REVIEW: The New Maine Times previews "As It Is In Heaven"

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As It Is In Heaven: A Simple (Magnificent) Gift
By David Treadwell

“‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘tis a gift to be free….”

Oh, to live the simple life of an all-women Shaker community in rural Kentucky in 1838. To pray. To sing. To dance. To sew. To pray again. To prepare for the better life that awaits up there, in the beyond, while living in peace, striving for perfection.

But, alas, life was not quite so simple, even back then, even back there, even among Shakers, as Arlene Hutton’s play As It Is in Heaven so lovingly reminds us.

The nine women in the play face the constant human struggle: how to maintain community order while acknowledging each individual’s gifts and talents? Questions inevitably arise, especially among the younger women. Why must snap beans be snapped just so? Why must you draw exactly what you see instead of looking inside for inspiration? What law says that everyone must sing the same note, rather than break off into harmony? Isn’t laughter a gift to be shared? Do you have to wait to get to heaven before you see angels, before you hear their songs?

Simplicity is fine, up to a point, but what about…..

I recently had the good fortune to attend a preview of Heartwood Regional Theater’s exquisite 90-minute rendition of As It Is In Heaven, now showing at the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta. The nine women in the cast, whose ages span 40 years, do a uniformly superb job playing their distinctive roles while blending right in with the community. They’ve each performed in previous Heartwood productions; they each trust Director Griff Braley to bring out the best in the cast and the play; and they each, quite clearly, have treasured being a part of this moving production.

The production featured clear crystalline singing, in unison as well as later on in when joyous harmony reigned.

The set was properly, no other word will do, simple: five wooden benches on the stage, a “Tree of Life” wall hanging as the backdrop, and small chairs in the corners upon which the players perched while sewing and awaiting their turns on stage.

The actresses shifted seamlessly between scenes. One minute the irrepressible Polly (played by Elise Voigt) is insisting upon the value of her own talents (“I have a gift to draw.”) and minutes later she’s singing (or praying or dancing) in total unison with the others. One minute the stern senior Shaker Hannah (played by Nancy Durgin) is giving her order-trumps-all message (“We are not permitted to embellish.”) in the next she, too, is right there along with the others, doing what they all do together, young and old, converted and still searching for answers.

As It Is In Heaven reminds us once again of the power of Heartwood Theater to lift the lives of people in the community who love great theater. It is a gift not to be missed.

As It Is In Heaven is playing at the Skidompha Library in Damariscotta on Jan. 20, 21, 27, 28 and on Feb. 3 and 4 at 7:30 p.m. and on Jan 22 and 29 at 3:00 p.m. For tickets (seating is limited), call 207-563-1373 or go to the web site: www.heartwoodtheater.org. (Note: Interviews with cast members and with the director also appear on the web site.)