''Marie Christine'' is a
musical with music, lyrics, and book by
Michael John LaChiusa
Michael John LaChiusa (born July 24, 1962) is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as '' Hello Again'', ''Marie Christine'', '' The Wild Party'', and '' See ...
. It opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
in 1999. Set in 1890s
and then 5 years later in Chicago; the story is loosely based on the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
play ''
Medea
In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...
'', and uses elements of
voodoo rituals and practices. The title character was based in part on the historical figure of
Marie Laveau
Marie Catherine Laveau (September 10, 1801 – June 15, 1881)''Marie Laveau The Mysterious Voodoo Queen: A Study of Powerful Female Leadership in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans'' by Ina Johanna Fandrich was a Louisiana Creole practitioner of ...
– specifically, her daughter, who took the same name – and the myths surrounding them.
Development
Following the success of Michael John LaChiusa's 1993 musical ''
Hello Again'', which premiered at
Lincoln Center Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
directed by
Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Raúl Daniele and Rosa del Carmen Almoina. After her parents divorced, her mother got a job ...
, LaChiusa and Daniele decided to develop a new musical work based on a classic text for
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
. McDonald won her first
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
in the acclaimed 1994 Broadway revival of
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...
's ''
Carousel'', produced by Lincoln Center Theater. The musical was workshopped a handful of times through 1996 and in development for three and a half years before its initial staging. ''Marie Christine'' followed ''
Parade'' at the Vivian Beaumont- another large, new musical created at LCT and written by a young composer,
Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...
. Both works shared similar themes and stories of racism, misogyny, and redemption in the
American South.
Productions
One of the last new musicals to open in the 20th century, it opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...
of
Lincoln Center Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
on December 2, 1999 in a limited run and closed on January 9, 2000 after 42 performances and 39 previews. Directed and choreographed by
Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Raúl Daniele and Rosa del Carmen Almoina. After her parents divorced, her mother got a job ...
, it starred
Audra McDonald
Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...
as Marie Christine,
Anthony Crivello
Anthony Crivello (born August 2, 1955) is an American actor who has appeared in the original cast of several Broadway shows, including ''Les Misérables'', '' Kiss of the Spider Woman'', '' Golden Boy'', '' Marie Christine'', and '' The News''. ...
as Dante Keyes,
Vivian Reed as Marie Christine's voodoo priestess mother, and
Mary Testa
Mary Testa (born June 4, 1955) is an American stage and film actress. She is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's '' On the Town'' (1998), '' 42nd Street'' (2001) and'' Oklahoma'' (2019).
Early life ...
as Magdalena. While billed initially as a limited run by Lincoln Center Theater, any chance of further extension of the production was severed with the theater's announcement that the musical "dance play" ''
Contact
Contact may refer to:
Interaction Physical interaction
* Contact (geology), a common geological feature
* Contact lens or contact, a lens placed on the eye
* Contact sport, a sport in which players make contact with other players or objects
* ...
'' would transfer to the Beaumont from the smaller,
Off-Broadway Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in March 2000. ''Contact'' would go on to play 1,010 performances and win the
Tony Award for Best Musical in 2000.
The production was nominated for several
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
s, including Best Book of a Musical (LaChiusa), Best Score (LaChiusa), and Best Leading Actress in a Musical (McDonald). An original Broadway
cast album
A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the sho ...
was released by
RCA Victor following the show's closing.
Columbia Stages presented the first New York City revival of the piece, opening on March 6, 2013 through March 9 and was staged in a raw space at 3LD Technology and Art Center directed by Raymond Zilberberg.
Synopsis
; Prelude (A Prison)
In
in 1899, Marie Christine, a racially mixed woman, is in prison without a trial to face death. The prisoners ask her to tell her story ("Before the Morning"). Three of the prisoners, acting as a
Greek chorus
A Greek chorus, or simply chorus ( grc-gre, χορός, chorós), in the context of ancient Greek tragedy, comedy, satyr plays, and modern works inspired by them, is a homogeneous, non-individualised group of performers, who comment with a collect ...
, follow her as she tells of her mother, also named Marie Christine, who was a practitioner of
voodoo magic and used it to help people who believed in the craft ("Mamzell' Marie"). Her mother warned her that although they know magic, they are still human and can make great mistakes ("Ton Grandpère est le Soleil (Your Grandfather Is the Sun)")
; Act I (1894)
In 1894, Marie meets Dante Keyes at Blue Rose Park on
Lake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain ( ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from wes ...
, just outside of New Orleans ("Beautiful"). She is instantly drawn to him, although he is a white sea captain who, while charming, is often rude ("In An Instant").
Marie tells him of her two brothers, Jean and Paris, who are her caretakers since both her parents are dead. Their mother is held in low esteem in the brothers eyes due to her use of magic, which they disapprove of. Their father was white, and he left their mother and had Paris and Jean work as his servants - due to this they now are quite wealthy. The brothers also care of the dowry left to Marie. Paris and Jean want Marie to marry a man worthy of her, and she feels trapped by them. Jean is having a party later in a month to celebrate his engagement to Beatrice, a woman of class and stature befitting to a man of his stature. Both brothers are leaving for a month to solve other matters. After they leave, Marie confides in her maid, Lisette, that woman can use their wiles to control men if they know how ("Way Back to Paradise").
Marie is increasingly enthralled by Dante ("When You Look At a Man"), who arrogantly tells of his gifts on the sea ("The Storm"). His ship has been taken off course during a storm while delivering fruit, which has spoiled due to the lost time. He is trying to get the money he and his crew are owed, which Marie offers to get for him. She reveals her magic and how, like her mother, she helps those who ask her for her services ("C'est L'Amour" / "To Find a Lover"). Dante is skeptical of magic, and tells her of his travels ("Nothing Beats Chicago"). Marie has never left New Orleans and wishes to explore the world. In a rare moment of vulnerability, Dante reveals the loneliness of life at sea, although when he is on land, he hears the ocean calling to him ("Ocean Is Different"). To cover up his inner feelings, Dante tells Marie of his sexual exploits, and as they dance, he seduces her and they make love in the park ("Danced With a Girl"). Lisette attempts to find Marie ("Tout Mi Mi") and Marie realizes Dante is her way out of her confining life. Her mother appears to warn her of the dangers of giving into her passions ("Miracles and Mysteries"). Lisette discovers Marie and Dante together ("Tout Mi Mi (Reprise)") and Marie sharply orders her away. Marie invites Dante to live in her guest house while her brothers are away and Dante reveals that he can no longer hear the ocean calling to him as he has fallen in love with Marie ("I Don't Hear the Ocean").
A month later, Marie's servants gossip in code about Dante ("Bird Inside the House"). Paris and Jean return home and confront Marie about Dante. The town is abuzz with the scandal and they implore her to send him away. She refuses and Paris harshly reminds her of their own father and how he and Jean were forced to be servants at his hand. Paris leaves and alone, Jean makes a plea to Marie ("All Eyes Look Upon You"). She agrees and rushes out.
Lisette walks in on the servants gossiping about Dante's imminent departure and Marie's newly discovered pregnancy. As the servants leave, Dante corners Lisette and attempts to seduce her ("Danced With a Girl (Reprise)"). Marie walks in as Lisette, in an attempt to stop Dante, reveals (in French) Marie's pregnancy. Marie commands Lisette to leave and tells Dante (who, not understanding French, is still in the dark that Marie is carrying his child) that he will take her with him. He initially refutes her, but she reveals that she has the key to Jean's study, where her dowry is kept. He agrees to bring the ship closer and return on the night of Jean's engagement party when they will steal the money and escape to Chicago ("We're Gonna Go to Chicago").
That night, Marie finds Lisette ("Never Fall Under the Spell" / "Dansez Calinda") and casts a spell that kills her in revenge. Marie is completely in love with Dante and will do anything for him ("And You Would Lie" / "I Will Give").
At the engagement party, Marie and Dante are caught and Paris and Jean beat him. To save Dante, Marie stabs Paris, who dies. Marie and Dante escape to the docks and, as they sail away, Marie wordlessly reveals that she is pregnant ("Finale of Act I").
; Act II (1899)
Marie and Dante have two boys and sail happily along the Eastern seaboard for five years ("Opening (Five Years Up and Down the Coast)" / "I Will Love You"). They finally start a home in Chicago. However, Dante, always ambitious, is now more interested in the political world of Chicago. At a brothel run by Magdalena ("Cincinnati"), Dante campaigns for Alderman, under the advice of Charles Gates, a political boss ("You're Looking at the Man").
Dante has left Marie and is engaged to Helena, the daughter of Charles Gates. Dante wants to keep his kids, which Marie refuses to allow. She reminds them of the good times and of his children ("The Scorpion"). Dante wants Marie to leave Chicago, telling her that she will be well provided for. Marie has nowhere to go - she has killed her brother and has left her mark in New York due to Dante's gambling. She reveals how she cast a spell on the daughters of the man who cheated Dante and they killed him ("Lover Bring Me Summer"). He will not return to her and she reminds him of her enduring love and her magic, which she can use for him or against him ("Tell Me"). She will not let him have her children and they part.
Magdalena meets Marie ("Billy Was Sweet" / "There's a Rumor Going Round") and offers to help her. Marie refuses her, but Magdalena advises her to give up her children now to give her more options. Magdalena can help Marie keep her boys if Marie will help Magdalena conceive a child, which she and her husband have been unable to do ("Paradise Is Burning Down"). That night, Marie uses her magic to entangle herself with Dante and Helena - although she is not physically there, they can feel her and they engage in a dangerous mènage-à-tois ("Prison In a Prison").
Charles Gate's workers find Marie at her home and tell her she must leave ("Better and Best"). Gates himself soon appears and, using force, convinces Marie to give her boys to him ("Good Looking Woman"). Marie is worried her children will end up servants like her brothers and decides to take Magdalena up on her offer ("You Can Taste the Blood").
Marie is haunted by her family and Lisette, who tell her she has gone too far ("No Turning Back") and cannot return ("Silver Mimosa" / "Before the Morning (Reprise)"). Marie meets Dante and asks him to allow the boys to give Helena a wedding gift to show how well behaved they are. She reveals she will always love him and that she is doomed to life alone, reliving her past and unable to change it ("Beautiful (Reprise)"). The boys will return to her after the wedding to say goodbye before they start their new life with Dante.
Magdalena arrives with the boys and recounts the wedding ("A Lovely Wedding"). Marie gives her a gift that will allow her to conceive. Magdalena tells Marie that she has friends that Marie will stay with and, within the month, the boys will be brought to Marie. Before they return to Dante, Marie wishes to bathe her boys. She sings a lullaby to them as she leads them off ("I Will Love You (Reprise)"). Dante runs in, revealing that present that Marie had given Helena turned out to be cursed and burned her alive ("Your Name"). Marie returns and Dante begs for his boys. He discovers that Marie killed them. Horrified, Magdalena throws Marie's magic gift to the ground and runs away.
Back at the prison, Marie's mother is heard followed by the prisoners, who tell Marie that at her hands, innocence has died; and ultimately asks “but is love too small a pain for a woman?” and dawn arrives. Marie Christine walks towards the cold, rising light, into the burning sun ("Finale of Act II").
Songs
; Prelude (A Prison)
* "Before the Morning" – Women
* "Mamzell' Marie" – Marie Christine and Company
* "Ton Grandpère est le Soleil (Your Grandfather Is the Sun)" – Marie Christine's Mother
; Act I (1894)
* "Beautiful" – Marie Christine
* "In An Instant" - Prisoners
* "Way Back to Paradise" – Marie Christine and Lisette
* "When You Look At a Man" - Prisoners
* "The Storm" – Dante Keyes
* "C'est L'Amour" / "To Find a Lover" – Marie Christine and Company
* "Nothing Beats Chicago" / "Ocean is Different" / "Danced with a Girl" – Dante Keyes
* "Tout Mi Mi" – Lisette
* "Miracles and Mysteries" – Marie Christine's Mother and Prisoners
* "Tout Mi Mi" (Reprise) - Lisette
* "I Don't Hear the Ocean" – Dante Keyes and Marie Christine
* "Bird Inside the House" – Maids and Valets
* "All Eyes Look Upon You" – Jean L'Adrese
* "A Month Ago He Comes Here" – Maids
* "Danced With a Girl" (Reprise) – Dante
* "We're Gonna Go to Chicago" – Dante Keyes and Marie Christine
* "Dansez Calinda" – Lisette
* "And You Would Lie" - Prisoners
* "I Will Give" – Marie Christine and Prisoners
* "Finale of Act I" – Paris L'Adrese and Company
; Act II (1899)
* "Opening (Five Years Up and Down the Coast)" / "I Will Love You" – Prisoners, Dante Keyes and Marie Christine
* "Cincinnati" – Magdalena and Daughters
* "You're Looking at the Man" – Leary, McMahon, Dante Keyes and Company
* "The Scorpion" – Dante Keyes and Marie Christine
* "Lover Bring Me Summer" – Olivia Parker and Grace Parker
* "Tell Me" – Marie Christine
* "Billy Was Sweet" / "There's A Rumor Going Round" - Magdalena
* "Paradise is Burning Down" – Magdalena
* "Prison in a Prison" – Marie Christine, Prisoners, Helena and Dante Keyes
* "Better and Best" – Leary and McMahon
* "Good Looking Woman" – Gates, Leary and McMahon
* "You Can Taste the Blood" - Prisoners
* "No Turning Back" – Paris, Mother, Jean and Lisette
* "Silver Mimosa" / "Before the Morning" (Reprise) - Lisette, Marie Christine's Mother, Paris, Jean, and Prisoners
* "Beautiful" (Reprise) – Marie Christine
* "A Lovely Wedding" – Magdalena
* "I Will Love You" (Reprise) – Marie Christine
* "Your Name" – Dante Keyes
* "Finale of Act II" – Women
Instrumentation
The
Tony-nominated original production was orchestrated by
Jonathan Tunick Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938, New York City) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, and one of seventeen " EGOTs" - people to have won all four major American showbusiness awards: the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, Em ...
for 17 musicians.
*
Strings: 2
Violins, 1
Viola
; german: Bratsche
, alt=Viola shown from the front and the side
, image=Bratsche.jpg
, caption=
, background=string
, hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow
, range=
, related=
*Violin family ...
, 1
Cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
, 1
Double Bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
*
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
: 2
Trumpets
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...
, 2
French Horns
The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...
, 1
Cornet
*
Keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
: 1
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
*
Woodwinds
Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...
: Reed 1:
Flute, Bb
Clarinet,
Piccolo, Alto Flute, Soprano Saxophone
* Reed 2: Bb, Eb & A
Clarinet
* Reed 3: Bb
Clarinet,
Oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
,
English Horn
* Reed 4:
Bassoon,
Bass Clarinet,
Flute, Bb
Clarinet
*
Percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
: (2 Players)
* On-stage percussion:
Kalimba
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
,
Caxixi
A caxixi () is a percussion instrument consisting of a closed basket with a flat bottom filled with seeds or other small particles. The round bottom is traditionally cut from a dried gourd. The caxixi is an indirectly struck idiophone. Like the ...
, Shakers, Bones, Bamboo, Clic Clak, Floor Bells, Legs,
Ashiko
The ashiko is a drum, shaped like a tapered cylinder (or truncated cone) with the head on the wide end, and the narrow end open. It is made of hardwood and generally has a calfskin hide. Nowadays, goatskin is sometimes used, in imitation of th ...
, Bells, Bell Chimes, Rattle, Sleigh Bell, Chime, Ciyes, Talking Drum, Vibratone in C, Vibratone in E
Response
The production received mixed reviews.
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...
wrote in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'': "When Audra McDonald sings her first notes as the Medea-like heroine of ''Marie Christine,'' Michael John LaChiusa's solemn, sometimes somnolent musical tragedy at Lincoln Center, there is clearly sorcery at work.... ''Marie Christine'' ... is a resounding confirmation of Ms. McDonald's status as a vocal artist of singular skills and sensibility.... As a musical portrait of an individual, ''Marie Christine'' is stunning; as a compelling, complete production, it still feels oddly unfinished. Despite ravishing orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, the score rarely achieves much momentum or intensity on its own, and its recurrent motifs don't haunt the imagination as they should."
Michael Feingold
Michael E. Feingold (May 5, 1945 – November 21, 2022) was an American critic, translator, lyricist, playwright and dramaturg. He was the lead theater critic of ''The Village Voice'' from 1982 to 2013, for which he was twice named a Pulitzer Pri ...
, reviewing for the ''
Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'', wrote: "Proficient, skilled, and imaginative, LaChiusa marshals an enormous panoply of approaches to tell his tale, but it doesn't hold together, even with the towering talent of Audra McDonald at its center, because the myth won't supply what he needs from it; his constantly shifting strategies only diffuse it further. Though LaChiusa's blurry conception is often conveyed in equally blurry lyrics, his music, with its constant restless invention, probably deserves a fairer hearing than it gets here. More than any new score I've heard recently, it wants unplugging."
[Feingold, Michael]
"Women's Stresses"
''Village Voice'', December 7, 1999
Awards and nominations
Original Broadway production
References
External links
Internet Broadway Database listing"Michael John LaChiusa Makes the Story Sing", November 30, 1999*
ttp://www.rnh.com/show/67/Marie-Christine ''Marie Christine'' production notes, composer's notes, review summaries, song list at rnh.com
{{Medea
1999 musicals
Broadway musicals
Musicals based on plays
Works based on Medea (Euripides play)
Modern adaptations of works by Euripides