UW-Milwaukee begins its Labworks series with Arlene Hutton’s As It Is in Heaven, an emotionally gripping show about a group of women living in a Shaker village in 1838. It’s a clever choice for UWM’s intimate space at Studio 508. The nine-woman ensemble dresses in plain period garb and there is no set, so the focus of the production is entirely on the characters.
Simple interactions render solid emotional detail as conflicts begin to arise when some of the women see angels beyond the edge of the community. The setting provides an interesting challenge for the ensemble because the community exists within a culture of uniformity. Individuality is looked down upon, even though each woman has a distinct, irrepressible personality. The cast does an admirable job of delivering the complexities that develop between the women in the village. Any desires to scream out into the shadows are subdued. Instead, director Jenny Wanasek allows the emotional intensity of the drama to develop on a lower register. The show has no difficulty capturing audiences in the intimate space of the bare studio theater.
Even when angels are seen by some of the women, there’s a sense of silent reverence. Organic emotions of very real characters echo the energy of individual performances. Like the script, the production is reaching for a divinity found within the heart of human emotion.
UWM’s Labworks production of As It Is in Heaven runs through Oct. 24 at Studio 508 in Kenilworth Square East.
