Penned by Angelica Cheri and inspired by a prison chain gang song from the infamous Parchman Farm in Mississippi, BERTA BERTA grabbed the author and wouldn’t let go: “Sound has a reverberation, and the first time we hear a type of music, our bodies have to adjust to it…I didn’t have a reference point for the way a field song would vibrate with my body…when in the same room with this song, I was overwhelmed…Berta is a love song (2018 interview).” In 2025, Echo Theatre Company proudly presents this most unusual and sensuous love story, BERTA BERTA.
Kacie Rogers and DeJuan Christopher – Photo by Makela Yepez
The time is the 1920s, and the place is Berta’s cabin in rural Mississippi. After an absence of three years, Leroy (DeJuan Christopher) shows up unannounced at the home of his former lover, Berta (Kacie Rogers). After a passionate love affair three years ago, DeJuan simply disappeared from Berta’s life without even a goodbye. In the intervening three years, Berta has married, been widowed, and lost her newborn son. But she is sure that she can bring her child back to life if she relies on “the miracle of the cicadas,” when, every 17 years, cicadas emerge from the underground to swarm earth searching for their mates – and perhaps fulfilling one lucky person’s deepest held wish. The last thing Berta expects is the return of Leroy to her loveless and desperate life.
Kacie Rogers and DeJuan Christopher – Photo by Makela Yepez
But perhaps Leroy’s appearance will be brief, for he has been sentenced to Parchman Farm for murder. Seeing Berta is his wish and his dream – somehow fulfilled one night as the cicadas swarm. Theirs is a relationship marked by confusion, desperation, and the spector of loss in the morning. Will the one night become a sensuous tribute to their enduring – and hopeless – love? Or will their coupling only inspire a mournful song about love and loss?
DeJuan Christopher and Kacie Rogers – Photo by Makela Yepez
Skillfully helmed by Andi Chapman, BERTA BERTA explores a doomed love affair between two despairing and desolate people. This is an earthy story which does not shy away from the sexual side of their coupling. It is their passionate, fiery relationship which ignites all the unfulfilled desires between two people who are quick-tempered and easily enraged but also ardent and badly in need of some loving touch. Christopher and Rogers do an excellent job of letting the audience into their fervid and confused connection, a bond which brings both happiness and misery. The play comfortably blends reality with dream-like magical fantasy.
DeJuan Christopher and Kacie Rogers – Photo by Makela Yepez
Kudos to Amanda Knehans’ scenic design, which reflects Berta’s life so well. Andrew Schedake’s lighting and Jeff Garner’s sound are critical in bringing life into this unusual story, where shadow and the slow progress of time are crucial elements. To paraphrase multiple reviews, BERTA BERTA is “a love story, an allegory, a tale of historic fiction, a memory, and an inheritance.” It is also a team effort which succeeds in blending thoughts, feelings, dreams, and emotions into an effective whole.
DeJuan Christopher and Kacie Rogers – Photo by Makela Yepez
BERTA BERTA runs through August 25, 2025, with performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays and at 4 p.m. on Sundays. The Echo Theater Company performs at the Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90039. Tickets are $38 for Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (Mondays are Pay-What-You-Want). For information and reservations, call 747-350-8066 or go online.
Be the first to comment