As It Is In Heaven

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

Although the plot is thin, Breckenridge’s Backstage Theatre harbors under its roof an extremely well executed production of Arlene Hutton’s play As It Is In Heaven playing through June 17.

Directed by Lennie Singer, As It Is In Heaven depicts life in a Shaker Village in Pleasant Hill, Kentucky in the neighborhood of 1838.

The depiction centers on every day life in the community that shuns any part of rubbing shoulders with the “real world.” Featuring nine female talented actors, the play acknowledges the existence of the male counterpart. Reference is made to them and about them, and their voices are heard. When individuals made a commitment to the Shakers, they signed a pledge surrendering their worldly goods, and living a life of celibacy.

All is not peace, quiet, prayer, singing and dance celebration.

Their humanity squeaks through the cracks. They struggle with gossiping. The struggling comes after the gossip has been passed on. They wrestle with authority, shadow box over differing opinions, confess silly inconsequential thoughts for their sins. The opening scene takes the audience into a service of confession. One confesses being angry over the hens, another admitted she day dreamed, another admits to getting up late, one said she became impatient, and one shamefully admits to teasing the chickens.

At the core of the play, three young girls see something they are not supposed to: angels passing through the meadow. The three give strong performances of doubt, confusion, uncertainty, being shaken to the core with their young minds struggling to comprehend what their eyes told them they saw. Angela Breitholz plays Issy, too young to legally sign the commitment, brought to the community and dropped off by her father when she was a small child; Fanny, played powerfully by Nicole Heffner, who trembles in trepidation from what she saw. Under the accusations of the community sticks by her guns; and Polly sensitively played by Jennifer Lyons.

B J Knapp allows Hannah, “Mother Superior” of the group to shower the group with frustration. Why would angels appear to these three whippersnappers instead of to her? Hannah does not wear this information with grace, and Knapp wears Hannah with threatened power.

Mari Geasair gives a strong performance as Phebe the one in charge of keeping the young girls in line, an almost impossible task. Phebe suffers the wrath of Hannah; losing her cool with the girls when she bellows this nonsense has got to stop. “We are a peaceful community.”

Jane delightfully played by Melissa Nuesset knows she shouldn’t be looking at the men, suffered the death of several of her children and doesn’t miss “nursing and loving on the children then having them leave.” The community becomes a sanctuary from pain rather than a chosen way of life. “Everything died on the farm. Six babies died before they were six years old.” She came to the community with her husband. She had no choice. When it is time for her to sign the commitment, she says what is expected of her rather than what trundles through her broken heart.

On a simple set designed by Phil Cope, six wooden benches nearly take on a life of their own as they are moved and manipulated to represent props, furniture, whatever the scenes call for. The concept simple but creative. There are two beams on either side of the stage drawing some confusion as they are moved slightly from upright to an angle for different scenes. The significance of the movement is lost through the subtlety. If the movement is simply to signify a change of scene, the movement is so slight it has little impact drawing attention away from the action as to why? The costumes by Mary Lorch give adequate representation of this set apart group who wanted to re create Heaven on earth through contrived perfection.

In spite of the loose plot, Singer and the cast spent serious time developing the characters. Unusual for a play with a thinly veiled plot to have the characters so well defined. This production of As It Is In Heaven really shines with the well-defined characters.

If it hadn’t been for the young whipper snappers asking impertinent questions just because they wanted to know an element of truth, the play would have been rather dull.

Musical Director Sandra Willis and choreographer Maria Cheng brought out the best in the cast with their song and dance. The song and dance routines are actually a high point in the play.

A New York actress and playwright, Hutton centered As It Is Heaven on the behavior of the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village. Major changes swirled in the atmosphere around the 600 individuals clinging to a confined way of life. Natives of London and Corbin, Kentucky, Hutton’s parents moved to Florida’s west coast. Summers allowed them to trek to Kentucky where Hutton familiarized herself with the Shaker way of life. What is depicted, however in the play could be written about every other religious group, drawing them into a commonality with the human race. The bottom line is people are people when authority is questioned, obedience is demanded, and keeping the younger members in their rightful place.

Generally a drawing card for a production is the play itself, but with this production the drawing card is the expertise of the cast, the music and choreography. The play begs for content and substance. The well-chosen talented cast fills in the cracks smoothing the rough edges with their own expertise and understanding of human nature, and that is reason alone to experience the Backstage Theatre’s production of As It is In Heaven.