Image it: Sicily, 2122. Or 2222. Or 3022. It’s an undetermined future 12 months, and civilization is clawing again from an apocalypse that decimated the inhabitants. Life appears nearly regular right here on the attractive Sicilian shoreline. Previous Italian pop requirements waft over the sound of waves. Two ladies watch a grainy outdated cathode ray TV set as they munch a bowl of cherry tomatoes, solely half-listening to the printed warnings a few band of unauthorized ladies on the free.
That’s when a determined younger girl bursts by means of the protecting plastic sheeting round their terrace, trying like she’s escaped a struggle zone, as a result of she has. Her title is Lydia, and she or he’s searching for shelter for her 49 sisters as they flee a pressured mass wedding ceremony to their cousins. So begins NOVA Nightsky Theater’s manufacturing of Huge Love: acquainted and uncanny, cozy and unsettling .
Initially staged in 2000, the play was Charles L. Mee’s adaptation of Aeschylus’s historical Greek drama The Suppliant Maidens. Unusual amongst up to date playwrights, Mee encourages theater corporations to adapt the fabric as they are going to to suit their wants and visions. This model, Jaclyn Robertson’s adaptation of an adaptation, strikes the motion to a post-apocalyptic setting, which each ups the stakes and bridges the hole between historical and fashionable cultural norms. It’s every part we love about Historical Greek drama — all of the explosive catharsis — with the introspective depth of a up to date piece. Each then and now, when assets are scarce and the longer term is unsure, folks could make selections that really feel unfathomable to us now. And boy, do they ever on this play.
This manufacturing takes place in an intimate 35-seat theater within the basement of Falls Church Presbyterian Church, which feels good for the homey setting. Though the stage is small, it isn’t spare or minimalist however a totally lived-in household terrace. There’s a burbling water cooler, precise contemporary produce ready and eaten, a working tv, and strands of wisteria and fairy lights draped from the ceiling. Scenic design by Jaclyn Robertson and Adam Ressa and props by Joey Pierce are executed with the eye to element of a movie set whereas additionally repurposing and reusing supplies, an eco-friendly transfer well-suited to the setting. Robertson and Ressa’s sound design creates a sensible seaside ambiance with out changing into distracting. You possibly can virtually style the salt air.
This peaceable place looks like the proper secure haven for the younger refugees. Understandably, although, household patriarch Beppe and his pragmatic son Piero appear hesitant to take the ladies in. Harboring them might put their household in danger. And certainly, the 50 grooms arrive sizzling on their heels, relentless of their pursuit of the runaway brides. Because the fateful wedding ceremony day approaches, issues start to spiral uncontrolled, and these three very completely different households query their deepest-held beliefs on love, marriage, household, gender roles, and free will.
It definitely is a forged of colourful characters holed up on this home, and though Huge Love is filled with appropriately large personalities, the performances are nearly all the time well-calibrated to the small house. The crisply-staged manufacturing, directed by Robertson and Ressa, strikes with a pure present of urgency.
As you may anticipate, you don’t get to satisfy all 50 brides for 50 brothers. Three of every will do. Lydia (a totally embodied efficiency by Keely Sullivan den Bergh) serves as a mediator for her diametrically opposed sisters, Olympia (Maggie Shircliff) and Thyona (Melanie Gordon). Olympia thinks marriage and males aren’t so dangerous. She simply doesn’t like the full lack of romance on this entire pressured marriage enterprise. Thyona, however, would moderately die — or kill — than undergo any man. The sisters’ bond is powerful and all three performers play off each other effectively. Gordon is especially magnetic to observe — sharp, tightly coiled, and sometimes explosive.
The boys transfer by means of the play like a pack of hyenas, all starvation and animal intuition. Their vicious chief, Constantine (compellingly portrayed by Nate Eagle) is simply as haunted as Thyona, however far much less sympathetic. Eagle’s quietly ominous physique language and feral glint in his eyes will set off your fight-or-flight instincts. Little brother Oed (James Storen) follows him with out query, all brawn and no brains. However although center brother Nikos (a dynamic Zach Litwiller) hesitates to talk his thoughts, he’s manufactured from extra delicate stuff. Nonetheless, he can’t assist however hope that each one this ugliness might result in one thing stunning with Lydia.
The skittish courtship between Lydia and Nikos feels achingly actual. In a intelligent directing alternative, Litwiller takes a decrease seat beside Sullivan den Bergh, serving to two characters of various heights actually see eye-to-eye.
Probably the most scene-stealing moments of the play, nonetheless, belong to Beppe (an exquisite Chuck O’Toole). He shuffles round at his personal meandering tempo, dishing out knowledge each humorous and profound in a melodious Italian accent. He additionally makes essentially the most memorable use of contemporary tomatoes in an performing efficiency since Denethor in The Return of the King. Tristan Poje provides a grounded efficiency as eldest son and decision-maker Piero, and Mackenzie Gaylord is charming as youngest granddaughter Emilia. Her elder sister, the bohemian Giuliana (Pilar Bruyere), delivers a considerate monologue on misplaced alternatives that sends a hush over the group. It’s quiet moments like these that make NOVA Nightsky’s manufacturing so impactful. It seems like sharing a heart-to-heart with new mates.
Talking of mates, free-spirited couple Eleanor and Leo present up for the occasion, completely oblivious to the truth that the brides are in something however a celebratory temper. Warmly characterised by Suzie Carmack and Mickey Butler, the 2 make an awesome pair, and Carmack will get an astonishing show of bodily comedy within the second half.
Costume design by Callie Stapleton and hair and make-up by Kinsey Robertson assist convey this forged to life. The brides and grooms come wearing black and navy inexperienced, eyes shrouded in darkish struggle paint. There’s nothing comfortable or romantic about their tactical apparel. The boys’s haircuts stroll the road between “soldier” and “punk rock,” and Thyona wields her lengthy braid like a whip. The Sicilians, nonetheless, costume in flowing Bohemian garb and cheery colours. Eleanor’s rainbow butterfly caftan is a very pleasant alternative.
Glorious combat choreography by Casey Kaleba and intimacy choreography by Jessie Holder Tourtellote carry the play to an unforgettable climax. Wait till you see what occurs throughout a tipsy karaoke rendition of “That’s Amore.”
You’ll really feel a confusion of each emotion on the finish of this chaotic, heartbreaking, stunning expertise — however isn’t that what love is?
Operating Time: Two hours, together with a 10-minute intermission.
Huge Love performs by means of June 27, 2026 (Thursday and Friday at 7:30 pm, Saturday at 2 pm, and Sunday at 7:00 pm), offered by NOVA Nightsky Theater Firm, acting at Falls Church Presbyterian Church, 225 E Broad St, Falls Church, VA. Tickets ($28) can be found on-line, plus a particular Pay-What-You-Can efficiency on Thursday, June 18.
The playbill is on-line right here.
Huge Love
By Charles L. Mee
Tailored by Jaclyn Robertson
Directed by Jaclyn Robertson and Adam Ressa
