Xara's Constellations

• Paige Marvel as Andromeda

Constellations is Xara Choral Theatre’s most ambitious program to date. It uses dance, spoken word and music that ranges from the classical “Magnificat” to the catchy “Royals” to explore celestial-based myths. The show, staged in the round at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, delivered on both esthetic and emotional levels. As you can imagine, a show about stars needs dramatic, evocative lighting, and lighting design by Matthew Downey was breathtaking. The stories, though based on myths, connected on a human scale. For me, the story of Andromeda, who is doomed for eternity by her mother’s sins, was the most affecting, and was constructed with a riveting blend of theatre, dance and choral singing. And that synthesis of drama, movement and music is what makes a Xara show so unique, and so heavenly.