Fringe Review: Maytide’s It Is Well With My Soul: The Musical
★★★★☆
This beautiful tale of tragedy and faith is based on the true story of Anna and Horatio Spafford. | Image Credit: Maytide’s It is Well With My Soul: The Musical.
To book your ticket, please visit Maytide’s It is Well With My Soul via the Adelaide Fringe website.
Maytide Theatre Company invites you, the audience, on a wonderful adventure exploring the hymn ‘It is Well With My Soul’, following the protagonists Horatio and Anna Spafford, in a journey spanning faith and tragedy.
The tale of Maytide’s It is Well With My Soul follows a true story regarding American lawyer and Presbyterian church preacher Horatio Spafford and his wife Anna as they navigate the tragedies of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and the death of their children on the S.S. Ville du Havre.
During the musical performances, featuring music set by Philip Bliss in 1876, you follow Anna’s journey from Norway to Chicago and later Jerusalem, exploring themes of grief, hope, redemption and spiritual transformation.
The costuming and set design really casts you in the late nineteenth century. Each of the characters, including their accents stemming from Irish to American and British, really bring out the ‘vibrant diversity’ of then industrial era America.
Whilst some characters accents switched between different countries whilst belong to the same character, as an audience member you felt this strong connection to the show.
The powerful story of Maytide evoked strong emotional pull from myself and other members, including the impassioned plea of Anne upon losing her children “Oh lord above hear me cry, why let the innocent die”.
The musical could probably have played more into her sorrow, including the devestation of the Great Fire of Chicago and its impact on many of the friends the couple had made which would have made for a great historical bit.
MayTide is a powerful story about faith, tradedy and pulling yourself back up. I highly recommend it for audiences for both this year and future Fringe seasons.
Media Reviewer: Zane Le Blond
