THE SCARLET LETTER

THE SCARLET LETTER

February 12 – March 12, 2005
  • by Phyllis Nagy
  • Adapted from the novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick
  • THE SANCTUARY THEATRE at Casa Del Pueblo Calvary Methodist Church

Hawthorne’s classic exploration of sin, society and the human condition gets a sexually charged and psychologically complex reworking in this tale of one of literature’s most legendary women. In Nagy’s retelling, the story is stripped down to its most essential elements. What remains is a nuanced drawing of Hester Prynne that expands on Hawthorne’s famous notion that Prynne’s punishment may instead be her “passport into regions where other women dared not tread.”

THE SCARLET LETTER was supported in part by Scott Chew and Samantha & John Foti

“Rorschach’s staging grips you from the start… the young and imaginative Rorschach Theatre, adds an eerie theatricality to Hawthorne’s already dramatic 17th-century morality tale… Nathaniel Hawthorne may have always been engaging, but he’s never been this hip.”

The Washington Post

FEATURING

Liz Chomko
Jay Dunn
Celia Madeoy
Scott McCormick
Jason Basinger Linkins
Paul McLane
Rahaleh Nassri

Designers

Set Eric Grims
Lighting David C. Ghatan
Costumes Debra Kim Sivigny
Sound Matthew Frederick

STAFF

Stage Manager Liz Welke
ASM Kate Bagdasian

PRODUCERS

Randy Baker
Jenny McConnell Frederick

MEDIA

PRESS

“Rorschach embraces the theatricality of the approach with its usual flair for set, costume and lighting design and performances of intelligence and style.”
Potomac Stages
"Rorschach Theatre creates a touching and relevant look at Puritanical values in its newest production, Phyllis Nagy’s adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. With a wonderfully child-like set, director Jenny McConnell Frederick and her cast have cut to the essence of Hawthorne’s classic story, whose heroin has become an icon about transforming pain into love and emerging from life’s hardships through sheer inner perseverance."
Curtain Up