Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Cusi Cam’s immersive, interdisciplinary NOVENAS FOR A LOST HOSPITAL is a heartfelt ode to old St. Vincent’s Hospital

• By drediman
• September 21, 2019
• No Comments

Justin Genna, Kathleen Chalfant, Kelly McAndrew, and Alvin Keith in Cusi Cam’s “Novenas for a Lost Hospital” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

This week, I caught Rattlestick Playwrights Theater’s season opener Novenas for a Lost Hospital, Cusi Cam’s ode to the defunct St. Vincent’s Hospital, which closed its doors in 2010. Founded by Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (who has the distinction of being the first American-born saint to be canonized), the hospital was important in a number of respects, from addressing the cholera epidemic head-on in its early days to being the nexus for treating gay men during the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City. Ms. Cam’s play is designed to be an interdisciplinary experience – music, dance, visual arts, and theater are each used to tell the hospital’s sprawling story from various perspectives (e.g. patients, nurses, doctors, administrators, etc.).

Novenas for a Lost Hospital, as its title suggests, is segmented into nine “novenas”, or prayers, each portraying a different aspect of the hospital’s storied history, from the institution’s founding by nuns to its unfortunate ultimate demise, and beyond. The piece is narrated by Elizabeth Ann Seton herself, as well as other noteworthy historical (and fictitious) figures associated with the hospital. They interact with and comment on various eras, giving the piece a fantasia-like aura. Ms. Cam’s site-specific play is a lengthy, immersive affair (some light walking around the West Village neighborhood is involved). I suspect that by design, the experience was intended to ramble, with some chapters necessarily more compelling than others. The cumulative effect, however, is contemplative and heartfelt.

The ambitious production – designed to accommodate an audience of only 60 at a time – has been lovingly and mostly smoothly directed by Rattlestick artistic director Daniella Topol, who tackles the show’s plentiful requirements with admirable can-do spirit. In recent years, Ms. Topol has reinvigorated the theater company (its production of Samuel D. Hunter’s Lewis/Clarkston was a high point in my theatergoing last season), particularly as it relates to its more inventive use of its space and community-oriented, out-of-the-box programming. As anchored by a luminous Kathleen Chalfant (who plays Seton), the cast is uniformly excellent, seamlessly playing multitudes of characters across time with conviction.

RECOMMENDED

NOVENAS FOR A LOST HOSPITAL
Off-Broadway, Play
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
2 hours, 30 minutes (without an “intermission”)
Through October 13