1900

Toast a new century with builders of that future

PWJW_Indy Reviews, Stage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By John Lyle Belden

Those of us over 30 have memories of Y2K – not just the possibility of computers failing but more the promise that the new century (and millennium) would bring after decades of advances in science and culture. Computer bug aside, this was likely the feeling 100 years earlier, in anticipation of the year 1900. (I would refer to it as Y-MCM but that reminds me of an unrelated song – still, the surreal nature of that thought is appropriate here.)

The play “Building Jerusalem,” by Michael Redhill, presented by Catalyst Repertory at IF Theatre, directed by Tristan Ross, focuses on that liminal space between eras, imagining a meeting of very different minds for a challenging evening of conversation and party games.

It is the evening of Dec. 31, 1899, in The Grange, home of renowned and controversial academic and writer Goldwin Smith in Toronto, Canada. Smith has not arrived yet, but his niece, Alice (Anna Himes) is on hand to welcome the guests: Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen (Alaine Sims), a physician and supporter of women’s suffrage; Adelaide Hoodless (Maria Meschi), director of a Domestic Science institute and advocate for milk pasteurization; Karl Pearson (Ross), a very opinionated Darwinist scientist; and the Rev. Silas Rand (Brant Hughes), a missionary to the Micmac tribe of Nova Scotia.

As midnight and the new century swiftly approach, a snowstorm outside prevents Smith from arriving and anyone from leaving. Let the games begin.

Aside from the mind games such a plot generates – or perhaps as part of them – the girl directs these otherwise rational adults in a series of party diversions common to the era. While “Charades” or “Follow the Leader” may be familiar to us, they also indulge in children’s competitions like “Donkey Do,” “Wee Wifey,” and “Zulu.” Being gentlemen and ladies, they play in earnest and accept the “forfeits” prescribed by Alice when necessary, including a very amusing penalty of “Kiss your own shadow.”

The cast bring out the full dimension of these historical figures, staying polite as possible as society conditioned them, yet each standing firm when their area of knowledge is challenged. Ross makes Pearson almost insufferable at times, but in a manner that reflects the attitudes of his time and the conclusions of his studies, not sinister intent. Sims’s Stowe-Gullen, as a turn of that century’s feminist, confronts a different perspective of womanhood in Meschi’s Hoodless, as they each present their shared desire for better and healthier lives. Hughes as Rand, a man usually confident in his Christian stands, finds himself in uncomfortable company, at first losing at the games before getting in a few verbal points himself.

As for Alice, Himes gives us a devilishly childish young lady of uncertain age and hidden wisdom. Adding to the air of mystery (in an era known for Houdini and Spiritualist trickery) is that at several points she performs simple stage illusions as a matter of course – done quite well, in fact.

As this is a difficult show to describe, please believe me that this is an excellent production, eerily perfect for October and perfect for 2026. Mystery, history, idealism, and ideas of “necessary” cruelty combine for a New Years Eve party you’ll never forget.

“Building Jerusalem” has performances Friday through Sunday through Oct. 25 in the Blackbox at IF, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org.

New ensemble makes a splash with true tale

PWJW_Indy Reviews, Stage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

By John Lyle Belden

An incredible amount of local talent coalesced within the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre to present the first production of JoJoTomBilBen Theatricals, “The Magnificent Fall: Folding Napkins, Selecting Forks, and Other Death-Defying Feats,” based on the true story of Annie Edson Taylor, the first person to ride a barrel over Niagara Falls and survive.

Jolene Mentink Moffatt portrays Annie, joined on stage by John M. Goodson and Ben Asaykwee in various roles – these are the “Jo,” “Jo,” and “Ben” of the company. The play is directed by Bill Simmons (the “Bil”) and was written by Tom Horan (the “Tom,” of course), employing his style that examines history and legend with quirky humor and our tricky relationship with memory.

Goodson primarily portrays Annie’s talkative housecat, our principal narrator. Asaykwee’s roles include Mr. Carmichael, who makes the barrel, and Frank Russell, the carnival promoter who later makes off with it. Initially, his default mode is as the star pupil of Mrs. Taylor, who we meet as a teacher of Manners in a Bay City, Mich., school in 1900. This is one of many jobs and locales in this woman’s life (being a bit older than she’ll ever admit to), and she resolves to take her plunge into history at the Falls near Buffalo, N.Y., on her birthday in October 1901.

In fact, we are all Annie’s students, as there is a degree of audience participation.

Overall, this is a fascinating and entertaining examination of the process of achieving this “brash and irrational act” as well as what happens afterward, complete with whimsical elements – such as dueling mustaches – while relating the efforts of those who did not do so well at the Falls. The wild humor rolls with a serious undercurrent, the question of why this aging widow went through her daredevil phase. In this, perhaps the play’s title refers to more than just Niagara’s plummeting waters.

Moffatt’s charming portrayal is of an American woman of the turn of the (20th) century, seeing and seizing opportunity with a confidence that exaggerates her courage as it dashes ahead, like an object in roaring rapids, too fast for second thoughts to catch up. Goodson is appropriately catty, even when taking on a human role, and we even see his feline’s essential true role in the Niagara stunt. Asaykwee shines in his own way – not too brightly, though, with his knack for not stealing a scene in another’s story but always slyly enhancing it. Simmons’ subtle yet effective direction gives the narrative a genuine feel, and he says in his program note that there was collaboration with the actors, Horan, stage manager Erin Robson-Smith, and crew throughout to shape the final presentation. The show also features props and fine puppets by Emily Solt McGee.

For this and one more weekend, through July 20, you can see the “Queen of the Mist” and her various methods of folding napkins (and other feats) in “The Magnificent Fall” on the Basile Stage of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St., Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org.