Postcards from Improbable Places

HOODOO LOVE. Last month Marlene and I went to see the Hard Bargain Players perform Hoodoo Love by Katory Hall at the Theatre in the Woods in Accokeek, Maryland. Set during the Great Depression in Memphis, Tennessee, Hoodoo Love is about a fiery young woman named Toulou who runs away from her Mississippi home to pursue her dreams of becoming a blues singer. She falls in love with a rambling bluesman named the Ace of Spades, who gives her a crash course in the blues — unrequited love. Toulou enlists the help of Candylady, the local Hoodoo madame, who fixes up a hoodoo potion that hexes Ace. But when her brother Jib comes up to Memphis to start a church, he proves to be an obstacle that stands in the way of Toulou’s dreams and her heart. 

It was as much fun to watch the play as to hear the witty comments from a very vocal and engaged Afro-American audience. The staging of the play was impressive in its simplicity and beauty. This is the sketch of the stage I did a few minutes before the performance.