I feel torn on this one. Truly, I’ve rarely had so many conflicting feelings of “I loved that” and “I hated that” in my theatregoing life. But let’s get the bad parts out first.
For one, the runtime and lack of clear ability to exit is damn near unacceptable. It ran 2:10 last night (started at 7:07 and I was out in the lobby at 9:17). Yes, you could technically go to one of the side exits, but given the last 30-40 minutes of the show are done in almost complete darkness while a group of 20 people are sitting on the floor in front of you, it’s not really possible. Even using the restroom right before curtain, I had to run right as the bows started and spent the last 15 minutes of the show having a panic attack. In fairness, they warn you it’s long and intermissionless before the show begins, but you’re still essentially locked in, which I don’t appreciate.
Then there’s that period of darkness. It’s a little spoiler-y from a staging perspective, so I’ll hide it.
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It very well may be written into Heather Christian’s libretto that the latter half has to be performed without light, but it feels more like Keenan Tyler Oliphant couldn’t find an interesting way to stage the shift from one-woman show to choral mass and so plunged them into black to keep from having to really do anything. It doesn’t help that this is also the more religion-heavy section.
That said, before we get the lights turned off, it’s an often raucous and unconventional requiem for the ghosts we carry with us - literal and figurative. “H” (the stand-in character for Heather herself, played remarkably by Kenita Miller) is in touch with the spirit world and invites the audience to visit it with her. We get an ever-changing, eclectic score that touches on the spirits who protected her, frightened her, raised her, and rendered her almost obsessive-compulsive about how to commune (or not commune) with them. It’s every bit the soul bath that Oratorio was, but with a distinctly personal bent this time instead of the cosmic.
And there’s Kenita Miller herself, who is a sweet powder keg of a person. She looks so tiny up on that stage, and her quiet, warm presence conceals a deep well of sadness and rage that can be unleashed at any moment. And that VOICE. I’m so glad she’s being given a vehicle like this to really show off what she can do as one of the city’s greatest theatre artists. If for nothing else, go see what she can f*cking do.
It was exciting to see Heather Christian’s first full-length evening staged, and with such care from the performers onstage. That said, it’s not an easy sit and doesn’t resonate in the way Oratorio did. Maybe with a more focused director? Who knows. But go for the Kenita of it all.
Updated On: 5/15/26 at 08:02 AM
