His appearance is causing a near riot on Chapel Street.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th century transcendentalist, that is.
Click on the play arrow to see how a young man had to work his way through a crowd of pro-slavery New Haveners protesting such a radical as Emerson speaking on behalf of abolition at the Institute Library.
Whether or not that scene unfolded specifically that way back in the 19th Century (I’m not sure), the Institute Library on Chapel Street is still around. And Theater 4 is putting on the scene from which the above video is taken in a performance there this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings beginning at 6.
The innovative little theater company is staging the fifth edition of its “Acting Out” program by performing plays inspired by the historic library. (Read about its past and its revival here.)
Allan Appel Photo
The company having trouble deciding which books to take out.
In the past the company has performed at Lena’s Cafe in Westville, The Study at Yale, Fair Haven Furniture, and, last year, at IKEA. It believes not in letting audiences be passive, but rather moving them about while they discover new locations.
The Institute Library is the first historic structure in which Theater 4’s members have performed. They’re making the most of it.
There are two 20-minute plays by M.J. Kaufman, Drawing of a Double and No More Flying Machines. The first is set in the mid-19th century and captures the intense intellectual debate that made the Institute Library a hot place in town.
The incidents are based on real happenings in town that the playwright has researched from the library’s collections. For example, Justus Matthews, played by Josh Matteo, was indeed a real young man on the run from a local “witch.” The poor young mechanic is on the run because Widow Wakeman, who runs a potion shop out by Grove Street Cemetery, of course, has also been conducting a kind of seance attended by Justus. Justus is spooked and tries to split.
Problem is, he’s bearing the spirit of the widow’s husband, and she wants it back. It comes to no good end.
There’s a lot of weird and wonderful New Haven history brought to life here.
David Pilot has an uncanny resemblance to his 19th century character, in the image on the wall.
Similarly, the character played by David Pilot is local artist John Warner Barber. He wants to take on the crowd outside.
One of the characters says a librarian is out there trying to control the mob that’s carrying on “about whether or not the abolition of slavery would provide and economic advantage for the country.” Barber responds: “Tell her to bring them inside! We’ll have the debate right here.”
Kaufman’s second site-specific play is set in the library. But it’s now 2013. The same actors are transformed, some playing descendants of those we met in the first piece.
A third play, a ten-minute piece titled Autobiography, by Doron Ben-Atar, takes place behind the circulation desk, whereas the historical play unfolds around the library’s wonderful round table in the back, and the modern play up front on the Chapel Street side.
Other actors in the show include Janie Tamarkin and Rebecka Jones. The plays are directed by Pawel Moroz.
For tickets and more information, visit Theater 4’s site.