By Lorrie Irby Jackson, Dallas South News Contributor

Two thousand years ago, a young expectant married couple traveled in the cold across the desert sands into Bethlehem under the cover of night seeking shelter before giving birth to the King of Kings.   Practically everyone knows the original Christmas story, but the elements have never been woven together as artfully or as eloquently as in the New Art Six performance of Langston Hughes’ beloved musical, Black Nativity.   I had the opportunity to witness the show at The Bishop Arts Theater Center last Friday night.

Directed with aplomb by actress Cynthia Navarette (who also functioned as its narrator), Black Nativity contained the lyrical prose of the late writer and combined elements of the traditional with the soulful and spiritual. The only prop for Act One was a manger and yarn functioning as hay in the center of the stage.

But the events were brought home by poignant portrayals of Mary and Joseph (by Crystal Pool, Brandon Dillard respectfully) as well as the pitch-perfect quartet of singers (Dorothy Powell, Glenda Cole Clay, Linda Searight and Gale Tyler)  donned in dashikis, sandals and headwraps. They sang (with music and a capella) beloved numbers like “Go Tell It On The Mountain,”  “Little Drummer Boy,” “What You Gonna Call The Pretty Little Baby” and a buoyant rendering of “Last Month Of the Year” that kept heads rocking and feet tapping and generated loud, spontaneous bursts of applause.

The final performance, a verbal thrashing delivered by two herders of their wayward “no-good sheperd boy” peer (portrayed by Aubrey Stephenson, Trey Birkhead and Mr. Dillard), offered a brief, but welcome comic respite.

Act Two brought the tale into the modern era, “twenty centuries removed,” with all of the players serving as a congregation and Ms. Navarette leading them into enthusiastic testimony about how Jesus’ blood sacrifice (which they all displayed acknowledgement of by wearing red) and God’s grace cleansed their souls and gave order to their lives.

It was the most seamless portion of the play, so filled with the spirit of the Holy Ghost that one may have assumed it was a Sunday morning service. “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” “Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus” and “Wade In the Water” were delivered with so much verve and emotion that  non-believers could have been converted with a collection plate passing soon after.

With nightly performances running through Dec. 20, this interpretation of Black Nativity is ideal for the entire family and not to be missed. For additional information, visit www.tecotheater.org or call 214-948-0716.

Lorrie Irby Jackson is a freelance journalist based in Dallas and has covered entertainment professionally for several years, writing many articles for The Dallas Morning News. Her e-mail address is lorrie.irby@gmail.com.

Edited by Shawn Williams