I have always enjoyed learning about history. I grew up in a small gold mining town and most of my field trips were to Sacramento or San Francisco, so there has never been a lack of history. Whether it be local or global, looking at the past is a great way to understand how people of the past have influenced how we live today. What we might miss is just how deep and personal this influence can get.
Now Circa Then introduces you to Gideon and Margie, an unlikely pair of historical reenactors at the New York City Lower East Side Tenement Museum. They help to share the stories of Julian and Josephine, an immigrant Jewish couple from 1890. Gideon is a hard-core history buff. Listening to him is like having the History Channel on repeat. He has done countless reenactments from Republican politicians to renaissance fairs. He loves history so much that he even wears a pair of underwear with Abraham Lincoln’s face on it (and yes, you do get to see it on stage.) Margie, on the other hand, has a much different outlook on the subject. She thinks history is a bunch of baloney, though she doesn’t use as nice of a word to describe it. Margie has recently moved to New York and has started working at the museum simply because she needs a job. Quickly we see that Margie is looking for a calling in life, she doesn’t have one defined passion like Gideon, and she is sort of just floating through life. As they go through numerous tour groups, who they thought they were and their relationship with each other completely changes.
Having the production set in a museum is an absolutely brilliant way to stage a play. This allows theatergoers to be both the audience and the tour groups. We are asked questions and interact with and it makes the show fun and playful in a way you don’t often get to see. Having the parallels of their real lives versus reenacting Julian and Josephine also leads to a lot of beautiful character development. While I don’t want to spoil anything, as the show goes on, their personal lives start to seep into how they reenact their characters and it is amazing to see the changes they go through.
The production has two actors, Nicole Anne Salle (Margie/Josephine) and Hunter Hoffman (Gideon/Julian) and it was a pleasure to see them perform. Their chemistry is electric, and they play off of each other’s emotions so well that they had me on the edge of my seat. While Gideon is a bit of a history snob, Hunter adds the necessary humor to make him quite loveable. Nicole Anne has the challenge of portraying Margie, who is stubborn and a bit misguided, and growing her into a character that you end up rooting for. Both actors deserve all the standing ovations they can get.
Now Circa Then was truly a treat to see at Capital Stage. The show delves into the ideas of personal identity, complex relationships, and purpose with an striking balance of humor and drama. You can catch Now Circa Then through July 21 at Capital Stage. Learn more here.
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