'To walk those moors is like walking in the Brontës' imagination'

Broadway World reviews Brontë Sister House Party.

If you’ve ever wondered what it may be like to party with the Brontё sisters, get ready to sip on a lot of cordials, margaritas, and rosè and experience an evening like no other at Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party. Join Emily (Leah Ly), Charlotte (Aubri O’Connor), and Anne (Rose Hahn) Brontё, alongside their brother Branwell (Ty Edwards) and some other very special guests, as they throw yet another house party that they hope will help them escape the Purgatorial time loop in which they are trapped. 

Many, many years after their untimely deaths, the Brontё sisters have found themselves stuck in Purgatory by the Lavender Witch of Gondol (a creation from their own imaginations), which requires them to throw a party every single night until they are able to reach The Point of Celebratory Reverence; except they don’t know what that requires, or do they? In order to gain approval from the Lavender Witch of Gondol, the Brontёs turn to some special guests to to keep their party attendees entertained: Wuthering Heights’ Cathy (Brenna Horner), Jane Eyre’s Helen Burns (Alyssa Nolan), and famed English singer Kate Bush (Madeline Marie). Through a wide variety of musical numbers, their stories are told (and hopefully earn audience approval) and the complexities of everyone’s lives are exposed. Do they ever make it out of this time loop? You’ll just have to see for yourselves!

Charlotte’s (Aubri O’Connor) expectations of perfection and anxiety surrounding the party are palpable. O’Connor’s portrayal of the eldest sister is brilliant and because of this, I was able to empathize with her desire to protect her sisters, reconnect with her love, and remain optimistic that this time loop will eventually end. I commend O’Connor for her raw emotion and dedication to the role - it is a performance that has left an impression on me. 

In contrast to Charlotte’s range of emotion, Emily (Leah Ly) is pessimistic and remains that way through most of the show, even though she may know the way out. Whether that level of pessimism was the original intention or not, Ly’s performance remains at one level - always a bit mopey and apathetic. More depth to Emily’s character would have been an added bonus to this production. 

Rose Hahn’s portrayal of Anne was the standout performance for me. Already dubbed as the token comedic relief, Hahn brought a sense of whimsy and optimism to the stage that was so desperately needed. The depth of Anne’s character is an important part of the plot, as it becomes clear that she is more than just quirky and funny and she has learned so much about herself during this experience, and Hahn was able to demonstrate this multi-faceted character arc spectacularly.  I couldn’t take my eyes off Hahn between her funny yet subtle mannerisms, incredible comedic timing, and ability to play a distinct variety of characters with ease. 

Branwell (Ty Edwards), the sole man character, was initially alluded to as being difficult, which proved true in the end. Edwards brought me a slight sense of optimism, hopeful that Branwell may redeem himself, but by the second act, he was the stereotypical angry man that has been seen on stage time and time again. 

Looking as though she could have been plucked directly from the recent Wuthering Heights film, Brenna Horner was an exquisite Cathy. Horner’s characterization made it clear that Cathy was sick and tired of the antics from the sisters and their parties. As a friend of the Lavender Witch of Gondol herself who had shed some light on the situation at hand, Cathy’s little nuggets of extra knowledge were subtly demonstrated throughout the show - all thanks to the intentional decisions made by Horner. 

The last guests of the party are the unlikely duo of Helen Burns (Alyssa Nolan) and Kate Bush (Madeline Marie), and Nolan and Marie have such great chemistry onstage that makes you forget that there’s no reason for these characters to be friends. Marie does the majority of the live singing in the show, and her unique, soft, and beautifully sung musical numbers are a fun twist. Nolan’s vocal performance was incredibly fun and wonderfully executed, and it was just what the show needed. And while I still may not fully understand the brief song written by Burns and Bush in a bathroom, I enjoyed their characters a lot. 

Written with a run time of 1.5-2 hours, Nu Sass’ 2.5 hour production was definitely on the long side, especially when sitting in an un-airconditioned storefront in the middle of a DC summer. Without knowing which creative liberties and intentional decisions were made by director Kathleen Barth, it’s hard to say where time could have been made up. The last 10-20 minutes of the show felt like the audience’s personal time-loop, as all the characters onstage chatted over each other, just like at a real party. However, party chatter such as that did not translate well to the stage and left me wondering why the show was still going on towards the end. Overall, I enjoyed Barth’s direction, especially given the parameters of the unique theatre space. I can see where this show would be tricky to direct, and I commend Barth on accepting the challenge! 

I greatly enjoyed the costume design by Lanae Sterrett, giving each of the Brontё sisters (and the rest of the cast as well) the perfect costumes to fit their personalities in this modern day and age. The set design by Maggie Troutman combined with the prop design by Roo Sultan literally and figuratively set the stage for this unique show, and they made the whole theatre space immersive, which was a great touch when trying to make the audience feel that they are part of this party. Connor Lugo-Harris did a great job with the sound design, especially being the in-house Alexa that was genuinely a crucial piece of the show! Major kudos to the whole creative team! 

Nu Sass Productions’ Brontё Sister House Party is a fun night out and a great way to spend an evening in this last part of summer. There are a variety of special performances coming up, including a free performance on September 8th during Art All Night sponsored by Van Ness Main Street, and they are all worth checking out. I’m eager to see what else Nu Sass Productions has in store this year! (Abby Korb)

LBC has an article on the plans for a wind farm at the heart of Brontë Country and how the locals (and visitors, we would add) are against it.

Walking in Bronte country on the Moors above Haworth is like walking in one of the famous sisters’ novels.

But the landscape that inspired Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, a story revived in the latest Hollywood film starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, is under threat, according to some local residents.

Thirty-four wind turbines, each one standing at 200 metres tall, are being planned for construction on Crow Hill on the Moors here.

Nick Makinnon’s home sits on part of the Bronte walk, taking in the stunning views of the dramatic scenery.

He is among a large group in the surrounding area who are campaigning against these plans.

“It’s a special protection area for enlisted birds, it’s a conservation area and it’s the inspiration for the Bronte sisters” Nick explained. “So on those three axes, it’s the worst site in England.”

A spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Our assessment work to date concludes that Top Withens (the farmhouse that inspired Wuthering Heights) and its Brontë associations would remain intact, with no harm to its heritage significance.

“The nearest turbine would be more than 800 metres away and positioned beyond intervening landform, limiting its prominence in views from the site.”

To that, Nick said this goes much deeper…literally.

“Amazingly, there’s only one site in England where you get a peat landslide known as a ‘bog burst’, where the bog explodes under pressure.” Nick pointed out.

“The only place it happens in England is on Crow Hill. The developers of the Wind Farm have very recently decided it needs to go over that area.”

In response to Nick's comments, a spokesperson for Calderdale Energy Park told LBC: “Detailed peat, ground condition and stability assessments are ongoing, and the findings will inform the project's final design.

“The design has already evolved through two stages of peat probing and hydrological surveys, moving infrastructure away from deeper peat and adjusting track alignments to follow shallower corridors, with floating tracks proposed in suitable locations to avoid cutting into peat altogether.”

Around 80,000 visitors come to the area each year, many wanting to see the history of the Brontes.

Rebecca Yorke, the Director of the Bronte Parsonage Museum, said if this energy park were to go ahead, it would “change the landscape forever".

“It would be very mercenary to say it would have an impact on tourism; we don’t know if it would stop people coming here,” she said.

“But what we do know is that their experience would be very different. That landscape would not be the same, the wildlife wouldn’t be there.

"To walk those moors is like walking in the Brontes' imagination. You can’t separate the landscape from their writing.” (Alex Taylor-Brown)

Publishers' Weekly features Marlon James talking about Jean Rhys-

Wide Sargasso Sea feels like it’s in conversation with Edward Long’s The History of Jamaica. He goes off on white women in the Caribbean. How the white woman is this feral creature, she may be tainted, possibly insane, certainly full of wanton lust. My theory is that Charlotte Brontë read it, and hence we get the madwoman in the attic, who’s from Jamaica. Brontë wouldn’t have known a thing about Jamaica. Her only source would have been written material, and the only written material I know of from that period would be Edward Long’s History.

So if you’re Jean Rhys, not only are your characters these women, but you’re also that woman. And I think she felt driven to give that woman a voice and agency. People think she only did that in Voyage in the Dark or Wide Sargasso Sea, but she did it in all her books. (Nick Hilden)