The Berlin Blues,  the latest theatre production by Ojibway playwright  Drew Hayden Taylor, premiered in March at the  Native Voices of the Autry Center  in Los Angeles.  Directed by  Randy Reinholz  and starring  Robert Vestal, Gil Birmingham  and  Delanna Studi, the comedy follows the happenings on a Canadian Reserve when a German conglomerate opens a “Ojibway World” theme park.  So we wonder…is the concept of   “Dances with Wolves: The Musical”, funny?  Blue Corn Comics pop culturist  Rob Schmidt  was there. Enjoy his review and take a look at his fabulous photo album from the performance. 

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By Rob Schmidt  

Bright and entertaining,  The Berlin Blues  is Drew Hayden Taylor’s fourth  in a series of blues-titled plays.  It aims to show how Natives reconcile their traditional values with modern life without selling out.  Along the way it satirizes the many ways Native cultures get peddled:  from Disney films to Indian casinos to New Age brotherhood. 

Inspired by national writer-hero Karl May, a German conglomerate offers to build a $70 million theme park on a humble Canadian reserve.  Although the Germans assure the Natives of their good intent, their vision is no more accurate than May’s was.  It’s clear to us, if not to them, that their goal is exploitation, not empowerment. 

The Germans and their scheme are played like big cartoons. You can tell Taylor enjoyed thinking of all the ways Anglos might exploit Native cultures. For instance:          

• A medicine Ferris wheel         
• Bumper canoes        
• A dog sled ride         
• An animatronic Ojibway Indian        
• A four-story teepee video arcade        
• The Hideaway (“Haida way”) Hotel         
• The Longhouse of Pancakes 

The tidal wave of development threatens the peace of two pairs of Natives, who provide the play’s dramatics.  Will Angie the activist sell out for a wedding ring, or will Andrew the cop see that there’s more to life than a cushy job?  Will Reinhart seduce Donalda the official with his flattery, or will she see that Trailer is the real thing under his comic exterior? 

The standout of the Los Angeles cast is Robert Vestal (Cherokee), who plays the goofy but lovable Trailer.  Vestal goes from portraying a red-trash slacker to a Hollywood-style impresario and is convincing as both.  Among the others, Gil Birmingham is quietly effective as Andrew, the ensemble’s everyman. 

Vestal also provides the musical highlight:  Trailer’s on-the-spot invention of an ode to John “Dances with Wolves” Dunbar.  Another rouser is the “Lakota” number that opens the second act.  For some reason it reminds one of the Village People. 

Taylor has written for TV and it shows.  He gives his characters a lot of smart, witty lines seldom heard from the mouths of Natives.  These jokes and asides ring true.  Even if you didn’t know Taylor’s Ojibway background, you’d believe he knows people like these. 

“I like changing the dominant culture’s perception of Native people,” Taylor said in an LASplash.com  review.  “The perception is of the tragic or stoic Indian, but they don’t see them as having a sense of humor.” 

Unfortunately, the cartoonish plot doesn’t quite mesh with the realistic characters.   It’s as if the Cheers  or Seinfeld  crew had to deal with an invasion of little green men.  You can’t take the threat of Ojibway World seriously, so the drama suffers.  By the time the plot collapses, you may find yourself shrugging. 

The Berlin Blues  title is a bit misleading since the play has little to do with Berlin or the blues.  An upbeat title such as “Welcome to Ojibway World” might’ve worked better.  People may skip this  show because they fear it’s a melancholy ruminiation on life, not the sprightly sitcom it is.  That would be a mistake. 

Rob’s rating:  7.5 of 10   

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 Rob Schmidt's Photo Album from "The Berlin Blues" 

Of course, we beseech you to check out Rob’s blog  Newspaper Rock,  which you will see if you look to our righthand column.