I saw an Epiphany - which sounds odd, but isn't

Epiphany: The Play

Epiphany is not about the sudden brainstorm of an Epiphany. In this case it is the holiday, now forgotten, of the “manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi” (Matthew 2:1 – 12). Although it takes a while to get to that in the play.

Which is on purpose. A collection of friends gather at a big, empty manor house. They have been invited by Morkan (MaryLouise Burke) and they try to guess what the reason is. But Morkan is not forthcoming. In fact, her scattered brained response seems designed to confuse.

Many of the friends hurry over in the hopes of meeting Morkan’s famous nephew Gabriel. And Morkan seems obsessed with his imminent arrival, even though he never comes.

Marylouise Burke as Morkan

Over the course of the evening, the friends try to understand why they are here to celebrate Epiphany. In fact, they debate what the Epiphany is. It seems that Morkan wants to create new traditions with her friends. And this forgotten holiday is the perfect way to do it, she assumes. They all have drinks and – I believe the purpose was to share secrets – but the secrets are pretty mundane. Then they have dinner and discuss the world. Assuming you will not see it – it is closing soon – spoilers follow.

There are lots of questions about the location of Morkan’s sister (Gabriel’s mother) and why she is not attending dinner. She is normally at home with Morkan. Morkan explains they had a falling out a few months ago, and the sister left. 

Pressed further and asked about what happened, Morkan does not elaborate at first. Finally she tells all gathered that her sister is dead. (No real reason is reveled – and so the information hits the audience with all the emotion and depth of a news story of Justin Bieber’s latest album dropping.) 

That pretty much kills the party vibe and so almost everyone leaves.

Random songs kill time.

That’s it.

The set actually brings the “old house mystery” to mind. And, although there is no evil spirit to unmask as the killer, the mystery of what happened to the sister does reflect on the setting.

Was it great? No. Was it a good time? Pretty much. The acting was fantastic. I have seen most of the players previously and loved them – here they did not disappoint. The unfocused story let them down