Let my love be ever doomed . . .

La Fenix

By Susan Tammany

directed by Joel Froomkin

Spotlight-On Festival

review by Louis Lopardi . . November 1, 2002

Sometime in the late seventeenth century, a Spanish Nun wrote these words in a convent south of Mexico City. She has been called "... a Poet Nun, a woman of genius, and a person of intellectual prowess whose ideas and accomplishments were ahead of her time." She was indeed a visionary and a mystic, albeit not the sort Mother Church was used to, and she in fact did come dangerously close to the inquisitor's wrath. Visionary and Mystical are also words that describe Susan Tammany's exquisitely wrought play about the Poet Nun Sor Juana Ines - a play with far more real depth than the Broadway Luther. This is a language play, of as poetic a nature as the subject. Of her forbidden books, Juana says "This is living water, and I'll drink it no matter what the cost."

In this version of her complex story, Sor Juana's problem is appropriately simplified to a triangle, or more precisely two overlapping triangles: A rabid priest is torn between his love of God and his repressed love for Juana, while the nun herself sees no conflict in loving the Countess Luisa as well as her God. In a carefully placed (and played) scene, the Countess presents a portrait of Juana (actually painted posthumously); it was symbolic of the care present throughout this magical production.

The Countess Maria Luisa was carefully crafted by the author. In a tiny moment which in a lesser play would have gone unnoticed, she tellingly refuses chocolate in favor of coffee, thus subtly reinforcing her hatred of things native. She was just as carefully played by Carmela Marner, always aware of her station even as she basked in the light of Juana's love or shuddered in the shadow of the hated Father Antonio. Michael DiGioia warmed to that role and made it his own, especially when his passions drove him to what seemed a hysterical physical blindness to mirror that of his own soul.

Both co-leads suffered in being rather too keyed-up right from the start. The Priest a little too transparent and not supporting his voice, the Countess a little too eager. A minor quibble, and probably due to the hectic nature of Festival producing; within a scene both reached perfection. As Juana Ines, Agnes Tsangaridou was perfection right from the start - striking the right combination of devout innocent and visionary with more passion than was healthy in such repressed times. A servant played by Nancy Wilcox, an eager Nun (Margaret Stockton) and a severe Nun (Betsy Johnson) balanced out a superb cast.

The wide, shallow space of Studio A has defeated many, but it was tamed by this production team. This was a "director's set design", in that it had simply a few elegant pieces, perfectly placed to provide enough obstacles for the cast and still create exquisite stage pictures. This was a careful production - in that so much care was lavished on the details. Director Joel Froomkin has an eye for the poetical balances in the text, and creates visual poetry with it on the stage. Costumes (by the author?) were perfect, making it seem too easy to suggest the 17th century Spanish world. An excellent Sound Design (uncredited, probably by David Gilman and Joel Froomkin) constantly superimposed pagan sounds on Liturgical music, a macabre canvas that framed the play well. The Repertory lighting plot by Alexander Warner which cursed the entire rest of the Festival simply blessed this play. How evident the Director's eye even here.

By the end we are reminded that "warriors float in the thirteenth Heaven" - and the floating image is reinforced as Juana and the Countess dance and whirl in rapture in a signature Judy Jamison fadeout.

BOOKS------- Three Selected Books on Juana Ines

A good, inexpensive collection of Sor Juana Ines - Selected Writings - It is on special sale NOW in combination with one of the other two books at Amazon. About $14 --->
	Click Books to purchase!
Octavio Paz	This is a scholarly study of Ines and her writing: The incredible scholarship of Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz!!. Engrossing and a must-read for those interested in her "mystery". <--- On CLOSEOUT! at Amazon (click book cover)
A Woman Of Genius Gabriel Seymour's devoted study of Ines. ---> Also available in combo with above book at great discount.