Consider the Lilies
A pleasant return to live, in-theater production in 2021
BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE
When I was shown
to my socially distanced
seat, fully
masked, at the Theater
Center in midtown, it had
been exactly 425 days since I had
last been in a theater. That’s quite
a change from being accustomed
to seeing shows, often multiple
times a week. On one level, it was
a monumental milestone, and on
another, distancing aside, it felt
familiar, as if the intervening fourteen
months had never happened.
Of course, they had, and the
Drama Company NYC’s production
of “Lilies or the Revival of a
Romantic Dream” is being billed as
the fi rst new indoor production of
2021. What a great way to return
to a physical theater.
Though the play was only written
in 1987 by Canadian Michel Marc
Bouchard, it has a classic feel. It is
a romance, a revenge tragedy, and
a gay love story all rolled into one.
The English translation by Linda
Gaboriau is contemporary and
balances brutality and lyricism in
a way that is fully engaging.
The plot revolves around the confrontation
between Simon Doucet
and Bishop Jean Bilodeau in 1952.
Simon has just gotten out of jail for
a crime he did not commit, and he
confronts Bilodeau about his role
in a tragedy when he, Bilodeau,
and Count Valier De Tilly were at
school together in 1912. The young
Bilodeau, passionate about morality
and the church, resented the
romantic relationship between Simon
and Valier and felt it would
lead to their eternal damnation.
Simon, to get away from the small
town where they live, convinces
himself he is in love with a rich
woman visiting the town — and
he plans to marry her and escape.
Needless to say it doesn’t go well,
and Simon ends up in Jail. The
story is portrayed by ghosts from
the past conjured by the older Simon,
and Bilodeau is forced to revisit
the tragedy.
The story is told simply and acted
out by a cast of 11 men. Though
Hartley Parker and Florimond Le Goupil-Maier in “Lilies.”
presented on a bare stage using
only chairs, the company evokes
time and place effortlessly. Under
the direction of Andrew Benvenuti,
they balance the magical realism
of the story with visceral emotional
depth. The threat and challenge of
being gay in a small town in 1912
and in an environment where religious
zealotry abounds provides
the dramatic tension that propels
the story and the emotions. The
surreal storytelling reminds one
of Dürrenmatt’s play “The Visit,”
particularly with the subtle undercurrent
of moral commentary
throughout. In “Lilies,” the moral
question is whether or not the
spirit can be constrained by the
dogma of the church. Playwright
Bouchard posits that the heart
cannot be constrained, but it’s a
fair fi ght as each of the characters
wrestles with his demons.
The cast is excellent. As the
older Bilodeau, Marc Verzatt sheds
the armor of the church over the
course of the play to become vulnerable
and human. Hartley Parker,
as the young Simon, embodies
the confl ict and internalized
shame of his sexuality. Florimond
Le Goupil-Maier as Vallier is more
free, a destitute aristocrat exiled
to Canada from Paris along with
his mother. His mother. Countess
De Tilly, is the voice of acceptance
and freedom (with her libertine
Parisian ways), and though she
is driven nearly mad by the loss
of the world she knew, her love for
her son makes her an ardent defender
of his relationship with Simon.
As played by Bill Morton. the
Countess is touching and sympathetic,
even given the excess of the
role. As Lydie-Anne De Rozier, the
woman Simon tries to fall in love
with, JP Ross gives a strong and
assured performance with surprising
fl ashes of intensity as her
plans crumble. Her character sets
up a third element of tension in
the piece. Beyond the church and
sexuality, De Rozier represents the
power of money to solve deeper
problems. Grant Hale as the young
Bilodeau deftly balances the character’s
religious intensity with a
personal vulnerability that ultimately
makes him a tragic fi gure.
Given that the characters are all
THEATER
ANDREW DANIEL DICK
types, it’s to the credit of the entire
cast that their authentic humanity
shines through and creates a powerful
emotional experience. One
can only imagine what it’s like for
them to play to a small house where
the audience is spread around the
theater and wearing masks. It has
to have an impact on the more
traditional experience of going to
the theater where the audience
becomes a cohesive organism, as
much a part of the experience as
what is happening on the stage.
As restrictions are lifted and we
once again can fi ll houses, we may
return to whatever the new normal
for theatergoing will be. In the meantime,
however, it’s exciting to welcome
“Lilies” and immerse oneself in
the kind of immediacy and artistry
only live theater can provide.
LILIES, OR THE REVIVAL OF
A ROMANTIC DREAM | The Theater
Center, 210 West 50th Street
| Wed. 2 p.m.; Sat. 5 p.m.; Sun. 7
p.m.; Mon. 7 p.m. | $45-$62 at Ticketmaster.
com or 212-921-7862
Note: Seating follows a socially
distanced “pod” plan. Masks are
required.
GayCityNews.com | May 20 - June 2, 2021 29
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