Review: MYSTICISM & MUSIC at Constellation Theatre Company

Welcome to Philosophy 101, with a side of music. I guess.

That's honestly how I felt watching this performance - like I was back in the Philosophy 101 course I ended up skipping in favor of independent study to fulfil the major's requirements. Except in this case, it was accompanied by overly loud drums and talented actors struggling to maintain the manic happiness they were clearly instructed to convey.

Mysticism & Music is a new show at Constellation Theatre Company that attempts to help people process and move past the pandemic through music and shared wisdom across cultures and the ages. Prior to the performance, audience members are asked to fill out a slip of paper listing what they lost or missed out on over the last 18 months; the show opens with the cast reading through the responses, at an increasingly frantic pace, heightening the sense of overwhelming loss. The production then continues to go darker, with tales of death and destruction, delving further into this sense of grief. We then move toward a catharsis, and then come out the other side to pursue enlightenment.

While I understand what the intention of this production was, it feels like the show really misses the mark. In large part, this is because the show feels incredibly unbalanced - more than half the 55-minute run is devoted to this descent into despair, and the catharsis and release is poorly developed, and quickly surpassed in search of enlightenment with a focus on advice to release all ties and worldly concerns. The result is that the show carries the audience to a dark place, then essentially tells them to get over it and pursue higher truths. This is particularly off-putting because a number of the slips read referenced lost relatives, jobs, and mental wellbeing - it comes off as rather callous to essentially say, "get over your grief and focus on finding a higher meaning in the universe" (especially when you remember that we're still in the middle of the pandemic, and these losses are still fresh and ongoing). Sure, it works for some people (otherwise organized religion would have never taken off), but it lacked the comfort or support that most structures in this mindset provide as well. A large part of this may be due to the fortune-cookie-style wisdom through which this is conveyed; the entire production is comprised of quotes from famous religious, political, and literary figures. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the quotes are drawn from a variety of religions and cultures, the way the production presents this comes off more as a condescending Mrs. Who from A Wrinkle in Time than conveying any actual wisdom. Somehow, despite using quotations as the only dialogue, this production manages to feel as though it is consistently talking down to the audience; my companion even noted that she felt less preached to during her 12 years in Catholic school.

On top of this, the production itself also feels very dissonant. The show is comprised of two musicians (Tom Teasley and Chao Tian) and six actors (John Austin, Natalie Cutcher, Momo Nakamura, Nia Savoy-Dock, Deidre Staples, and Jacob Yeh). It often felt as though there were a few separate productions occurring simultaneously, even when the cast focused themselves around the musicians, who sat center stage (well, off-center). While music can and should be a focal point in a production like this one, it sometimes felt that the cast and musicians were in competition with each other rather than working together, and that sense made it harder to fully immerse into the performance. Which is a shame, because Tian's work on the Chinese dulcimer was enchanting, and Teasley's range of instruments was genuinely fun to watch (I was particularly intrigued to see the trivia-favorite waterphone as well as a beautiful hang). It's possible that some of this disconnect came from the direction (the production was directed by Constellation Theatre Company's Founding Artistic Director, Allison Arkell Stockman), or from the nature of the show's looser format, but it was apparent in watching the cast's performances in particular. I'm fortunate enough to have seen a number of the actors featured in other productions, so I was genuinely surprised to see them appear to be over-acting or perhaps unconvinced of their own effectiveness; occasionally, this would slip and I'd get a glimpse of their actual skills, but for the most part the performances felt unusually forced. This was also surprising because I'm familiar with a number of Constellation's previous productions, and they're generally well-balanced.

That said, I will note that the technical elements were the real stars of the production for me. The lighting team (Light Board Programmer Paul Callahan and Light Board Operator Danielle Shaw) did some truly excellent work - I loved the precise hits they managed in time with the percussion during the earthquake scene, and the lighting over the scarves used to create water and fire was absolutely enthralling. The use of fans throughout the performance was a lovely touch that carried through the production, and Scenic Charge Artist Gray Walters, along with the Carpenter team (Alex Kozlov, Ben Harvey, David Phillip, James Raymond, Jeff Campbell, TJ Johns, Valarie McFatter, and William Koehler) deserve heaps of praise for the striking and sound-friendly set. Unfortunately, I do need to note that the sound design was a bit unbalanced as well - one of the actor's microphones cut out, which can happen, but more noticeable was the fact that the microphones for the cast and even Tian were significantly lower than those directed at Teasley's drums. While percussion instruments are, by nature, loud, there were times when this difference was so pronounced it was difficult to hear the others. The percussion wasn't just the focal point of the show; it steamrolled the rest of the elements.

Unfortunately, the carnal sin of Mysticism & Music is that it thinks it's deeper than it actually is. It relies on platitudes and flash (or, to be more accurate, crash) rather than doing any actual work to reach community or deeper empathies. And it's a shame, because it loses its soul in the process.

Constellation Theatre Company's Mysticism & Music runs in-person through November 7, and on demand November 2 - December 31. Tickets are available on the Constellation Theatre Company website at $20 per person (or home). Please note that this production does feature some loud noises and flashing lights.

Photos courtesy of Constellation Theatre Company.

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