This Wednesday, I attended the final dress rehearsal for The Answer. I arrived early at the Kander Theater and took this time to absorb the stage decorations. The floor was covered in white flowers and spirals. A minimalist mountain was drawn on the back wall, Doric-style columns were arranged on stage in an arc, and a white box sat in the center of the stage. The lights dimmed.
The show’s director, College fourth-year Rylan Dean Hefner, entered the stage. She sat on the box and opened a book. Illuminated by an overhead light, Hefner introduced the show with some cryptic phrases. She gave me the feeling that I was getting tucked into bed before entering a dreamlike storyworld. Hefner exited the stage, and the show began.
The Answer was born out of a short scene Hefner wrote for class during her semester abroad. Since then, she has expanded it, adding music and turning it into her theater capstone. Although the show contains elements similar to musical theater, Hefner does not refer to it as a musical. Instead, she calls it a new music theater project to highlight its structural differences from a musical, such as its complete lack of dialogue and its unorthodox plot.
The nine scenes of The Answer take place in and around the Infinite Forest, following different creatures on their journey to find “the Answer,” an obscure thing that inspires fear and passion among the creatures. The show introduces a profound meditation on what drives a story, with broader implications for what motivates our lives.
The show drew inspiration from Greek mythology, with strong allusions to the Muses — the goddesses who were seen as the source of inspiration for literature and the arts. The characters in the Infinite Forest began the show dressed in drapey cloths, marching around while asking what the Answer might be. As the show progressed, there were many costume changes, but there was always at least one creature that remained in ancient Greek-style clothing. This was a powerful representation of how storytelling and answer-searching span across centuries.
The musical arrangements were particularly effective in propelling the story forward; nontraditional tonalities and exciting time signatures kept the show engaging. In addition to Hefner, Conservatory third-year student Ruby McKeever is to thank for helping the actors learn to work with the strangeness of the music.
A violinist and pianist sat in the corner of the Kander, periodically illuminated by a white light. Instrumentation is uniquely suited to evoke emotion rather than convey explicit meaning, as it operates without the linguistic cues that lead us to focus on interpretation instead of feeling.
The Answer featured prominent themes of cyclicism. This was at times effective and at other times overdone. The lyrics about circles and the blocking of characters walking and dancing in circles successfully paralleled each other. The theme was also successfully represented in songs discussing weather cycles. However, at other points, the cyclical theme was too drawn out. Toward the end of The Answer, one of the creatures complained that she was tired of talking in circles. I felt similarly tired. By this point, I understood the importance of cycles in the show and didn’t need the characters to keep on reminding me.
The actors demonstrated great talent and direction. Their expressions often exuded an unearthly feel in their wide-eyedness. I was particularly moved by College third-year Macie Slater and College first-year Natascha Levine Nitoh’s expressions of surprise and disgust, but all the actors had dynamic gestures that brought the show to life. Their movements were often unsettling, such as stumbling around lifelessly toward the end of the music theater project. This all contributed to the otherworldly environment of the Infinite Forest.
At the show’s end, all the actors collapsed and the lights went out. A red bar of light gleamed in the darkness, and an eerie humming filled the room. This intense ending worked well as a conclusion. Earlier in the show, a creature sang about how we cannot look directly at the sun, but we can see the light from its rays. I interpreted the red bar to be the Answer, or at least the rays of the Answer. The eeriness of the humming demonstrated the dissatisfaction and discomfort of reaching the end of a story.
It’s difficult to stage a show based on such abstract and broad questions. Although certain themes were overemphasized, Hefner ultimately successfully handled these abstractions. The Answer will be showing today and this weekend, and is worth the watch for its imaginative music and lively actors.
