Angel Reapers: A Whole Lot of Shaking Plays The Jorgensen 10/20

‘Angel Reapers': A Whole Lot of Shaking- Martha Clarke - Alfred Uhry Project Redefines Religious Passion plays Thursday, October 20, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.

Food for Thought panel discussion at 5:30 p.m.

Ann Lee was the co-founder of the Shakers, an 18th century spiritual society that embraced many passions but shunned sex. One settlement flourished in nearby Enfield, Connecticut. Her story, in the hands of playwright Alfred Uhry and director/choreographer Martha Clarke - he uniquely a Pulitzer, Tony and Oscar winner and she a MacArthur Genius - is a provocative dance theater piece called "Angel Reapers," playing Jorgensen early in its debut tour on Thursday, October 20, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.

The visionary Lee, known as Mother Ann among the believers, fervently pursued a perfect communion filled with hard work, gender equality and the power of the spirit. Indeed, the Shakers were known for ecstatic dance, or "shaking," but also for simple melodies, a graceful and utilitarian style of furniture and feats of engineering in creating useful home products. (They are credited with developing packaged seeds and the first flat-shaped broom.)

Lee, a rare female preacher, a mystic and an outspoken advocate for equality of the sexes, fled her native England because of religious persecution and seeded Shaker settlements in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. She was a powerful leader.

And yet Lee herself was always troubled by sexuality, especially her own. After a forced marriage, she endured eight pregnancies - four stillbirths and four living children, all who died before the age of 6. These personal tragedies fed her fervor for celibacy and shunning of marriage.

This fresh song, dance and theater piece by Uhry and Clarke, with music direction by Arthur Solari, originally commissioned and produced by the American Dance Festival and Spring Lake Productions, relies on Shaker history but strives for an emotional truth about inspired worship while repressed sexuality lurks in The Shadows.

The creative team for "Angel Reapers" is stellar. Alfred Uhry's "Driving Miss Daisy" merited a Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1990 for the film version starring Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy. The film won Best Picture as well. Uhry's "The Last Night of Ballyhoo," commissioned for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, won the 1997 Tony Award for Best Play. His book for the musical "Parade" won the Tony two years later. Uhry, who lives in Connecticut, has created several musicals at Goodspeed Opera House.

Martha Clarke, a dance dynamo whose work has been enjoyed by Jorgensen audiences over many years, co-founded Pilobolus Dance Theater and has choreographed for Martha Graham, American Ballet Theatre and Nederlans Dans Theater. Versed in opera and theater, she has directed for Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, American Repertory Theatre, Lincoln Center Theater and the Royal National Theatre in London. She has won the Drama Desk Award, two Obies and the first Tony Randall Foundation Award in 2006. Her choreography in "Angel Reapers" has been described as stunning, rhythmic and often hilarious.

Arthur Solari has worked witH Clarke on her three most recent productions. Described as "virtuosic" by The New York Times, Solari has performed worldwide as conductor, percussionist, music director and sound designer. He has premiered works by John Cage, George Crumb and Steve Reich and has been at work on an upcoming HBO documentary film, "Ultimate Wish."

The tour of "Angel Reapers" premiered at Dartmouth University and, after its Jorgensen stop, will go to Emerson College in Boston and The Joyce Theater in New York.

The performance contains nudity and is recommended for those age 15 or older.

A pre-performance panel discussion will explore the fascinating world of the Shakers and their religious idealism amidst rigid rules of repression. Led by award-winning Hartford Courant columnist Susan Campbell, the author of Dating Jesus and the blog "Still Small Voice," panelists will include Clarke, Uhry and Dr. Jane F. Crosthwaite, professor of religion at Mount Holyoke College. Food and conversation at 5:30 p.m., discussion at 6 and curtain at 7:30.

Many artifacts and photographs from the Shaker community in Enfield, which prospered during the first half of the 1800s, still remain today. A number of these artifacts have been preserved and will be on display at Jorgensen from October 17-20, courtesy of the Enfield Historical Society.

"Angel Reapers" is sponsored by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Media sponsor is New England Public Radio.

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts is located at 2132 Hillside Road on the UConn campus in Storrs. Tickets are $30, $27 and $25, with some discounts. For tickets and information, call the Box Office 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon-Fri at 860.486.4226, or order online at: jorgensen.uconn.edu. Free, convenient parking is available across the street in the North Garage.

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