by Patrick White
A Turning of the Tide, presented by NorthEast Theatre Ensemble and Siena University in an immersive production at the historic Mabee Farms in Rotterdam (performances continue this weekend at Mabee and the first week of June at Shaker Historical) is a historical corrective, an addendum to the received history of the founding of the country that adds a much wider range of voices and perspectives than usually relied on to tell our story. It is an invigorating and charming eye opening excursion into a fresh take on history and how theater presents it.
The piece was written by Dr. Krysta Dennis, Associate Professor of Creative Arts at Siena University and Simon Meisel, a Siena alumnus who is a London-based theater maker. It was most ably directed by Michael Anderton-Stuart, another Siena alumnus and music directed by Jayden Wojcik and choreographed by Hassan Lee Laing, both current Siena students. An essential element to the presentation were the fantastic costumes by Sharon Greene.
On the eve of the Battle of Saratoga in 1777, which would turn out to be a decisive turning point in the war, we visit three separate scenes twice; one from each side of the conflict and one that takes no side but the Prince of Peace, the great pacifist Shaker Ann Lee’s morning mass. The audience (about 30 on the matinee I attended) gather in the large brown barn and are treated to a Colonial protest song led by the gifted folksinger Meara McTeague and performed by the strong voiced cast. I caught the line “I dreamed all men were equal” in the period music. Amen to that.
After the introduction, we would split up into three groups following a guide (ours was the bright, well spoken Kaitlyn Calabro as Sybil Luddington) to the three separate scenes, each in its own space on the historic site.
Our first stop after a wet traipse was Buck Tavern where the loutish British soldiers (Tommy Rooney, Jack Hamilton & Daniel Montilla) were rather unconvincingly playing cards. What worked in the setting was their sense of entitlement, they took up a lot of space from the women in the cramped public room which they shared with Frederike Von Riedesel played by Megan Anderton-Stuart who had a fiery speech in the return trip to the tavern about her experiences with the horrors of war. Also cowering in the corners were the Capital Region theater legend Eileen Schuyler, craftily making skeins of yarn and Bella Scarborough who as the barmaid Lizzie suffers the unbidden marriage proposals from the redcoats. The second trip to the tavern after the interval brought surprises as it revealed more going on with the women which would undermine the drunken men.
A trip back across the field to the Barn which stood in for the Shaker meeting house where the great Janet Kimlicko (A Streetcar Named Desire and The Little Foxes) was reading her fiery sermon of independence. She would soon be viciously beaten, more for the effrontery of being a woman preaching than her pacifism it seemed to me, although her place in the story is to represent the alternative to war.
Finally, we are in the study of the Polish general, Tadeusz Kosciusko, played with a ramrod posture by Cora Schultz, who is consulting with the famous French playwright Pierre Beaumarchais (The Figaro Plays). Jayden Wojcik has a great time as the polymath revolutionary and he’s another in this gallery that one would be happy to see a whole play about.
Another is Agrippa Hull, played by the very fine Hassan Lee Laing, who earned a badge of honor for his extended service to Washington’s Continental Army, a remarkable feat for anyone but especially for an African American. He has a gripping debate with Joseph Duran’s Jonah Crutcher and Ann Lee about the Black man’s role in the war.
The play teases your mind with previously unexplored questions about the roles of women, Blacks, immigrants and native Americans in our country’s founding and may send you home eager to learn more. The 90 minute piece moves fast and keeps you moving (you’ll get some steps in) but be warned, there is a severe shortage of seating in the venues. You may spend the entire play on your feet. The short scenes are packed with historical facts, character detail and some late surprises which will reward and satisfy your close attention. It is an exceptionally worthy commemoration of America’s 250th birthday, especially if you’re in a more introspective than celebratory mood.
May 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31 at Mabee Farm Historic Site 1100 Main Street, Rotterdam Junction NY 12150
June 5, 6, 7 at Shaker Heritage Site 25 Meeting House Road, Albany NY 12211
Tickets: $20
Ticket Link: bit.ly/turningofthetide
Run time: 90 minutes