* Photos by Michael R. Griffin
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The Little Death - an adult drama in two acts
In 1880's New Orleans, beautiful Hesper Darnelle enters a dangerous liaison with
her guardian, Professor Meredith, then a flirtation with a young man, Alan Corbay.
To protect his interest in Hesper, Meredith invites her worldly cousin Vara to join
the household as his ward's companion. Vara glides among the other characters like
Iago in a bustle, leaving disaster in her wake. And Hesper must find a way to break
with Meredith, Alan, and Vara to save herself.
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 "Wonderfully captures the mood of old New Orleans,
but the spirit of the play, centered as it is on the experience of women, is modern
. . . The Little Death transcends romantic intrigue to sharply explore double sexual
standards and the 'limitations' that women even today must struggle against."
- Monika Meyer, Public News
 Actors, clockwise, Chiara Motley, Lorrie Fargo, Jeremy Thompson, and Rik Deskin
 Poster for the West Coast Premiere designed by L. Nicol Cabe
“While talking up this play to friends, I’ve referred to the show as a ‘bodice-ripper,’ ‘exactly what the title makes it sound like,’ and a ‘Southern Gothic dark romance.’ The show’s title, a delightful French euphemism, leads naturally to these assumptions of the play’s content.
As assumptions go, this one isn’t wrong. The show is indeed about sex and orgasm. Of course, to say the show is only about sex and orgasm is to do it a great disservice. Though steamy as night on the Louisiana bayou, or as wild as a Mardi Gras party, this play is not a superficial spectacle of lust and avarice. It is an exploration of what lust, jealousy, avarice, possessiveness, and insecurity can lead to in our relationships. It is the tragedy of lovers who will not, indeed cannot, communicate with each other outside of physical passion. It is an intrigue of alliances forged, and false assumptions believed, and human justice imposed. Ultimately, no one can survive without confrontation, and that confrontation comes far too late.
In a way, I suppose, it is a morality play, showing us on the mirror stage what can happen if we are too selfish or too timid. But more than that, it is a tragedy that we have all experienced at least once in our lives—meaningful relationships destroyed because of our carelessness. It is a tale of hubris and fallen heroes, through which we are not merely instructed—we experience catharsis because of these characters’ sacrifice." ~ L. Nicol Cabe
For production information please contact the author.
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