‘Night Side Songs.’ Words and Music by the Daniel and Patrick Lazour. Directed by Taibi Magar. Scenic Design by Matt Saunders; Costume Design by Jason A. Goodwin; Lighting Design by Amith Chandrashaker; Sound Design by Justin Stasiw. Music Direction and Piano Arrangements by Alex Bechtel. Presented by American Repertory Theater in association with Philadelphia Theatre Company at Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley St., Boston through April 20.
By Shelley A. Sackett
Night Side Songs, the remarkable production by A.R.T. now at Hibernian Hall, bills itself as “communal music-theater experience performed for—and with—an intimate audience that gives voice to doctors, patients, researchers, and caregivers to celebrate the resilience of the human spirit.” This description barely scratches the surface of the uncharted grounds this play explores, and the transfixing heights it reaches.
A musical-theater experience that explores the intimate experience of illness and death through the universal power of song sounds neither uplifting nor entertaining, yet owing to the Lazours’ insightful script and the ensemble of five outstanding talents, that is exactly what Night Side Songs’ 100 minutes is. Knitting a cozy throw from the experiences and voices of doctors, patients and caregivers, the Lazours have somehow managed to address the awfulness of cancer through the kaleidoscope of a theatrical experience.
The show opens with the charismatic and talented Mary Testa quoting Susan Sontag, who died of complications of acute myelogenous leukemia at 71.“Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place.”
She and the rest of the ensemble proceed to escort us on several such journeys by means of 21 songs and the 11-part story of Yasmine’s (Brooke Ishibashi) confrontation with breast cancer. With unflinching clarity, the Lazours spare no detail as Yasmine finds a lump, receives her diagnosis, goes through treatment, remission, relapse, and chemotherapy with lethal side effects while dealing with bills and her high-maintenance mother, Desiree (Testa). We are strapped in beside her on the roller coaster ride of good and bad days and share in her joy at reconnecting with, and marrying, Frank (Jonathan Raviv) and the eight years of remission they enjoy before the other shoe drops.
If this sounds heavy, that’s because it is. If it sounds depressing, it is not because the Lazour brothers have spun a story of compassion, caring and intimacy out of shards of misery, pain and grief. Their insightful lyrics, the first-rate cast and the warmth of Hibernian Hall’s small performance space create a powerful sense of community and healing.
The audience is invited to sing along at designated spots (lyrics provided), and the repeated lines are particularly poignant and resonant. “Sometimes you don’t know; sometimes you just know. Either way, you gotta keep it together,” Yasmine sings after discovering a lump but before receiving a diagnosis from her doctor (a superb Robi Hager), with whom she coincidentally shared an 8th-grade clandestine kiss.
Despite her illness, Yasmine soldiers on through the dysfunctional relationship between Frank and her mother and her mother’s quick, surprising death. By the time her end is inevitable, we too are ready to let go. This transition, while sad, is a loving and very natural segue, the beginning of an uncharted crossing away from dark and into light. While the play has focused on the journey, it is the destination that now commands center stage.
Along the way, the Lazours tackle other meaty issues that accompany illness, caregiving and the often callous state of healthcare in the US. In a segment that takes place in a medieval pub, its feisty owner (Testa) deals with a tumor that is treated with leeches, excision and derision. She searches for an underlying cause and remedy, alternately looking for a miracle from God and a reason that justifies her illness. In her search, she encounters guilt-tripping clergy and a vacuum where compassion and pity should dwell. She also discovers the power of song, showcased in “The Reason,” an upbeat, funny number with fabulous harmonies and a show-stealing vamping by Hager.
The brothers also shine a light on the caregiver and their pain and need for treatment, albeit of a nonmedical nature. When the side effects from Yasmine’s chemo treatment reverse her remission, catapulting her into a terminal relapse, Frank travels almost daily from Maine to Mass General to be by her side. “I won’t know what to say, but I will check in on you every day,” he sings to her. Yasmine, too, needs reassurance that Frank can handle the relief she comes to crave. ”Will you let me know I can let you go? Can you softly say you will be ok?” she asks.
The cast, rounded out by Jordan Dobson and his calm presence and musical chops, is uniformly terrific. If you get a chance to catch the last performances of this transfixing show, take it!
For more information, visit https://americanrepertorytheater.org/shows-events/
