Village Voice, Published October 25 - 31, 2000

Genesis's Greatest Hits

Sorry, but the Old Testament just doesn't work in modern English. The visitations of angels, the thunder of God's voice-these demand an evocative poetry. Understanding this, in Arca Nova NACL Theatre has created a performance language to retell the tumultuous tales of Genesis. A kind of post-Babel, postmodern blend of dialogue and dance, music and gymnastics, this original vocabulary is utterly beguiling.

Over the cavernous open space of the Washington Square Church, the company of two men and eight women hoists a massive canvas drape that billows into the sails of Noah's ark or rests as the overhanging firmament. In this demarcated realm, they
enact the archetypal stories, from Adam and Eve's fall to Jacob's theft of his brother's birthright.

The actors speak mostly English, but they sing sweet harmonies in often incomprehensible syllables, in styles from madrigal to chant to African rhythms. The ensemble, who created the piece with director Brad Krumholz, sometimes play instruments while they act or dance, blending harmonium and recorder with mandolin, drums, and other folk instruments. Their visual effects-like a dance of skeletal lacy parasols, veiled black and white brides swooping on stilts-mesmerize.

All these effects show the myths anew. Adam folds languorously over Eve from above, striking us with the meaning of the biblical "cleave." Sarah quiets a crowd of malicious gossips against Hagar by raising her cello bow to conduct a peaceful melody that all of them play together. Isaac, bound with a rope of bells, sounds the jubilation of his release.

The action is sometimes confusing, and the framing device of Noah's ark awkward, but the company conjures a magical world, where the primitive passions of a people play out under the sway of an all-powerful God.

-Francine Russo

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