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A Mother's Prayer The cast is bumped up a few scores with the add-ons of Robin Givens (Head of the Class) and New Edition graduate Johnny Gill. Second-tier cast members Shirley Murdock and The Wire’s Jermaine Crawford add in Brownie points. Original stageplay stars Will Davenport and Shanae Edwards, virtually unknown to the public, are actually strong players on the stage and keep the laughs and scenes moving. That would be the case since the plot encircles Davenport and Edwards’s characters. They play two preacher kids who decide to go adrift from their father’s strict teachings and household by-laws. Gill (James) plays the role of a preacher with a temper. His wife (Givens) knows that and believes it’s the sole motivation for his children’s change of direction. When they decide to run away from home after a heated confrontation, Givens hits the floor with a prayer of an ultimatum. Five years later, Givens is stricken with bad health and is left halfway paralyzed due to an unexpected discovery of cancer. Alvin Moore, the play creator, also supplants himself in the role of the wise-cracking ol’ skool character of Grammps. At times, Grammps, an off-brand of Tyler Perry’s Grandpa roles, isn’t so funny. He fails to make the jokes connect with the audience. And even the jokes that had the potential to earn a substantial amount of laughs fall on the floor with an eerie pause of silence disappointing the moment. But where Grammps fails to connect, the rest of the set makes up for lost ground. Givens’ pleading tears to her husband could easily win Oscar nods if A Mother’s Prayer was a box office release. Her strong cred as an actress continues in her continual tear-jerker pleas in divine prayer to God and even in her most humorous moments. She shouts out “It’s Jesus is on the main line, James” after he’s still hooked to singing all the wrong lyrics. And when it’s her time to sing, the audience discovers why Givens has never been given the opportunity to land a singing role on and off screen. Shirley Murdock’s role, while quite small for her usual stageplay appearances, is pleasantly redeemed with her pleading vocal performance on a song named “A Mother’s Prayer.” The song is inspired by a written prayer from Murdock’s character’s daughter. With dazzling curly ques and her signature “o-o-oh” lines, Murdock’s presence gives the play a certain kind of urgency. Moore contributes an incredible list of songs from the bouncy “Count It All Joy” to the closing powerhouse ballad “We Can Win” and raises awareness for his composition abilities. And it helps a lot. Where the play struggles in developing its sense of humor, it makes up with its soundtrack. Entrapped in the DVD are bonus “behind the scene” clips including a closing curtain call and an intermission break which brings the crowd to their feet with an impromptu performance from Johnny Gill singing “My, My, My.” Grammps (Moore) does keep the sing-a-long moment going with his interpretation of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” He allows what appears to be members of the audience to take the microphone and to own the song; creating moments that are both emotional and hilarious. In the world of gospel plays, David E. Talbert and Tyler Perry have helped capitalize their regional success stories and have gone to great distances to present these urban tales to the mainstream. It’s always good to see new faces jumping into the fold. While A Mother’s Prayer bear a number of fumbles on Moore’s part, it is packaged with the love, grace and professionalism stamina used in high-end features. It’s only an open door for greater opportunities to come.
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