THE HANGOVER REPORT – Grace McLean’s experimental IN THE GREEN, a mystical and unlikely musical experience

The company of Grace McLean's "In the Green" at the Claire Tow Theater, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

The company of Grace McLean’s “In the Green” at the Claire Tow Theater, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

I recently had a chance to catch Grace McLean’s Off-Broadway musical In the Green at the Claire Tow Theater, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater. Ms. McLean is perhaps best known for originating the role of Marya in Dave Malloy’s blazing musical Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812. Her new piece of music theater tells the fascinating story of Hildegard von Bingen, a Medeival saint who overcame childhood seclusion and intense, almost sadistic instruction to become one of the most accomplished and powerful women of her day.

Just as foreign to traditional musical comedy idiom as the show’s premise is Ms. McLean’s integrated musical and dramatic composition (she wrote both the show’s score and book). Those of you familiar with Mr. Malloy’s score for The Great Comet will be well acquainted with In the Green’s gently but insistently thumping electro-art score, which elevates and separates itself through the use of live looping, a captivating and unique musical feature for which Ms. McLean has become known. The resulting sound is far from your typical musical theater fare, and all the more alluring for it. As for the opaque and arguably unwieldy book, I quickly overlooked its strangeness once I became spellbound by the show’s otherworldly and hypnotic music-making.

In addition to writing the show, Ms. McLean also stars in it as the central character of Hildegard’s strict instructor Jutta. Her performance is a welcome opportunity for this striking singing actress to take on a leading role after a string of supporting turns. As a performer, Ms. McLean’s full-throttle intensity makes for a magnetic and unmistakable stage presence. The production’s three other actresses follow her down the rabbit hole and, together with director Lee Sunday Evans (an artist not to shy away from challenging, avant-garde theater), they weave a musical experience unlike most in town. The overall experience is as disorienting and mystical as uncovering an ancient, long lost sacred text.

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IN THE GREEN
Off-Broadway, Musical
Lincoln Center Theater / Claire Tow Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through August 4

Categories: Off-Broadway, Theater

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