It's time for another visit with Midday theater criticJ. Wynn Rousuck, who joins us each week with her reviews of the Maryland-DC regional stage.
Today, she spotlightsThe Awakening, a new production by the Endangered Species Theatre Project, on stage at New Spire Arts in Frederick, Maryland through April 21.
The Awakening was adapted from the Kate Chopin novel by playwright Rebecca Chase, with music byMyra Platt.
Chopin's novel, first published in 1899 as "A Solitary Soul," depicts a young mother's struggle to achieve sexual and personal emancipation in the oppressive environment of the postbellum American South.
This American literary classic was widely censored and condemned as immoral when it was first released. It was rediscovered in the 1950s and has since gained a following as an early and important feminist work.
This latest stage adaptation is set to a score of blues, ragtime, soul, and opera and imbued with the lush decadence of the French Quarter.
Endangered Species Theatre Project’sproduction of The Awakeningis directed by Christine Mosere.
It continues at New Spire Arts in Frederick through tomorrow (Friday, April 21).
