Ghost Quartet - Theatre Elision

Photo: Jolie Morehouse Olson

Like all great things, if something is good you keep doing it. This is the 6th year that Theatre Elision has produced Dave Malloy's Ghost Quartet. After what I experienced last night, I am sorry it took me this long to see the show.

Produced at Elision Playhouse (one of my favorite spaces), this group of performers directed by Lindsay Fitzgerald, is putting on a truly unique and fascinating work by a contemporary composer. You may know the name Dave Malloy from his recent Broadway hit "Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812." It was nominated for Best Musical, Best Orchestrations, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score at the 2017 Tony Awards, as well as being nominated for three Drama Desk awards for the same show in 2013. Ghost Quartet was first performed in 2014, and Theatre Elision has been performing it annually since 2018. Everything I had heard about this work is true. It is a dense work that tells stories but not always in order. It is understood that the first time you see this work, you should sit back and enjoy the experience without trying to follow any real plot - because there isn't one. 

Photo: Jolie Morehouse Olson

The work is a song cycle (music directed by Harrison Wade, and vocal directed by Christine Wade) and is performed in full with no intermission (roughly 90 min). It is a song cycle about love, death, and a lot of references to whiskey - including a full song about it. In this production there is a chance that whiskey may be handed out to you so be prepared to be carded if you want that chance. Also be prepared to be handed some percussive instrument of sorts. You may not get either whiskey or an instrument...but you might. Last night I was handed an egg shaker (well, an egg shaped shaker), and later a tambourine. The performer handing it to you plays a rhythm that they want you to continue with, but it certainly isn't necessary. But back to the piece. There is a character named Rose who comes from the Snow White and Rose Red tale, and a story based on Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, a mention of Scheherazade and her 1,001 tales, as well as someone being pushed in front of a Subway. The actual characters listed are Pearl (Emily Hensley - GQ in 2023, as well as Shadow in In The Green), The Bear (Maureen O'Malley - second year doing GQ), The Astronomer (Billy Gleason), and Rose (Christine Wade - GQ for the 6th time). They are joined onstage with fellow musicians, understudies, and vocalists Jeff A. Miller, Hawken Paul, and Ani Tonoyan. From what I heard of these three, any performance that they may go on in is going to still be a fantastic performance. Honestly, there is so much talent on that stage!! Every single performer is singing, as well as playing an instrument, and doing percussion at times. The music is... well... I figured out that some of the "storylines" felt like they had a musical theme. Some of the songs flow into each other really well, while others are sudden shifts in tone. Each song is introduced as if it were a specific track on a vinyl record - Side one track one, Side one track two, etc. Through four sides, and I lost count how many tracks. There are 25 titles listed in the program for musical numbers but it doesn't feel like a long show. The show is a perfect length, and a really fun experience. You can make of it what you want. You can sit and experience it, you can look or listen for the stories that may link to each other, you can try to follow one specific story but all the stories are woven together and may even overlap. That is the magic, the mystery, the wonder of Ghost Quartet.

Did I happen to mention Thelonious Monk? or a campfire? The incredible set?

Also - look at their merch. Some great t-shirts, and sweatshirts as well as this amazing stack of handmade paper with a poem by Jeremiah Gamble written on it. Finally, if you like what you hear and want to explore more - check out Dave Malloy's bandcamp. You can even pick up a copy of the score to Ghost Quartet if you want to study up on it before next year.