The audience is encouraged to sing along with “Night Side Songs,” which was commissioned by American Repertory Theater and give voices to cancer doctors, patients, researchers and caregivers.
Written by brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour – inspired by Susan Sontag’s observation that “illness is the night side of life” – and directed by Taibi Magar, the narrative follows a woman named Yasmine (Brooke Ishibashi) and the impact of her cancer diagnosis on herself and others. The show is interspersed with three “visions,” meant to explore how humanity has processed cancer from the 1200s to the 1960s to the present day and beyond.
“The visions provide this bigger-picture illustration to surround the narrative around Yasmine,” said Jordan Dobson, one of the show’s cast members.
Audience members aren’t required to participate in singing, but Dobson said even the most hesitant tend to be on board after 15 or 20 minutes.
“There’s no feeling like singing with a group of people about something that we’re all dealing with in some capacity,” said Dobson, who described the performance as an opportunity for people to open their hearts and have a thoughtful or emotional experience. “Oftentimes people walk away making friends with the people they were sitting next to at the show, because they’re like, wow, we just sang together and we just grieved together.”
The five cast members, who make up the ensemble and play characters in the visions, are more “guides” than actors. Dobson and the rest of the cast, which includes Ishibashi, Robi Hager, Jonathan Raviv and Mary Testa, have been part of the development of the show since last year, bringing the show to Under the Radar at Lincoln Center, a theater festival in New York City, then touring in Philadelphia hospitals and community spaces before a three-week run at the Philadelphia Theater Co.
“It’s definitely changed over time,” Dobson said. “After night one of the festival, we changed almost everything about how we present the show.”
The goal, Dobson said, is to keep a “casual vibe”: Actors wear normal clothes, and costume changes happen right on stage.
“We’re trying to have a communal experience with the audience in every way possible,” he said.
The experience is meant to break down the separation between the actors and the audience. That means each show feels different, because the actors are playing off the unique energy of each performance’s audience.
Though “Night Side Songs” deals with a sad and dark subject, there are moments of comedy, Dobson said, as well as expressions of joy and love.
“This is a celebration of caretaking, and the whole point of the show is to sing for those caring for others,” Dobson said. “I think that encapsulates its beauty – even though it’s a heavy subject matter, the overall point is to celebrate what we do as a community.”
“Night Side Songs” from March 27-April 6 at the Masonic Temple, 1950 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge. $35 to $70. The show gets a run at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury from April 9-20.
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