Collaborative creativity exploded onto the stage of Mercer County Community College on November 17, 18, and 19, thanks to the premiere of The Seven Deadly Sins. Described in the advertisements as “an evening of dance, theater, and interdisciplinary art,” it featured 4 one-act plays and 3 dance numbers, showcasing each of the sins. In the little theater known as the Black Box Theatre, located in the Communications Building, the audience got to intimately experience the dark sides of the human psyche.
Landing a feature in the renowned publication Broadway World, the Managing Editor, Stephi Wild, wrote, “The performance is a unique collaboration with professional artists from Passage Theater, Moving Productions, New York City playwrights, and area playwrights.”
The show mixes multiple disciplines of the arts, and professional writers and choreographers working with student writers and choreographers to create a unique viewing experience.
The first sin in the line-up was “Sloth,” directed by Brishen Miller, a play about four Gen-Z young adults being overseen by a guardian angel, played by Angela Wallace, who wants them to change the world instead of scrolling on their phones all day in bed. She meddles with the events of their day to get them to take action, leading to disastrous results. Using pop culture references and comedic timing to convey a hard-hitting message, this beginning of the show snapped the audience to attention.
The second sin to appear was “Envy,” directed by Deena Jiles and written by MCCC student Brittany Fleur. “So it was in the very beginning of when [the show] was being announced…Jody (Gazeenbeek-Person, MCCC’s Theatre and Dance Coordinator) asked, ‘Does anybody want to write for Envy?’ And I got excited. I was like, ‘alright, most definitely!’ and I got to writing,” Fleur said.
Her play centers around an emotionally abused little girl, Brielle, played by Jordyn Navata, who befriends the green-eyed monster, Envy. Envy, played by Trinity Miller, promises to teach her how to get everything she wants in life, but it later comes with a high price.
Fleur says that she took inspiration from True Crime documentaries, the Netflix show “Big Mouth,” and times in her own life when she felt jealous.
“I did have to research more about what envy was, and obviously, envy is…another form of very harsh and brutal jealousy. So, I had to think back in my life when I was jealous of somebody…I kind of fed off of that. And sometimes I like doing this thing when I’m writing and creating something, that I go into a different path of what would happen if I was really that envious. And if I really did feed that darker side of me that I always hid,” Fleur said.
Next to take the stage was an interpretative dance number for “Lust,” choreographed by Jennifer Gladney-Vacanti. In this concoction of various genres, a young woman, played by Melissa Hemel, explores her sexual temptations and learns new rhythms in the sheets. The complicated dance featured salsa, hip-hop, and contemporary being performed by young men and women in opaque outfits and high heels.
When asked about the length of time spent choreographing and teaching, Gladney stated: “Multiple of us have been working tirelessly since September.”
Erupting onto the stage afterward was “Wrath,” written and directed by Professor Jody Gazenbeek-Person. This portion married dance with storytelling, as Wrath, played by Trinity Miller, attempts to fight her way into Heaven against the angels at the Gates, played by Jordan Shutz and Zlatin Ivanov. Before a bloody wrestling match with the angels (literal fake blood—as in, the front row was in the splash zone, courteously covered with a sheet), Wrath describes various ways she shows up in people’s everyday lives, like on a busy street in New York, where a cab driver almost hits a cyclist.
“Jody has a brilliant mind,” says Miller, the actress for Wrath, adding “He based [the piece] on an altercation he actually saw. The cab driver was in the wrong, but [afterward] the biker…was just talking about the cab driver, who was of a different ethnicity. And so he was making fun of him. You know, it’s free to be nice. And he took that moment to berate that man and talk about his accent [as revenge]. So [Wrath] represents all the bad that goes on in this country, but put into one being.”
After a 10-minute Intermission, the next play, “A Necessary Jester,” written by MCCC graduate Tyann Sells, directed by Deena Jiles, and choreographed by Melissa Hemel, illuminated the sin of Pride. A queen, played by Danúbia Villar, hosts a rave in her court, but the indulgent activities are interrupted by the frisky Court Jester, played by Valmiki Rajan, who vies for the throne. Featuring the whole cast on stage partying with glow sticks, and virgin jello shots handed out to the audience, gratification was at the center of this piece.
Unfortunately, this particular portion of the play, along with its predecessor, “Wrath,” had some audience members confused. None of the actors appeared to have microphones on for the entire show, relying on their own vocal projection, as well as the acoustics of the small theater. In addition, both plays had loud music playing in the background, which made it difficult to hear some of the lines.
Theatre-goer Frank Cipriano, who sat in the front row, said, “The part where Pride, the Jester, started that monologue about why he is important would have been great, but the message got lost in the visual chaos and the loud music.”
While he praised the creativity of the one-act plays and dances, Cipriano had the same opinion about “Wrath,” “Lust,” and later, “Gluttony” saying, “They would have benefited from maybe having a narrator. The message was not clear.”
Sin number six was “Greed,” directed by Jill Molinaro. This was an interpretative dance with a group of young royals having a battle to earn the crown. The young women and the young man took to the stage wearing hoods, chanting “greed, greed, greed” in unison before stating their plans to usurp the throne. This portion was the shortest of the night.
Finally, the last indulgence was “Gluttony.” In a play titled “The Capitalman” by Suzanne Willett, a selfish deity known as the Capitalman, played by Jawn Johnson, is celebrating his birthday. But according to his frustrated secretary, played by Brendaliz Gonzalez, and his timid servant, played by Peyton Eggers, he treats the planet like every single day is his birthday.
Johnson said, “You saw me overeating, over-obsessed, and over consumed!” adding that “The Capitalman’’ was a social commentary on the innumerable ways Americans are gluttonous: with food, with money, with plastic consumption, and with people’s kindness.
All hands were on deck for the writing, choreography, costume design, set design, and performance of The Seven Deadly Sins. Stage Manager Fabiola Bien-Aimè and Assistant Stage Manager Zhi Sharpe kept things running during the rehearsals and shows, leading to a show where the audience filed out of the theater passionately discussing the night in the foyer.
As Prof. Gazenbeek-Person told Broadway World: “What I love about this project and its concept is that I can give many creatives an opportunity to make new work: choreographers, directors, and playwrights. This production takes you all over the map – there are ideas that will explode the mind!”
