Magis Theatre Company Present IN LOVE WITH THEE, An Evening Of Mystical Poetry And Music

The Magis Theatre Company's "Logos Project" and The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture bring to the stage, In Love with Thee: Mystical Poetry in Performance from the Jewish, Christian and Sufi Traditions, an unprecedented encounter of diverse spiritual traditions through the performance of sacred poetry on Monday, April 16 at 7:30 PM.

This innovative, dialogical performance of three timeless works of mystical poetry comes together under the direction of George Drance, artistic director for the Magis Theatre Company, who draws on the rich cultural heritage of each poem, infusing the allegory of the lover and the beloved with the unique intonations of each text's original language, bringing to the stage a blend of traditional music and sacred dance that captures the inexpressible longing of the mystical experience.

The evening begins with the recitation of the Song of Songs, Judaism's great sacred love poem, in the original Hebrew by author and poet Nessa Rapoport, transporting audiences across millennia and into one of the most celebrated utterances of divine love in Hebrew scripture. The performance gently touches ground with a reading of these verses in their English translation; and ascends, once again, with a musical response by Rebecca Keren that makes present the nonverbal dimension of divine longing conveyed in the text. The performance transitions to the 16th century, keeping the same dialogical format, with a reading in the original Spanish of The Spiritual Canticle, an unparalleled piece of mystical literature by Carmelite friar and mystic St. John of the Cross. The Spiritual Canticle mirrors the incarnational spirit of the Song of Songs, plotting the spiritual coordinates of the soul's ascent to Christ. The artistic response to The Spiritual Canticle reaches deeply into Andalusia's religious roots, where the Catholic longing for the divine finds expression in Spain's Flamenco Mass.

The final piece explored is The Song of the Reed, a 13th century poem by one of history's most recognized and beloved poets, Sufi mystic Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi. Read in its original Persian by Brown University's Iraj Anvar, PhD, the evening's performance of Rumi's transcendent work includes traditional chant and the sacred choreography of the Dervishes of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order. Dr. Yaraman and the Dervishes of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order will be presenting a 16th century text in Turkish by the Sufi poet Seyyid Nizam Efendi.

This multi-sensory journey through the most intimate spiritual corridors of the Abrahamic religions brings to life, on the Loreto Theater's stage, the wisdom of longing that is woven into these mystical poems, highlighting the call for divine union that is shared by each of these traditions. In Love with Thee: Mystical Poetry in Performance from the Jewish, Christian and Sufi Traditions is the second installment of The Sheen Center's series, The True, The Good, and The Beautiful.

Members of the press interested in covering this event are asked to kindly respond to this email. Tickets are available at The Sheen Center box office or https://sheencenter.org/shows/mystical/

Magis Theatre Company is a community of artists committed to perfecting their craft through repeated communal practice and to the telling of old stories to new audiences. George Drance worked with Ellen Stewart for many years at La MaMa and is committed to carrying her torch; to giving back to the artistic community what was given to him, an artistic home where he could develop all his creative faculties.

Magis have developed a specific theatrical vocabulary focusing on the connections between differing acting techniques, exploring in depth the essential attributes they share. Our performances center on literary works that examine the human condition across cultures and generations.

Productions include Calderon's Two Dreams (2017) Mark (2014) Occupy Olympus (2013) Shakuntala and the ring of recognition. (2010) Her name is Vincent (2009)

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (www.sheencenter.org) is a New York City arts center located in NoHo that presents a vibrant mix of theater, film, music, art and talk events. An initiative of the Archdiocese of New York, The Sheen Center serves all New Yorkers by presenting performances and artists that reflect the true, the good, and the beautiful. Named for the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best remembered as an inspirational author, radio host and two-time Emmy Award-winning television personality, The Sheen Center reflects his modern-day approach to contemporary topics. The Sheen Center is a state-of-the-art theater complex that includes the 270-seat off-Broadway Loreto Theater, equipped with five-camera high-definition TV and live-stream capability and a multi-track recording studio; the 80-seat off-off-Broadway Black Box Theater; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery.

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