From left to right: Eden Espinosa as Mami, Kalyn West as Younger Anuncia, Mary Testa as Granmama, and Andréa Burns as Tía in Michael John LaChiusa’s The Gardens of Anuncia.
Michael John LaChiusa’s new memory musical, The Gardens of Anuncia, is a love letter to Broadway legend Graciela Daniele and an homage to the three woman who shaped her life in Juan Perón’s Argentina. Sensitively directed by Daniele, it offers one not only a glimpse of the icon before she became famous for her choreography but a portrait of the artist as a mature woman, looking back on her star-dusted life. LaChiusa, who created the book, music, and lyrics, has earned a reputation in the American musical theater as a maverick who never repeats himself. And, indeed, his latest venture cements his image.
Set in the present-day United States and in Buenos Aires in the politically charged 1940s, the action unfolds on Mark Wendland’s bare stage, featuring only a beaded curtain as a shimmering backdrop and a kind of semi-transparent partition. Abetted by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer’s wistful lighting, the performers can step—or dance (the show is choreographed by Daniele and Alex Sanchez)—from the past into the present easily.
Enrique Acevedo plays Granpapa, and West is Younger Anuncia in The Gardens of Anuncia, directed by Graciela Daniele.
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What ensues in LaChiusa’s book is a series of intimate family scenes that opens with the Older Anuncia (Priscilla Lopez) alone in her garden, contemplating her trip into the city that evening to receive a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award. Instead of anticipating her award with joy, however, she’s annoyed that she will have to put on “her fake eyelashes and try to remember who to thank.” Even so, she copes with her upcoming trip by talking to the flora that surrounds her, their kaleidoscopic range of colors and delicate shapes serving as a tonic to her spirit and lifting the heavy weights from her tongue:
You anemones are new. I was worried you might not take, especially after that cold snap. But here you are! … I’ll tell you a story that the rest of the garden already knows. Just, please remind me to water the peonies when I finish.
The Gardens of Anuncia is awash with stories, told by different voices, some human, some not: The lion’s share, of course, belongs to Older Anuncia (Lopez) in her 80s, the stand-in for Daniele, who self-describes herself as “dancer turned choreographer turned forgetful gardener.” Then there’s Granmama/Magdalena (Mary Testa) in her 60s, a strong-minded woman who lives “agreeably apart” from her seafaring husband, who is a merchant marine; Mami/Carmen (Eden Espinosa) an abused single parent in her late 30s who works as a gubernatorial secretary during Juan Perón’s dictatorship and who introduces her flat-footed daughter to dance; Tía (Andréa Burns), Carmen’s younger sister, in her early 30s, a creative soul who encourages Younger Anuncia to listen with her imagination to the mingled chimes of music—and soar. Then there’s the nautical and womanizing Granpapa (Enrique Acevedo) who breezes in and out of town like a will-o’-the wisp for his brief conjugal visits to Magdalena. And, in a nod to magical realism, there are two Deer (both played by Tally Sessions), who materialize at pivotal moments in the show. The first Deer persuades Older Anuncia to dance a bolero with him, in spite of the possibility that neighbors might see them together; the second Deer is cynical with a capital C, snarkily remarking to Older Anuncia, “Life’s just one friggin’ prickly pear, lady.”
Tally Sessions, as the Deer, and Priscilla Lopez, as Older Anuncia, in The Gardens of Anuncia at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Photographs by Julieta Cervantes
LaChiusa’s score features tango-inflected rhythms and smooth chord progressions. But his music could benefit from more grittiness in its textures. In fact, LaChiusa would do well to reflect on Granmama’s advice to Younger Anuncia: “Dirt is good for you. Everyone should eat a little dirt. Makes you strong.” Granmama was talking about horticulture, but her earthy advice to her grandchild applies with equal force to music.
While Anuncia works as a reverie that allows the audience to see inside the lives of three strong women, it doesn’t adequately illuminate the Younger Anuncia as she is coming of age in her native Argentina. Indeed, Younger Anuncia is almost totally eclipsed by her more loquacious relatives.
LaChiusa, who created such over-the-top musicals as The Wild Party (with George C. Wolfe), seems to be holding a tighter dramatic rein with The Gardens of Anuncia, so perhaps the only way to appreciate it is on its own modest terms. Instead of pulling out the theatrical stops, he is celebrating a triumvirate of women who helped nurture a titan of the American musical theater. For all that, The Gardens of Anuncia manages to remain impressive.
Lincoln Center Theater’s production The Gardens of Anuncia plays through Dec. 31 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 West 65 St.). Evening performances are at 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday (no performances on Dec. 7 or 14); matinees are at 2 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday. For tickets and more information, visit lct.org.
Book, Music, & Lyrics: Michael John LaChiusa
Director: Graciela Daniele
Choreography: Graciela Daniele & Alex Sanchez
Scenic Design: Mark Wendland
Costume Design: Toni-Leslie James
Lighting Design: Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer
Sound Design: Drew Levy
