Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In PRIME, Heather Christian’s untethered imagination sets the act of prayer free

• By drediman
• April 17, 2020
• No Comments

Playwrights Horizons’ Soundstage series presents “Prime: A Practical Breviary” by Heather Christian.

Lucky for us in our current fraught times, Playwrights Horizons was ahead of the curve when it started commissioning its audio-only Soundstage series. The aptly named Heather Christian’s Prime: A Practical Breviary – which I delved into last night (and not for the last time) – has the distinction of being the series’ first entry. Ms. Christian is a fascinating up-and-coming talent to look out for. A few years ago, I was completely intrigued by Animal Wisdom, her freewheeling next generation musical at the Bushwick Starr. I was also looking forward to this season’s Ars Nova production of Oratorio for Living Things, the composer and performer’s latest bid at reinventing music theater. Unfortunately, the anticipated Off-Broadway project was one of the casualties of the city’s widespread coronavirus lockdown.

As a practical set of prayers for the early waking hours, Ms. Christian’s new theatrical song cycle for Soundstage quite thoroughly lives up to its title. Historically, a breviary has been defined as “a liturgical book used in Western Christianity for praying the canonical hours”. The term “prime” refers to the hour or two around dawn (i.e., 6 a.m.), during which the world is thought to exist between the realms of sleep/dreams and waking/reality. In short, the 37-minute, 10-track work is a collection of songs and spoken word segments that impart nuggets of wisdom to start the day off with. How prescient is that, particularly in the surreal, groundhog day world we now live in? Prime is by turns inspiring, quirky, and poetic, and it’s permeated by Ms. Christian’s untethered imagination. All-in-all, I was entranced by the piece, which is much more than just a collection of songs. It holds together thematically, despite its wild flights of fancy; it sets the act of prayer free of its stuffy connotations.

The songs themselves are reminiscent of Sufjan Stevens’ intoxicatingly emotive symphonic and pop stylings, with the addition of more than just a passing suggestion of gospel and blues. At the heart of the recording is Ms. Christian herself, who performs her material with considerable spunk and personality. I’m happy to report that Prime isn’t just a haphazardly assembled work designed for half-hearted consumption during our time in quarantine. Indeed, I was impressed by the rich aural quality of the whole affair, which includes vibrant orchestrations and the stirring contributions of back-up vocals and a small choir. I’d say Prime is an enduring work of art, and  I hope it’s the first in an array of themed sets of “musical prayers” from Ms. Christian (as suggested by the longstanding breviary tradition).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

PRIME: A PRACTICAL BREVIARY
Off-Broadway, Podcast Musical
Soundstage / Playwrights Horizons
37 minutes