Angel Reapers

Angel Reapers

Signature Theatre

The Pershing Square Signature Center

March 6, 2016

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Angel Reapers is a collaborative project between Martha Clarke and Alfred Uhry presently running at Signature Theatre’s Pershing Square Signature Center.  When you enter the theatre, you are on the set, which is a Shaker Meeting House.  Ladder back chairs are sporadically placed, and one male character is seated in meditation.  Right away you sense this experience is going to be unique and intimate.  With equal seating on two sides of the playing area, you are ready to be drawn into the lifestyle, worship, and beliefs of the Shaker community.  The next hour and ten minutes does not disappoint, yet the experience is not as uplifting as you would hope.

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

One by one the characters enter the meeting house dressed in identical costumes that remind you of the Amish or Puritans.  You get a sense of some individuality by their walk and pace.  After an interval of silence, a joyful laugh spreads from character to character.  This leads to song (The Shaker Hymn, “Simple Gifts”) and a sharing of the belief and rules they live by.  The story is told through movement, song, and short snippets of dialogue and monologue that offer insight into what makes this community strong.  You also find that they are united not only in their beliefs and joy of a simple life, but in their shame and isolation.

Photo courtesy of Signature Theatre

Ms. Clarke’s movement patterns are structured and rhythmic.  The staccato stomping and clapping is counterbalanced by sweeping, graceful movement illustrating the dichotomy of the community’s lifestyle.  The ensemble carefully creates unity and conformity while offering brief glimpses into their individuality.  This is the wonder of the piece.  You get an almost desperate sense of their underlying need for personal connection, while getting an even stronger sense of fulfillment in compliance.  It is when you see two characters ostracized and banished for breaking away that you gain another layer of understanding of the fear that keeps them together.

In this production Martha Clarke offers a visceral insight into the lives of the Shaker community.  It is simple, yes, but hardly joyous.  Angel Reapers has been extended through March 20.

 

Domenick Danza