Which
Inquisitive
Theatre
Challenges
Humanity?
Not nearly as clever as some of the textual incarnations of the acronym of the show’s title— like “Why Is The Church Heretical?” or “Why Is This Continually Happening?” or “What Is This Cult Hollywood?” but I wanted to throw my broomstick in the cauldron so to speak. If Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith can construct a ~60 minute musical all about the condemnation of witches and how women as a whole, who do not fit the patriarchal expectation of society, are to be experienced, I figure the least I can do is shoot my shot. Stillpointe Theatre, under the intensively creative, inquisitively clever, and impressively visionary direction of Ryan Haase, brings Witch!, a new musical by the aforementioned Conner and Smith, to the stage, with a powerhouse cast of seven female-identifying performers, that really embrace the concepts and striking show, giving it a chance at life as a new work.
The show itself gives off “Spooky Six” vibes. You’ve got women telling historical truths about real women in history in an almost-concert fashion, with a little less “who’s got it worse” competition, and a little more “social awareness” flare. Haase, who doubles down as the show’s director and lighting and set designer, creates this atmospheric indulgence— aisles of seating the lead to an enormous cauldron— and the audience in enveloped in the experience as a part of the ‘coven.’ Sight-lines at times were somewhat of an afterthought between Haase and Movement-Choreographer Amanda J. Rife, given that throughout the performance many of the performers are stationed on the box-outline perimeter of the play space to sing or perform…but oversight as this may be, you’ll quickly forgive it when you hear how thrilling they sound. Haase dizzies the audience with a plethora of lighting effects— everything from black-light glow to emulate the moon to full-up house lights when the audience are meant to be participating. It fits the off-beat aesthetic that Stillpointe Theatre is known and cherished for, while simultaneously uplifting the work of Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith. Add to the uniquely haunting aesthetic some personalized flare from Costume Designer Kitt Crescenzo and the marvelous work of Danielle Robinette on Hair & Makeup Design, and you’re in for a wild visual ride (not to mention a vocally stunning one.)
The show’s issues, blocking-sight-lines aside, lie in the work’s libretto. It has solid ideas, excellent source material, but not enough of a polish blueprint to make this narrative work as a functioning musical. In its present iteration it reads like something experimentally devised (and that’s not to slag or denigrate on the tremendous amount of work and talent pouring in from the performers and creative team working with Stillpointe Theatre for this production.) The stories being told are extremely relevant (though at times the political comparisons are heavy-handed and feel redundant, and I’m on the side of the arguments being made!) and the talent featured in the production is truly sensational; it just doesn’t feel like a complete musical— and not because it doesn’t follow a musical-theatre formula or because it’s truncated in its stage-time. It just feels disjointed and somewhat incomplete. Almost like Conner and Smith had so many ideas, they didn’t know which to cut and which to keep so they threw them into a bag and picked a bunch, shuffled that bunch into some sort of running order, and threw some music around it.
The experience of the show as a whole was intriguing, not only because it was a brand new work, but because of the phenomenal singing talent I’ve mentioned a half-dozen times by now. The Sacred Seven (I have no idea what else to call them because they are themselves and not themselves and doubling up as historical icons whilst still being witches and women and all that jazz but I like the alliteration and it felt right) are truly what elevates this experience beyond its ‘experimental devised work’ feel (and a shout-out to Christopher Kabara, who live-voices from places unseen, the character of “Witchfinder General/Inquisitor” when such a role is called for.) Rachel Blank, Sarah Burton, Christine Demuth, JacQuan Knox, Caitlin Weaver, Amber Wood, and Kristen Zwobot— lend their glorious voices (under the extraordinary guidance of Musical Director Stacey Antoine) to these songs and stories— some iconic and easily recognized, some obscure and lost to time; all are worth hearing, particularly with these seven singing them out.
You get each of the ‘moments’ explained (remember the clever acronym that I tried back at the top of this? There’s quite a few of those…some better than others…but they happen whenever we get a narrative shift to a new ‘witch’) and they’re accompanied by some visual projections on the ‘full moon’ screen that’s raised up behind the giant cauldron. (Props to Projection Designer, Ben Pierce, who is like the magical icing on this witchy cake, finding all of the historical images and well-displayed text to accompany the show as it progresses through its cycle from beginning to end.) Sarah Burton (who has the best stockings/tights in the show— kitty-style!!!) takes the vocal lead during “Sticks and Stones”, which is the musical number used to tell the tale of Mary Webster (or half-hanged Mary) from 1864 and she patter raps through this divinely. You can also hear her soprano sound during “Pretty”, which is a profoundly striking number.
“Hollywoodland”, a number which feels like it could belong in a different musical (or be the kickstart for a musical all its own about Margaret Hamilton) showcases the vocal prowess of Rachel Blank. Her voice is haunting and hypnotizing simultaneously, which makes the number (in an ironic sense) that much more tragically beautiful. (For those completely oblivious to the history of Hollywood, Margaret Hamilton, despite being so much more, was only ever recognized for her role of “The Wicked Witch of the West”, from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.) I’m personally torn about how Conner and Smith vilify this particular career highlight but then don’t really touch on how she almost died while filming the role (though to Haase, Pierce, and the rest of the creative crew and cast’s credit, they provide an emotional vocal tribute as well as striking photo-visual tribute to Hamilton in this number.)
Part of the show’s “unfinished nature” is there aren’t really any moments to breath, process, or digest what you’ve just experienced, but not in that hit-you-all-at-once-and-just-keep-going-at-speed kind of way. The transition from that harrowing number with Margaret Hamilton gets barrel rolled (with a brief spoken bit) into “Joan of Arc” a number featuring Caitlin Weaver as the martyred hero, where she delivers a glorious belt from her powerhouse range, all amid the other ladies fanning her. With flame fans. The visuals and the vocals (and the stories being told) are remarkable (no doubt about it. It’s just the order, the structure, the linearity and/or lack-thereof and the lyrics that need some work.)
If you want fierce Stevie Knicks a la American Horror Story: Coven visual vibes, Amber Wood is serving it up and she’s serving it up without apology. And holy hell is she singing to slay when she gets to “Moll Dyer.” This witch and her song hits home (at least for me) for a couple of reasons— the first being she’s the Maryland Witch (and yes, we’re going to say witch because we’re wearing it proud just like ‘nasty woman’.) And the second because the song itself has “Leave, Luanne” (35mm-Ryan Scott Oliver) vibes and that show was the second-ever Stillpointe production I saw and it sticks with me to this day some decade later. Wood blazes with vocal brilliance all through this number and it’s one of the most thrilling numbers in the show (I preferred it even to the tent-revival-style number “Sweep Them Out”, which was both high-octane and featured the show’s only dance-choreography, designed by Kristen Rigsby.)
Ticking all the boxes for haunting and harrowing, Christine Demuth takes up the role of ‘Rebecca Nurse’, of Salem 1692. Demuth brings this exceptionally haunted sound to early every slow-ballad I’ve ever heard her sing and “Innocent” is no exception. (One can easily pardon what feels like slacking on Conner and Smith’s part on the lyrics for this number as they appear to be little more than the actual words recorded in history that this women spoke aloud at her trial in her own defense because Demuth is so passionate and powerfully present when singing this song.) You get chills.
“Gambaga” might be the most surprising number of the bunch, not because its stylistically unique or loaded with clever lyrics, but because the woman whose story it is— a Ghanan woman— is from just last year. 2022 (if we are to believe that this show is referencing in live-time.) There are profound lyrics in the song, “…when you are called something long enough it must be what you are..” and the imagery that accompanies the number is intense. JacQuan Knox performs this song to perfection. And then she jumps up to lead “Sweep Them Out” (which is placed here in the performance as a not-quite-penultimate number) and leads the coven with this uproarious and lively spirit that unifies them in a way that makes the whole audience feel included.
Carrying the crown (quite literally and also metaphorically) of ‘audience inclusion’ is the coven’s queen, their leader, the Supreme, if you will, Fiona (whether borrowed directly from American Horror Story: Coven or just low-key coincidental is difficult to say as so much of the libretto feels… you get the idea). Played superbly by Kristen Zwobot, you get most of the show’s call-and-response with the audience led by this character. (You also get some of the show’s “never have I ever” moments led by Zwobot and those start off feeling silly but end with great realizations.) Her character’s eponymous number “Crone Song” is wondrous strange, almost lyrically dissonant, and sweeps through the house with Zwobot’s resplendent soprano sound like a symphony of emotions and intentions. There’s also a strikingly profound moment shared between Zwobot and Knox’ character as this song concludes that weaves a unifying thread to this never-ending moonlit circle of eternal sisterhood.
It’s hard to judge the performance as a whole because the performers were phenomenal and the set was glorious and the concepts were— there— it just didn’t feel whole or finished or complete. But do not let this deter you from supporting this impressive and truly talented bunch of individuals giving this new work a chance at first life so that others can be encouraged to do the same with both it and other works of its kind.
Running Time: Approximately 65 minutes with no intermission
Witch! plays through November 25th 2023 with Stillpointe Theatre currently at Area 405— 405 E. Oliver Street in Baltimore, MD. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance online.
