Madison Lyric Stage Presents The Seven Deadly Sins and Curlew River

The first production of Madison Lyric Stage’s 2022 10th anniversary mainstage season will be a double bill of Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River May 12-15. The performance will be held in Madison Lyric Stage’s brand-new deluxe tent on the grounds of the Deacon John Grave House. Performance times are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 5:00pm.

The Seven Deadly Sins by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht tells the story of Anna, who is sent on a seven-year journey through seven American cities to earn enough money for her family to build a house. Anna is torn between the need to make money and her morals, and as such has a split personality – so much so that she is played by two different women. The Seven Deadly Sins is described as a “sung ballet” and incorporates both song and dance.

Curlew River by Benjamin Britten with text by William Plomer, is known as a ‘parable for church performance’ and is one of three church parables written by Britten. It tells the story of the Madwoman and Traveler who cross the Curlew River on the Ferryman’s boat to find the Madwoman’s missing child. During the journey, the Ferryman tells the story of a boy who mysteriously arrived a year ago with a cruel master who had kidnapped him. When the boy died, he asked to be buried by the path to the local chapel. Curlew River is based on the Japanese Noh play Sumidagawa (Sumida River) and is told through three main characters, all performed by male singers, which is the style of Noh theater.

“I am so delighted to present these two magnificent works that are rarely seen in Connecticut, said Marc Deaton, artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage. “The Seven Deadly Sins is a perfect example of music from the Weimar Republic, with a social commentary on American rural life in the 1930’s. The church parable Curlew River reflects the universal Judeo-Christian traditions of people’s relationship with God, community and the dignity of human life.”

Tickets are $55 and can be purchased by visiting madisonlyricstage.org or by calling 203-215-6329. The Deacon John Grave House is located at 581 Boston Post Road in Madison.

The Madison Lyric Stage 2022 season continues in June with the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd, followed by Stephen Schwartz’s musical Pippin in July, and Edward Albee’s play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in September.