A
musical retelling of
Sophocles' Greek tragedy Medea, with
music and
lyrics by
Michael John LaChiusa.
The
setting for this
adaptation is
New Orleans in the late
19th Century. The titular character, Marie, is the
Medea figure, a
creole woman who practices
voodoo. The
Jason figure is
Dante Samuel Keyes, a
ship's captain from
Chicago.
The
plot closely follows that of
Medea: Marie is
seduced by
Dante,
murders her
brother, accompanies
Dante to
Chicago, is
abadoned by him when it is
politically inconvenient, and, to exact her
revenge,
murders their two
children.
The
Broadway production starred
Audra McDonald. In terms of
style, the
music is a
complex tapestry, the
term "
song" only loosely applicable. In many
respects,
Marie Christine is more of an
opera than a
musical. In a
review that I
wrote for the
CASTRECL mailing list, I presented the term "
music drama" to describe the
style of
Marie Christine.
Cast (
in order of stage appearance)
- Prisoner No. 1 - Jennifer Leigh Warren
- Prisoner No. 2 - Andrea Frierson-Toney
- Prisoner No. 3 - Mary Bond Davis
- Marie Christine L'Adrese - Audra McDonald
- Marie Christine's Mother - Vivian Reed
- Serpent - Donna Dunmire
- Dante Keyes - Anthony Crivello
- Celeste, a maid - Lovette George
- Ozelia, a maid - Rosena M. Hill
- Jean L'Adrese, Marie Christine's elder brother - Keith Lee Grant
- Paris L'Adrese, the younger brother - Daris de Haas
- Lisette, Marie Christine's maid - Kimberly JaJuan
- Joachim, a valet - André Garner
- Osmond, a valet - Jim Weaver
- Monsieur St. Vinson - Jim Weaver
- Monsieur Archambeau - André Garner
- Beatrice, Jean's fiancée - Joy Lynn Matthews
- The children of Marie and Dante - Powers Pleasant, Zachary Thornton, Joshua Walter
- Magdalena, an entertainer - Mary Testa
- Petal, Magdalena's "daughter" - Janet Metz
- Duchess, Magdalena's "daughter" - Kim Huber
- Charles Gates, Dante's financier - Shawn Elliott
- Bartender - Peter Samuel
- Bar Patron - Michael Babin
- Larry, associate of Gates - Michael McMormick
- McMahon, associate of Gates - Mark Lotto
- Esau Parker - Mark Lotito
- Olivia Parker - Janet Metz
- Grace Parker - Kim Huber
- Helena, Gates' daughter - Donna Dunmire
- Chaka - David Pleasant
The Track Listing
- Before the Morning
- Mamzell' Marie
- Your Grandfather Is the Sun
- Beautiful
- In an Instant
- Way Back to Paradise
- The Storm
- C'est l'amour/To Find a Lover
- Nothing Beats Chicago/Ocean is Different
- Danced With a Girl
- Tout Mi Mi/He Is My Release
- Miracles and Mysteries
- I Don't Hear the Ocean
- Bird Inside the House
- We're Gonna Get to Chicago
- And You Would Lie/I Will Give
- Act I Finale
- Cincinnati
- You're Looking at the Man
- The Scorpion
- Lover, Bring Me Summer
- Tell Me
- Billy Was Sweet/Paradise is Burning Down
- Prison in a Prison
- Better and Best
- Good Looking Woman
- No Turning Back/Before the Morning (reprise)
- Beautiful (reprise)
- I Will Love You
- Your Name
- Finale - Innocence Dies