Joe Beckett, of Bristol, is no stranger to picking up a guitar and playing to a live audience.
Since recognizing his musical talents in the fourth grade, he’s performed on stage with a variety of bands, including an acoustic duo with Feasterville’s Krista Doran, whom The Times previously spoke to regarding her benefit for organ donor Michael March. The two best friends entertained at the event, which took place in October 2021 at Stars & Stripes Harley Davidson in Langhorne.
Despite a lifetime of experience in front of a crowd, Beckett, now 61, is feeling the nerves as he tries his hand at something brand new – theater.
On March 18-19 and 25-26, at 8 p.m., Beckett is making his acting debut in David Robson’s play Blues In My Soul, presented by City Theater Company in Wilmington, Delaware.
The show chronicles the real-life journey of Lonnie Johnson, a legendary jazz and blues musician who influenced the likes of Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, T-Bone Walker, Django Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, B.B. King and Eric Clapton. In 1959, when local DJ Chris learns that Johnson is working a low-wage job at a Philadelphia hotel, he urges him to rediscover his passion for music. However, Johnson is reluctant to return to an industry that exploited and segregated his work before casting him aside.
Beckett is taking on the leading role of Johnson, something that’s simultaneously exciting and terrifying.
After meeting actor Righteous Jolly, who plays Chris in the show, Beckett was informed by Jolly that he was the perfect person to portray Johnson. He agreed to audition and ended up landing the gig.
“That’s when my nerves went through the roof because I’d never acted before. They sent the script and it’s a two-man play, so it’s just me and Righteous through the whole play,” said Beckett. “Again, I have no experience whatsoever.”
However, Beckett was willing to take on the mission of not only learning the ins and outs of acting, but also Lonnie’s unique musicality.
“That’s a challenge playing his style of music. From what I’m used to, it’s night and day. It’s totally different. I grew up with pretty much everything, but not as much blues. He’s like a really old-school blues guy. But I’m learning as I go. There’s about seven or eight songs I have to play of his music,” said Beckett. “I’ve just been practicing on my own and trying to figure it out. I’ve got them down pretty good.”
So far, learning Johnson’s music has been the easiest part of the job. The hardest part? Remembering the 60-page script, all while bringing the late musician to life on stage.
“At first, we just had to read it. Then they added the element of acting and putting emphasis on certain parts of the text, the feel of the emotion, just getting into the character and the emotion he was probably feeling at this time,” said Beckett.
Though Beckett was unfamiliar with Johnson’s work prior to Blues In My Soul, he quickly grasped why he was hesitant to return to the industry.
“He went through some stuff race-wise. Race and music didn’t mix, it was segregated. Black music was black music, white music was white music. I learned that white music was black music sung by white people. It was like his music was stolen and made real big, but when he played it, it wasn’t that big. He went through a lot of racial stuff back then, which is hard for me to grasp because of course I didn’t grow up in that era. I experienced some of it, but nothing like he did,” said Beckett. “I hope what people get out of this show is that music is just music. Music brings people together.”
When the curtain rises on March 18, Beckett can take comfort in knowing that a large portion of the audience will be rooting for him. His wife organized a bus trip to Wilmington with almost 50 of his loved ones to see him perform.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, you’ve got this.’ Everybody has more confidence than me,” Beckett said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘You guys don’t know what’s going on in this head of mine, I’m a freaking wreck.’”
When asked if he plans to pursue an acting career further, Beckett was hesitant.
“It all depends. The two-person play is very difficult. Even my co-actor said two people for an hour and 15 minutes on stage, it’s not easy. If it’s more people and I come on stage, say a couple lines and then go off stage again, I’ll do something like that,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. I’ve just got to get through this first, see what I feel after the last day. Hopefully, I’ll be like, ‘Wow, that went better than I thought. I did it. I made it.’ Challenge accepted.”
Still, one thing is certain for Beckett.
“I just hope that I never have to retire from music,” he said. “I want to play until I can’t anymore. It’s very important in my life. If it wasn’t for music, I don’t know what I’d be.”
Visit tix.com/ticket-sales/CityTheaterCompany/1626 for Blues In My Soul tickets and more information.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
