Pittsfield — In the crucible of recent weeks, months, and years, I have often pondered when, exactly, a more fully-rendered account of our nation’s rich history shall be unfurled—with the same pride as many Americans fly the stars and stripes—one that offers a glimpse of time through a lens that is not that of the straight, white man. These musings ultimately lead me to a question: How is it that certain versions of history have been erased, and what can be done to replace the aching absence of myriad unheard voices with the agency and affirmation they deserve? Last night, as if on cue, dance artists Tom Truss and Matthew Cumbie punctuated the proverbial stillness with their immersive performance of “ReWritten”—on the lawn at Arrowhead—that explores the often-silenced intimate relationship between authors Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville.
In keeping with the co-creators’ reverence for storytelling, the immersive performance offers audience members multiple points of entry—both to the reimagined relationship between Melville and Hawthorne as well as the physical environs in which it unfolds. Upon our arrival, we were invited to promenade about the Arrowhead property which—for life-long denizens of the Berkshires, like myself—proved a welcome respite not only from the hustle and bustle of daily life, but also the beaten path that is Holmes Road. I immediately breathed a bit easier upon stepping into the pace and beauty of the scene: the blurred edges between present day and a bygone era.
As instructed, a friend and I forged our own path (after choosing to follow a paper, as opposed to QR code-generated) map of five locales starred as performance spaces. We meandered into the red barn (and tread, unbeknownst to us at the time, upon the very stage for Act II); we found Melville’s piazza, on the north side of the property, where inspirational quotations (for the taking!) hung from a line; we were invited inside for a limited glimpse of Melville’s study (and adjoining guest room, where Hawthorne often spent the night), the very spot from which, in 1851, Melville looked due north and spied the hump of a great whale in the curve of Mount Greylock. Finally, in a pair of disparate locations (Truss from the doorway of a Mastheads studio, Cumbie beneath a canopy of trees) both artists delivered monologues, speaking not in character rather as younger versions of themselves, which evoked empathy not only for the respective individuals (and the sliver of a backstory each shared) but also for the sheer vulnerability of the human condition. We then took our seats for Act II.
Before the simple yet stunning backdrop of Melville’s red barn—the very place in which he and Hawthorne regularly sequestered themselves to smoke cigars and drink brandy among the rafters—Truss and Cumbie present a dramatic response to their own rhetorical question: What happens when you say no to a dream when you want to say yes?
Drawing on the lives, work, and remaining letters between the two authors (who met on the slope of Monument Mountain, drank champagne and sought cover from an August thunderstorm in 1850), “ReWritten” blurs time and reimagines an intergenerational queer love story that influenced American literature. The performers challenge the audience to be present and lean into the slightest bit of discomfort and uncertainty (they take to the stage as themselves, for instance, with a tech-savvy glimpse of how the two actually met) before assuming both period costumes and their respective author persona.
Shortly after the two writers met, Hawthorne (age 46) put pen to paper, telling a friend: “I met Melville (age 31), the other day, and liked him so much that I have asked him to spend a few days with me before leaving these parts.” Afterwards commenced the writers’ written correspondence, serving to lessen the gap between them—a scant six miles in total—that persisted for 18 months during the most prolific period in their respective careers.
“It’s unusual, as there are about 1,800 of Hawthorne’s letters in a library somewhere … Harvard, to be exact,” Truss told The Edge in 2021, in a nod to correspondence from Hawthorne to Melville that has vanished; only the letters from Melville remain. As to what happened to those penned by Hawthorne?
“Nobody knows. What a trustful guardian of secret matters fire is; what would we do without the fire? I mean, you can search the internet — there are 1,000 possibilities of what happened to them. Oh, get this: and his wife, Sophia Hawthorne, she was also interested in editing (and claimed to be the purveyor of [her husband’s] his literary legacy…”
Theories as to the whereabouts of the letters are quickly deemed irrelevant as the conversation turned performance unfolds. Cumbie and Truss slip back and forth into character, at times imperceptibly, all the while maintaining communication, parts of which are largely gray—a nod to deliberate ambiguity at its best.
While Hawthorne and Melville were indeed wordsmiths, Truss and Cumbie are dance artists which is why their approach—equal parts choreography, projection, and theater—allows the performers to move so adeptly, communicate so concisely, and deliver so intimately the struggle of keeping secrets and succumbing to social and self-imposed boundaries. This production—which has been workshopped around the globe from its early home in Housatonic, Mass. to New York City; Texas; Washington, D.C.; and most recently Paris—is both necessary and thought provoking.
From its opening promenade—timed on purpose, I’d imagine, to coincide with the sun sinking low in the west, its last rays slicing through the stagnant heat and humidity of late July—to the moment the great barn doors close, “ReWritten” indeed reveals a fresh perspective on an age-old tale, seen through a new lens that sheds light on an important truth: Throughout the millennia, countless queer people have been denied the right to have their voices heard, their images seen — human beings who have been erased. This performance pays homage to them.
And for those who choose not to believe in this retelling? Go anyway. I’m confident you’ll find something worthwhile and meaningful in the multiple entry points aimed at engaging individuals from all walks of life to reimagine an intergenerational queer love story that has the power to shape not only American literature, but also the world we all inhabit going forward.
NOTE: “ReWritten” was co-created and performed by local dance artist Tom Truss and Maine-based artist Matthew Cumbie; Jeremy Winchester, head of the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, is the lighting and set designer; world-renowned artist Diane Samuels and NY Dance and Performance Award (a.k.a “The Bessies”) winning designer Roma Flowers collaboratively led the visual components for the project including props and projections; Hawthorne and Melville scholar Dr. Katherine Stubbs served as academic advisor and dramaturg; and Rudy Ramirez, Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, has helped shape, direct, and stage the performance.
“ReWritten” is presented in partnership with the Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead and the Berkshire Pulse Center for Creative Arts. Performances take place at Arrowhead (780 Holmes Road in Pittsfield) at 7:45 p.m. on July 22, 23, 24 and 29, 30, 31. Tickets are $10 for BCHS members, $15 for non-members; EBT card holders receive 50 percent off, children age 12 and under are free. A special $25 ticket includes both the performance and a tour of Arrowhead at a later date; tours will not be available on performance evenings. Audience members should be prepared to walk short distances around the historic home; advance tickets here. This event is sponsored in part by Lee Bank Foundation and is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.
