Mrs. Haggardly opens with three ladies sitting on thrones. Various comparisons come to mind. The Fates. The Gorgons. The Weird Sisters. A Tribunal. Two of them (Mrs. Haggardly and Madam Pigslips) are dowagers, one much younger (Mrs. Busybottom) a war widow. They wear elaborate gowns, gobs of makeup and enormous, turgid wigs, reminiscent of the aristocracy that fell to the French Revolution. The fact that these pretentious, arrogant, vindictive ladies are played by men, only adds to the grotesque air of decadence that suffuses this sardonic satire. (Gender mockery is a persistent thread.) These three run an orphanage for children who would seem to be casualties of war, emotionally and behaviorally speaking. One of their charges sits on a high stool, wearing a dunce cap. Johnny Rumsrunner, a kid who managed to escape, is a constant source of consternation
The Ochre House has a genius for cultivating a tangible sense dread (at least for me). Once I cross their threshold I hold my breath, convinced something unsettling is about to happen. This is not a bad thing. Ochre House has never stooped to crass shock appeal, or gratuitous mayhem. I savor knowing that anything can happen, and it’s always earned. Most of the characters in Mrs. Haggardly seem to suffer from one kind of deterioration or another: caricatures that explicate yet deprecate the glorification of battle.
Matthew Posey (playwright and director) and his intrepid troupe of remarkable artisans submerge us in a netherworld of buffered rage and throttled grief. I kept wondering if Mrs. Haggardly was a rejoinder to Mother Courage (who for all her pragmatic chicanery, was merely trying to survive) while the despotic ladies of the orphanage reek of rapacious cruelty. The songs, composed by Justin Locklear, with titles like The Orphan God Forgot, Death Calls Merrily, and Ashes, have a searching and trance-like quality, often steeped in irony.
Mrs. Haggardly takes us into a realm that where you might as easily find The Red Queen, The Mad Hatter and The Jabberwocky. Matthew Posey’s peerless at fashioning mindscapes that function autonomously, gleefully engaged in their own perverse, yet consistent logic. The pathos is genuine, the camp a thing of excessive beauty, the tragedy a fraud and the monsters poised to jump from under your bed. Mrs. Haggardy is a rich, layered, detailed allegory of men’s ridiculous obsession with warfare. Don’t miss it.
“Even in these crazy times, Ochre House Theater is still here! Beginning Friday, April 3rd through April 24th, we will have Mrs. Haggardly, written and directed by Artistic Director Matthew Posey, available for streaming via the provided link. In the meantime, subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon for notifications! See Mrs. Haggardly once again, and if you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance!”
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT3anawUGNECyoRQsrVRZbg