In “Night Side Songs,” the American Repertory Theater’s latest commission, audience participation is key.
The “communal music-theater experience,” as it’s called, is directed by Taibi Magar and is performed not only for, but with, the audience. Written by brothers Daniel and Patrick Lazour, the play explores a young woman’s cancer diagnosis and the way it affects her community.
By including the audience in its songs, “Night Side Songs” seeks to create a space for having a “collective healing experience,” said A.R.T. artistic director Diane Paulus in her welcome.
It’s a touring show in its weekend at the Cambridge performances are on at the Masonic Temple; stating April 9, the show is at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury.
The play centers around Yasmine (Brooke Ishibashi), a young woman diagnosed with cancer. The rest of the ensemble play doctors, family members and lovers. Yasmine’s story is interspersed with three visions, each looking at cancer at a different times. There’s one set in the 1200s, when a suggestive British innkeeper named Prudence (Mary Testa) feels a lump in her breast, another in the 1960s, as doctors are developing chemotherapy and a third in the future about a songwriter named Harris (Jordan Dobson) who refuses treatment and writes his own obituary before he dies.
These visions don’t do much more than distract from what’s otherwise a compelling narrative. They feel random and tangential; I could have done without them altogether. Yasmine’s story, on the other hand, is full of interest as it explores her relationship with her mother Desiree (Testa), her marriage to her sweetly awkward husband Frank (Jonathan Raviv) and her years in remission followed by a new form of cancer.
There are some truly moving moments, especially as Yasmine’s health declines, and they are supported by songs that mostly deliver. There’s a sweet one called “I Will Check In On You” that goes “I won’t know what to say/But I will check in on you every day,” and a really beautiful rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”
The cast, led by Robi Hager, does a good job of easing the audience into the singing, starting with simple phrases such as “Ah!” and “Mmm” and working up to the more lyric-heavy songs. Some are hard to take seriously – a bit too goofy to suit the subject matter. Comic relief is welcome and comes successfully in other forms, but sometimes the humor feels off base.
“When you picked the pimple on my nose/When you treated fungi on my pink toes,” the audience sings. “When you sent me pictures of your ass/When you modeled nude for someone’s painting class.”
The other issue that prevented me from fully leaning in to “Night Side Songs” was that it takes place almost entirely under fluorescent lighting. Maybe the lights were meant to simulate hospital lighting, which would have made sense during hospital scenes, but they were on the whole time with the exception of two briefly darkened moments.It’s also possible the Lazours felt it would help the play feel like the community theater they meant to honor, but I thought it took away from the experience. Given the fact the play is being performed in the basement hall of the Masonic Temple, when the fluorescent lights stay on, it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a middle school gym.
The cast is talented across the board, especially Testa and Ishibashi, and there’s an intimacy among the small group. Dobson occasionally picked up an acoustic guitar, strolling and strumming around stage during songs, which provided additional support to Alex Bechtel’s already-great piano and guitar.
For the most part, “Night Side Songs” does work. Its central narrative is familiar yet fresh, and some of its songs are genuine knockouts (two of them made me cry!). Though it could be even better with a few small tweaks, there’s a lot of good here already. It’s a worthwhile evening out for anyone, regardless of their relationship to cancer, who wants to feel, reflect, sing and be in 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.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.