(Photo by Steven Feldschundneff)
Reviewed by Martín Hernández
Ophelia’s Jump
Through March 29
(Photo by Steven Feldschundneff)
To say that the 12th Century Benedictine abbess Hildegard of Bingen was a remarkable woman is a vast understatement. A noted writer, philosopher, mystic, composer, and polymath, she was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 for her important contributions to Roman Catholic theology. She engaged in several speaking tours across Europe, corresponded with popes and politicians, and though not canonized, has been considered a saint for centuries. Embraced by queer and feminist scholars, Hildegard’s multi-faceted life and her many cultural contributions, from natural science to liturgical music, are rich for exploration.
Eschewing those aspects of her life, composer/playwright Grace McLean’s 2019 one-act musical instead focuses on a fictionalized account of Hildegard’s formative years that reflects on the damage women face from sexual abuse, patriarchy, and misogyny. The result is a revisionist 21st Century White feminist plea for liberation transposed onto the experiences and beliefs of a 12th century religious woman. MacLean’s ham-fisted lyrics focus on the theme of individualized female empowerment through therapy and self-reflection rather than on Hildegard’s work with women’s communities. Nonetheless, Beatrice Casagran’s thoughtful direction and mis en scene, in tandem with the exceptional vocal work of the cast, makes for a production that is visually and aurally stunning.
Traumatized by her older sister’s death, a young Hildegard (Arianna Nelson with a faceless puppet strapped around her waist to represent the eight-year-old waif) has stopped speaking. Her mother (Mariah Martin) feels her child is a “broken” and deposits Hildegard at a German Benedictine monastery in 1106, hoping that with the guidance of Jutta (Mary Desmond) the abbess, her daughter can be mended. “I used to be broken like you” Jutta cryptically explains to Hildegard, who is forced to live with the abbess in a small cell and must replicate Jutta’s life of ascetic prayer and toil in order to be made whole again (“The Rule.”)
During her time in the monastery, Hildegard is portrayed by three actors representing three physical aspects of her being: Hildegard Eye (Mads Durbin), Hildegard Mouth (Mariah Martin), and Hildegard Hand (Nelson). Each wears a pendant corresponding to the respective body part they play, and they are bonded by a long cloth that they use to lithely move about the small stage. Forced to “watch, wait, try, dig,” and to live as if one were already dead, Hildegard endures decades of Jutta’s rigorous tutelage, retraumatizing her in the process. Along the way she is admonished that her first period is the curse of Eve for which all women must suffer. She also encounters Shadow (Danielle Heaton), a corporal embodiment of Jutta’s trauma, who reveals how Jutta was broken. A scene which pits the now Old Hildegard (Nelson) with a young woman (Heaton) who challenges the older woman’s theories begins as a compelling dramatic development. Unfortunately, there is no follow-through. The scene turns out to be the finale, meant as food for thought on Hildegard’s legacy but there is not enough presented on her later life on which to chew.
Sheila Malone’s evocative lighting and projections, Loralee Barlow-Boyes’ costumes, and Sarah Kellman’s and Casagran’s sets add a proper medieval touch to the endeavor. While all members of the ensemble have exquisite voices, Nelson and Desmond are the standouts as the contentious main characters.
Ophelia’s Jump, 2009 Porterfield Way, Suite I, Upland. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 4 pm; thru March 29. opheliasjump.org Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
