What: Echoes in the Garden
Where: The Chain Theater
312 W. 36th St.
New York, NY
Who: Ages 16 and Up
When: Through November 6, 2021
Echoes in the Garden is a story of family secrets and family prejudices. Marion Hemmerich has never forgiven her daughter Ruth for marrying outside of her race. Although her husband, Henry loves his daughter, he usually yields to his wife's wishes and thus, hasn't had much of a relationship with his daughter either. Now, that Ruth has returned for a brief visit with her mixed-race son everything comes to a head, and an even darker family secret than Marion's clear prejudices is revealed.
If you are looking for a happy uplifting show, you're definitely going to want to skip this one. Although there are a few slight moments of happiness within the play, it is mostly dark, heart-wrenching, and sad. Even though it is set mostly in the 1960s with some flashbacks to an earlier time, its focus on racial prejudices is very relevant to today. The fact that the racial prejudices here are against members of one's own family just makes the play even sadder.
Although the character of Henry at least seems to have some redeeming value in his deep love for his wife, and he does seem to love his daughter too although his love for his wife takes precedence over that, the character of Marion does not. She does not seem to have any redeeming value at all. It's hard to understand why a playwright would create a character so hateful when there isn't even any lesson learned from the story. When you find out that the character of Marion was actually based on the playwright's own grandmother, it all begins to make sense and the whole story becomes even more poignant.
And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.
Photo credits: All Echoes in the Garden production photos by Basil Rodericks
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