After my male friends and I saw Guys on Ice at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, we made plans for a couples’ night to return to see Nina Simone: Four Women. A couple weeks ago, our four-couple group met there for another great night of theater.

Simone was a singer, songwriter and civil activist. Initially intending to be a concert pianist, Simone started her career playing piano at an Atlantic City nightclub. When she was told she had to sing, her career as a jazz vocalist was launched.

A co-production with Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Nina Simone is really a play with music, as opposed to a musical. Either way, Simone’s most powerful Civil Rights anthems are the backbone to this production.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Nina Simone: Four Women. Pictured Gabrielle Lott-Rogers, Brittney Mack, Alexis J. Roston, Toni Martin and Matthew Harris. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Set on the day of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church bombing by white supremacists, Nina Simone features Simone and three black women visitors. While relating their own struggles, each urge Simone to be more pro-active in the Civil Rights movement. Their individual performances were powerful, but their harmonies were the highlight for me.

Nina Simone left her mark in music and history. Nina Simone does a great job showing her impact in both areas.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater presents Nina Simone: Four Women. Pictured: Alexis J. Roston and company. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

It’s a bit jarring thinking this was set just a few years before I was born. Race relations have come a long way since then, thanks to brave people like Simone. Nina Simone would make an excellent field trip for students studying the Civil Rights Movement. It might also expose her wonderful songs to a new generation of fans.

— John Wroblewski, online writer