''Bernarda Alba'' is a one-act 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 ''Se ...

, based on

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

's 1936 play ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not incl ...

''. ''Bernarda Alba'' tells the story of a controlling, newly widowed mother who is challenged by her five rebellious daughters. The musical opened

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater in 2006, to mixed reviews.

Productions

With direction and choreography by Graciela Daniele, the all-female cast starred

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress, singer and director who is dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom '' The Cosby ...

and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The production had a limited run from March 6 to April 9, 2006. The production received Lucille Lortel Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Musical and choreography (Daniele) nominations. The lighting designer (Stephen Strawbridge) received nominations from Lortel, Henry Hewes Design Awards, and Outer Critics Circle. Daniele also received a Callaway Award nomination for choreography. A cast recording was released by Ghostlight Records in July 2006. The UK premiere opened at the Union Theatre in London on August 23, 2011, produced by Triptic. The production was directed by Katherine Hare with musical direction by Leigh Thompson and choreography by Racky Plews. This production received a positive response from UK based critics. "SIMPLY ELECTRIC... a rather unique but unmissable piece of theatre." ThePublicReviews.com

Casts

Original 2006 New York cast *

– Bernarda Alba * Saundra Santiago – Angustias * Judith Blazer – Magdalena * Sally Murphy – Amelia * Daphne Rubin-Vega – Martirio *

Nikki M. James Nikki Michelle James (born June 3, 1981) is an American actress and singer. James has performed in the popular stage musicals ''The Book of Mormon'' and ''Les Misérables'', her role in the former having earned her a Tony Award. Life and caree ...

– Adela *

Yolande Bavan Yolande Bavan (born June 1, 1942) is a Sri Lankan singer and actress. Career Bavan toured Australia and Asia as a performer with Graeme Bell's band early in her career. She is best known for replacing Annie Ross in the jazz vocal group Lambert, ...

– Maria Josepha * Candy Buckley – Poncia * Nancy Ticotin – Servant/Prudencia * Laura Shoop – Young Maid Original 2011 London cast * Beverley Klein – Bernarda Alba * Sophie Jugé – Angustias * Soophia Foroughi – Magdalena * Emily-Jane Morris – Amelia * Rebecca Trehearn – Martirio * Amelia Adams-Pearce – Adela * Buster Skeggs – Maria Josepha * Ellen O’grady – Poncia * Suanne Braun – Servant/Prudencia * Maria Coyne – Young Maid

Musical numbers

* Prologue – Poncia, Women * The Funeral – Bernarda, Women * On the Day That I Marry – Young Maid, Bernarda, Poncia, Servant * Bernarda's Prayer – Bernarda * Love, Let Me Sing You – Amelia, Martirio, Magdalena, Adela, Servant * Let Me Go To the Sea – Maria Josepha, Women * Magdalena – Magdalena * Angustias – Angustias, Women * Amelia – Amelia, Young Maid, Servant * Martirio – Martirio * Adela – Adela, Daughters * I Will Dream of What I Saw – Women * Poncia – Poncia * Limbrada's Daughter – Bernarda, Women * One Moorish Girl – Young Maid, Servant, Poncia * The Smallest Stream – Bernarda * The Mare and the Stallion – Daughters * Lullaby – Maria Josepha * Open the Door – Adela, Women * Finale – Bernarda

Analysis

The characters sing the story as in an opera. One motif, of "barrenness and unappeasable longing" is seen in the production's design. For example, armless wooden chairs are lined against the back white stone wall, with its large door shut against the world. "When Bernarda draws the bolt, a sense of airlessness immediately descends over the daughters, illogical as this seems." "LaChiusa and Daniele are determined to illustrate passion as vividly as possible in what is being called a musical but could just as easily be described as a dance piece with singing, an oratorio, or performance art. It's a beautifully seamless fusion of all these influences."

Response

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 ...

, reviewing for ''

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 ...

'', wrote, "This latest offering from the prolific Mr. LaChiusa, often feels wan and weary...The music, though superbly orchestrated (by Michael Starobin) and played, goes places that singers used to hard-sell Broadway pizazz cannot follow. The punctuating yelps; the wavering sustained notes in minor keys; the labyrinthine interior musical paths; the eruptions into antimelodic harshness — these are all more the stuff of mid-20th-century chamber operas than conventional show tunes...The touchingly game performers, who include musical pros like Daphne Rubin-Vega (a haunting presence as the ugly daughter) and

(as Bernarda's senile mother), inevitably stumble over such challenges." The ''Curtain Up'' reviewer noted, "Graciela Daniele's direction and choreography bring out the vivid flamenco rhythm that flavors the score. The daughters' solo arias beautifully express their individual personalities. Despite it requiring a stretch to accept the pretty Daphne Rubin-Vega as the family ugly duckling, her voice and poignant acting stand out...audiences are likely to be split between those who will love its art-y gloominess and those (this critic among them) for whom it's less exhilarating than such LaChiusa works as See What I Want to See..."Sommer, Elys
"A CurtainUp Review: ''Bernarda Alba''"
curtainup.com, March 8, 2006.

References

External links

Internet Off-Broadway listing
at guidetomusicaltheatre.com
''Bernarda Alba'' plot and production at rnh.com(Rodgers and Hammerstein)
{{The House of Bernarda Alba 2006 musicals Off-Broadway musicals Musicals based on plays Musicals set in Spain