Black Ensemble Theater’s ‘Earth, Wind & Fire’ tribute showcases Chicago hitmakers

There are few more reliable producing organizations in town than the Black Ensemble Theater in Uptown.

Their newest show, “Reasons: A Tribute to Earth, Wind & Fire,” written and directed by Daryl D. Brooks, follows a well-worn formula. It’s a gently affectionate bio of the band’s late founder and long-time leader Maurice White (Christian Denzel Bufford), told through in-character narration and scenes that blend the presentational quality of urban theater circuit performance, the stiltedness of documentary re-enactments, and the earnestness of church sermons.

These set up the music, always the reason for going, and as always performed with zesty flair by a house band and sung by impressive vocalists, in this case featuring Gregory Stewart’s powerfully belted falsetto channeling the group’s Philip Bailey on such songs as “Fantasy” and “Reasons.”

Bufford delivers a genuinely multi-hyphenate performance, depicting White as the master of ceremonies for his own life story, walking us through the scandal-free narrative as White grows up in Memphis and takes up the drums (the younger White is played by RJ Griffith), moves to Chicago, works as a session musician at Chess Records, tours with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, forms first The Salty Peppers and then Earth, Wind & Fire, named following an astrological reading.

After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s, White insists that the band continue to tour on without him, a legacy that continues, along with the slew of hit songs we see performed, including “Best of My Love,” “Let’s Groove,” and, finally at the end to provide a happy climax, “September.”

Bufford moves effortlessly between the different storytelling techniques, bringing a smoothness to the piece overall, and gives us a sense of a man so confident and capable he could demand complete artistic control, who was also a workaholic, a health nut with a spiritualist bent and a complete belief in the power of his amazingly eclectic R&B-soul-jazz-funk-dance pop music to spread love.