterbury. Performances are at 8 p.m. Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $39. sevenangelstheatre.org.