James Wilson takes a look at Snow in Midsummer at Classic Stage Company:
These are discordant times in New Harmony, the Chinese town in which Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's Snow in Midsummer is set. Drought and famine prevail, and the ghost of a wrongly executed young woman is wreaking havoc in the small industrial community. The play, now running at Classic Stage Company, is based on the 13th-century drama The Injustice to Dou Yi That Moved Heaven and Earth by Guan Hanqing. While retaining references to class oppression and political injustice, the new version offers very contemporary attitudes toward social justice, gender expression, and sexual orientation. |
