For their final show of the 2024-2025 season, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is bringing audiences the World Premiere of Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical, a commissioned piece with book, music, and lyrics by Lindsey Augusta Mercer.
Inspired by the Virginia Woolf novel, Mrs. Dalloway tells the story of a hostess determined to throw the greatest party London has ever seen as a way to cope with post-war, post-pandemic, and post-traumatic stress disorder emotions.
The Production Team
Director Sara Clark’s staging of this busy tale is excellently executed. No “park-and-bark” singing on this one: the show offers fluid movement in the way of both deliberate blocking and beautiful choreography by Ashley Goos throughout. With a soundtrack that throws in touches of several genres of music, Ms. Goos’ choreo is able to keep up with the changes easily.
And speaking of the music, it is rife with stunning harmonies and intense emotion. Mx. Mercer and their Music Director and Co-Orchestrator Matthew Umphreys ensure the songs match the sentiment of each particular scene impeccably. In addition to Mr. Umphreys’ stellar direction with the vocalists, the live ensemble does a brilliant job with their tasks at hand (including his turn on Piano). Kudos to him and to the rest of the Orchestra: Betty Douglas on Flute; Director of Marketing Jeanna Vella on Clarinet; Emery Hicks on Trumpet; Linsey Rogers on Violin; Julie Lim on Cello; Joel Greenberg on Guitar; Renate Thomas on Bass; and Brian Malone on Drums.
The Performing Artists
With a large cast of musically talented artists, it is always better when there are no stand-outs from the ensemble as a whole (#iykyk). However, for the purposes of a proper review, I will mention some performances of particular note.
In the titular role, Christiana Cole is an absolute paragon. Their voice is strong, clear, and affective; the audience always knows exactly what the Mrs. is feeling. In addition to some impressive pipes, Mx. Cole possesses a hypnotic quality that is hard to shake. It is unfortunate they are not quite old enough to play the character, but it only poses an issue when the text refers to the passage of time (which is often enough to notice Mrs. Dalloway looks pretty fantastic for her age). Aside from those moments, it is neither a distraction nor a disservice.
Playing a character like Richard Dalloway can be a tall order: he is a rather humdrum, milquetoast sort of chap. But Byron St. Cyr finds a wonderful balance between portraying this character as one who is often overlooked without his performance being over-lookable. Mr. St. Cyr’s vocals are solid and mellifluous (spoiler alert: the script reminded me of this fabulous word) and his performance is appropriately gentle and subtle.
The Sweet and Lowdown
While having read the Woolf classic is not a prerequisite for enjoying Mrs. Dalloway; A New Musical. I would imagine it might be an interesting exercise of compare and contrast if one has. A reimagining has a wonderful freedom to it and Mx. Mercer clearly pays respectful homage to the original text with a few twists along the way. Themes of this novel from the early 20th century are still relatable today: post-pandemic culture, unspoken rules of love and partnership, and mental health. Mrs. Dalloway hits the “right note” in incorporating the heart of CSC’s commitment to the classics with fresh, new take on an age-old story.
How to Get Tickets to Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical
Mrs. Dalloway: A New Musical at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company runs now through June 15th. PRODUCTION NOTE: Show contains adult themes including PTSD and suicide.
For more information about this or to purchase tickets, please contact the Box Office online or by phoning (513) 381-2273.
