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From the Archives: Otherworldly 

A light-skinned woman in a coral dress stands, praying, behind a light-skinned man in a blue workshirt. They face a statue of the Virgin Mary that is surrounded by candles.

Marisa Tomei and Burke Swanson in Roundabout’s 2019 production of THE ROSE TATTOO.

Photo by Joan Marcus.
A light-skinned man with dark hair and a goatee wears a dark suit and yarmulke. He holds an urn and a prayer book.

Alfred Molina in Roundabout’s 2007 production of ALFRED KATZ.

Photo by Joan Marcus.

As Covenant (Black Box, 2023) explores religious beliefs in God and Satan, religion in one form or another has been a theme in the works staged at Roundabout, whether through the hopeful praying and preaching of Violet (American Airlines Theatre, 2014), fervent old-world Catholicism in The Rose Tattoo (American Airlines Theatre, 2019) or the questioning of God and Judaism in Howard Katz (Laura Pels Theatre, 2007). More nuanced spirituality, or belief in the spirit world as seen in Covenant, can be harder to define and yet, otherworldly themes have been seen before on Roundabout’s stages.

A dark-skinned woman in white dress raises her arms, dancing. A dark-skinned man in oxford shirt stands left, arms outstretched as if to keep something held down. The light is green and blue.

Carl Hendrik Louis (L) and Carra Patterson in Roundabout’s 2015 production of LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD.

Photo by Joan Marcus.
A hand-drawn rendering of a dark-skinned man with sunken eyes, wearing gray striped pants, a black morning coat, an orange vest, and a necklace of skulls.

Costume designer Jennifer Caprio’s sketch of The Man for Roundabout’s 2015 production of LITTLE CHILDREN DREAM OF GOD.

Little Children Dream of God (Black Box, 2015) gave Roundabout audience’s a look at Haitian culture and specifically the rituals and beliefs of Vodou. Sula, played by Carra Patterson, is the daughter of a Haitian female Voudou priest, and has just arrived in the United States with her newborn child. As Sula begins to acclimate, she must come to terms with a painful past, bringing deep-seated beliefs and practices of Haitian Voudou to the surface. This collision of beliefs ultimately creates a conflict in her mental state, manifesting in otherworldly dreamscapes that wonderfully center magic and the spirt world on the stage.

A young, light-skinned woman in a beaded evening dress kneels beside a light-skinned man in a tuxedo. The man holds a book. 

Jill Paice (L) and Kevin Earley in Roundabout’s 2011 production of DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY.

Photo by Joan Marcus.
A drawing of a light-skinned woman with bobbed blonde hair, wearing a drop-waist, shin-length gray dress with a scoop neck. She wears a headband horizontally across her forehead and heavy rouge.

Costume designer Catherine Zuber’s rendering of Grazia Lamberti for Roundabout's 2011 production of DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY.

Death Takes a Holiday (Laura Pels Theatre, 2011) explores the concept of Death taking on spirit or human form. The musical, an adaptation of the 1929 play La Morte in Vacanza, follows the same premise with Death (played by Kevin Earley) attempting to understand emotion and fear but failing until he takes human form as Prince Nikolai Sirki and falls in love with Grazia (played by Jill Paice). The musical considers the spirit world by exploring individual concepts of life and afterlife, mortality and immortality, while simultaneously unfolding a traditional love story.

An older, light-skinned woman in casual clothes holds a lit candle. Across the room is an older, light-skinned man in a dark suit. The room has a high ceiling, many candles, and a wooden table.

Rosemary Harris (L) and Jim Dale in Roundabout’s 2011 production of THE ROAD TO MECCA.

Photo by Joan Marcus.
A light-skinned woman in profile, holding a lit candle in front of a dark doorway. Large irregular circles of yellow light emanate from the candle, eventually incorporating shades of red and orange.

Show art from Roundabout’s 2011 production of THE ROAD TO MECCA.

The Road to Mecca (American Airlines, 2011) takes a slightly different approach to spirituality and investigates the ways that humans engage with a higher purpose or otherworldly vision outside of prescriptive norms. The play explores real-life South African artist Helen Martins and the home she created through her sculpture and mosaic art. Helen (played by Rosemary Harris) refers to the creation as her ‘mecca’ but the local pastor, Marius Byleveld (played by Jim Dale), believes this obsession to be harmful, blaming it for Helen’s retreat from the church. What we discover is that Helen’s spirituality manifests itself in the creation of art and the magical world she surrounds herself in. The initial stage directions written by playwright Athol Fugard describe her home as an “extravagant fantasy” and prepare us for the dazzling effect of this most unusual spiritual place:

Scene: The lounge, and leading-off it a bedroom alcove, of a house in the small Karoo village of New Bethesda. An extraordinary room by virtue of the attempt to use as much light and color as was humanly possible. The walls, mirrors on all of them, are all of different colors while on the ceiling and floor are solid, multi-colored geometric patterns. The final effect, however, is not bizarre but rather one of light and extravagant fantasy. Just what the room is really about will be revealed later when its candles and lamps, again a multitude of them in every size, shape and color, are lit. The late afternoon light does give some hint though of the magic to come… Miss Helen’s ‘Mecca’ crowded with its collection of strange statues.

It can be argued that spirituality, or the questioning of or search for something that is bigger or more meaningful than the human experience, is what defines our humanity. Religion or the spirit world can create a series of guideposts that lead the believer to answers and consolation through established rites and traditions or, just as easily, create more questions that push the searcher forward on a never-ending quest for meaning. Lucky for us, theatre presents these provocative issues for consideration and reflection, serving as a vehicle for our own discovery of this and other worlds.

Published on October 19, 2023.