In conversation with Jackie Davis
We chatted with Blues for an Alabama Sky director Jackie Davis about directing at Trinity Rep, the Harlem Renaissance, and more…
How would you describe Blues for an Alabama Sky to someone unfamiliar with the play?
It feels like an old Hollywood film to me. It has intrigue, danger, hopes, and dreams. It’s also a treat for the eyes with fabulous costumes, and for the ears with beautiful period music. It is like a slow, sexy, and dangerous jazz melody.
This play was published 30 years ago and set nearly 100 years in the past, yet it has exploded in popularity over the last several years. In what ways do you feel the themes of this play are relevant to today’s audience?
I joked to myself recently that if this play were set in modern times, Angel and Guy would be social media influencers, and Delia would be a politician fighting for women’s rights. It’s now 2025 and women’s rights are still a topic of conversation and concern; rights for the LGBTQIA community and people of color are slipping away by the millisecond; doctors are at risk of losing their licenses for providing necessary care to women who need access to abortion for whatever reason; and in some states, women are being arrested for miscarrying babies! We are in crazy and uncertain times…times not very dissimilar to the time period of Blues.
The Roaring ’20s have literally crashed into the Great Depression of the ’30s. The Harlem Renaissance is coming to an end as artists’ finances are drying out. Times are uncertain, lives have changed drastically. African Americans who trekked from the Southern states during the Great Migration to Harlem and experienced the taste of success are now forced to find means for survival in these cruel times.
How do you hope the audience connects with the characters’ struggles and triumphs, and what conversations do you hope to inspire?
There are so many reasons to root for these characters! They’re all ahead of their time. Angel is a survivor. She may seem cold and calculating — but look at the times she was in! There weren’t many options for a single 30-something Black woman. She found and made a way for herself. I always see the end of play as the beginning of the next one for Angel. She’s so layered.
Guy is a LOVE. And another survivor. He will make his opportunities happen not only with his obvious talent, but also his fierce determination and belief in himself. And he’s tough — he knows how to handle himself in a brawl! Unfortunately, homophobia was just as present then as it is now…
Delia has gumption. Don’t be fooled by her seeming innocence. She’s smart where it counts and she gets things done! How huge of an accomplishment it is to align yourself, as a Black woman with the nation’s foremost feminist and an up-and-coming powerhouse minister to successfully provide health and family planning services to poor Black women in Harlem? Delia did that! And, of course, Sam. He’s affable, he’s a rascal and rapscallion — but of all the right sorts. He’s brave, wears his heart on his sleeve, and he will do anything for his friends. He’s a true Renaissance man, and we love him.
And Leland. Oh boy. Leland. If this were an orchestra, Leland is the note out of tune. He only knows what he knows and can only operate from his vantage point. How do we not make him just “the bad guy?” It’s ok if that’s how he is perceived, but he also has heartbreak, and reasons for the way he is.
Reading the script, one of the things that resonates is how realistic the friendships between characters felt. As a director, how do you work with casts to cultivate authentic relationships on stage?
The thing I’ve learned over the years I’ve spent working with Trinity Rep is that we know how to put a room together. The artists we invite to work with us come fully prepared to play! And by play, I mean WORK. We have great relationships with the actors cast to help us tell this story. As a director, I recognize that I am actor first. I speak the language; I know the journey and I trust the room. I strive to make the room one that gives each player the space and grace they need in order to do the work. We cultivate relationships in the room as part of our process.
How do you balance historical accuracy with creative storytelling in depicting the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Depression?
That’s the beauty of art, and the human condition! These are all probable circumstances happening to beautiful human beings. These are true conditions of time in history and we find five archetypes of folks and put them in the world and watch to see how they make it work.
Are there any artists from the Harlem Renaissance that informed your direction of this work (or even artists you admire in general)? Josephine Baker, for example, is referenced often in the show.
The Harlem Renaissance was such an important part of our history as Black folks here in this country. We thrived financially and artistically. Harlem Renaissance literature flourished among a group of writers including Langston Hughes. There was such a sense of Black pride that still resonates with today. We celebrate Langston Hughes here in Providence through the Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading organization — who recently celebrated their 30th anniversary this past February.
Josephine Baker is one of my personal heroines. She was fierce and steadfast in creating her success both here and abroad. Not to mention all of the things that she was, including a spy! I have been told many times that I resemble her, and I recently learned that she passed away on April 12, right before her big American comeback. April 12th happens to be my birthday. So I feel a special connection to her.
