“Queen of the Mist” Reviewed by Julia W. Rath

Highly Recommended ****  Valiant and defiant, Anna Edson Taylor goes down Niagara Falls at age 63 in a barrel of her own design and lives through it all.  Was it a mere publicity stunt or a human experiment of an amazing feat of engineering?

Based on a true story from the early 1900s, “Queen of the Mist” is Firebrand Theatre’s unique production, directed by Elizabeth Margolius, that showcases Michael John LaChiusa’s original musical.

In a time period when women’s roles in America were very narrowly proscribed, Anna wants to do something notable, well outside her comfort zone and the strictures of her gender.  As a widow with no children to care for her during her advancing age, her alternatives were grim:  prostitution, living out her life as a pauper (God-forbid, taking advantage of a stranger’s charity), or death.  Anna’s choice was to break with tradition and social mores and make a name for herself in order to earn some money, which she desperately needed to survive.  If she were going to die, so be it:  She’d go out in style, shooting over the falls in an oak cask (read casket).   Marvel of marvels: she spans the cataracts successfully, and lives to tell about it, only to have her manager say she’s too old and thus her great accomplishment is not believable.

Barbara E. Robertson is masterful in her portrayal of Anna, with her animated way of connecting with the audience and her beautiful singing voice.  Every segment of the action revolves around her natural charm.  More than anything, she exudes “There is greatness in me.”  Other great characters include Liz Chichester, who plays Carrie Nation, and Max J. Cervantes, who, in the role of Frank Russell, does a fine job of bouncing off Barbara Robertson’s high energy.

Committed to producing plays from a feminist perspective, the Firebrand Theatre promotes women in roles that empower them—and which are about empowered women.  This production of “Queen of the Mist” is unique in that the cast is made up of six womxn** and one man, when similar productions have a more balanced gender ratio.

So… what does it mean for a woman to get old?  When has she outlived her usefulness?  And who defines that?  Men?  Other women?  In what circumstances are women considered virtuous—or destined to hell on the basis of their sex?  In addition, “Queen of the Mist” asks a deeper question of us all:  As human beings, how can we make a mark that we have truly lived?  How can we demonstrate that our lives have mattered despite society’s prejudices for or against us?

Considering that the main theme is Niagara Falls and the mystery of fate, the use of a tremendous amount of mist during the performance is perfectly understandable.  But the audience gets the point.  In such an intimate venue, a small amount goes a long way.  At times, Anna talks about the possibility of suffocating in the barrel, but there is no need to demonstrate this!

Despite this one drawback, “Queen of the Mist” should not be missed.   It is not only about a woman of character and ambition, but it is equally a statement about our own time.  When and why and under what circumstances can we as individuals flex our muscles for the rest of the world to see?

“Queen of the Mist” is playing at the Den Theatre’s Janet Bookspan Theatre, located at 1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago.  Performance  through Saturday, July 6^th.

Curtain times:  Thursday, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.

Sundays at 3 p.m.

Tickets:  $55; $20 student/industry tickets available with valid I.D.  $15 day-of-rush tickets available on Today Tix.  Single tickets are currently available at firebrandtheatre.org.

Parking in the area is metered( but check the times n them and street . Do NOT Park in the Jewel Lot.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click ” Queen of the Mist”.

**  Womxn is a term inclusive of women, nonbinary and transgender individuals”