An upcoming show will tell the story of R&B legend Etta James.
It’s not a tribute show or like a biopic, according to its producers.
It’s a party.
“We’re going to have a great time. We’re also going to learn a bunch of stuff,” said Jennifer Babcock,director of artistic productions for Muse/Ique, a performing arts organization based in Pasadena.
Its show, “Have You Ever Heard of Etta James?” will take place on the grounds of Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens on Tuesday, Oct. 14 and Wednesday, Oct. 15 and repeat at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 19.
In a phone interview, Babcock called James a Los Angeles original.
She was born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938 and spent her early years in South Los Angeles, attending Thomas Jefferson High School, and San Francisco’s Fillmore District. She also spent some summers in San Bernardino
She began making music at a young age, beginning in gospel choirs and street corner doo-wop before being discovered as a teenager by promoter Johnny Otis, with whom she cowrote her first hit. It was called “Roll With Me Henry,” but because the title was considered risque it is also known as “The Wallflower.”
In 1960, record producer Leonard Chess reinvented her as a ballad singer and released her cover of a Glenn Miller standard, “At Last,” which became her signature song.
She moved on to jazz in the 1990s, winning a Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 1995.
Career highlights included opening for the Rolling Stones in 1978; singing “When the Saints Go Marching In” in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Olympics; and being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
In 2008, James was portrayed by Beyoncé in “Cadillac Records,” a biopic of Leonard Chess, who was played by Adrien Brody.
Despite her successes, James lived a turbulent life, plagued by personal, legal and health problems, including heroin addiction.
James was a longtime resident of Woodcrest, an unincorporated area near the city of Riverside, where she wrote she enjoyed a suburban lifestyle in her 1995 memoir, “Rage to Survive.”
“After a lifetime of ripping and running, the burbs didn’t bother me.”
After many years of ill health, she died of leukemia on Jan. 20, 2012 at Riverside Community Hospital, five days short of her 74th birthday.
A private funeral was held at Greater Bethany Community Church City of Refuge in Gardena. The Rev. Al Sharpton officiated, Stevie Wonder performed and Christina Aguilera sang “At Last.”
Muse/Ique has included James in several of its programs, including a salute to the musical legacy of Central Avenue at Jefferson High School in 2022.
The current show will cap off the organization’s 2025 season.
“Our whole season is about stories of American defiance and hope. And we think that Etta James is the very definition of American defiance and hope,” said Babcock. “She took her pain and transformed it into power.”
It will feature three vocalists — Vanessa Bryan, Gaby Moreno and LaVance Colley — a choir called the DC6 Singers Collective and eight musicians, including piano, bass drum and guitar. Composers on Muse/Ique’s team provided the arrangements. The show will feature James’ music as well as artists such as Billie Holliday and Chuck Berry who influenced James or were influenced by her.
Muse/Ique was founded in 2011 with the goal of breaking the mold of what orchestras do and the audiences they reach.
“We focus on music and storytelling,” Babcock said. “You can think of us as a live music history museum. When you come to one of our shows, there is live music. There is storytelling. There are visual elements. Sometimes there are dancers. Sometimes there are actors. Sometimes there’s a gospel choir. We do not have a theater of our own, so we travel around.”
The Huntington and the Skirball Center are among the venues that Muse/Ique visits. The Huntington concerts will be on the lawn near the mansion that now houses the Huntington Art Gallery.
“We’re bringing the stage. We’re bringing the lights. We’re bringing the audio. We’re bringing the seating. We’re bringing cafe tables. We transform the space into our own venue,” Babcock said.
Babcock said artistic and music director Rachael Worby is writing the script and will tell James’ story “in a personal, non-academic kind of way.”
“The whole point that we’re trying to make is about her resilience,” Babcock said. “Beauty and joy can break through pain and struggle. We’re hoping that message comes through. Her singing wasn’t just about polish. It was about truth. She wasn’t interested in being perfect. She was interested in being real. We think that she really represents some of LA’s spirit, of this constant transformation and survival and unapologetic individuality. And we really can see ourselves through her story.”
‘Have You Ever Heard of Etta James?’
Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens: 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 14 and Wednesday, Oct. 15. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino,
Skirball Cultural Center: 3 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Oct. 19. 2701 N. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles.
Reservations: Admission is included with membership to Muse/Ique, which begins at $225. Trial membership is $100 and includes three consecutive performances. Next year’s season will be announced at the Etta James show. Individual admission for Etta James is also available for $75 per person.
Information: muse-ique.com