Lilith in Pisces

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Lilith in Pisces follows a night in the life of Diane – a woman who feels trapped by suburban stagnation and new motherhood – and her encounter with Erin, the hired babysitter with whom she feels an odd connection.

Kayla Eisenberg’s (Delta Dawn, Yiddish Club) script has a flawless grasp of rhythm – the play will rapidly speed up or slow down suddenly yet always feels completely natural. Characters consistently interrupt and speak over each other, then pause for a moment before resuming the frenetic pace. Characters are alone on stage rarely, but just frequently enough to provide necessary moments of calm. It’s a credit to her skill as a writer that 90 minutes of tension-building never feels overwrought. The script is effectively one long, deeply compelling conversation. Throughout it all, Lilith (in the form of a print of 19th-century symbolist Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s famous oil painting Lady Lilith) watches over them. Lilith, the first wife of Adam (before Eve) who defied both him and God only to become a demon, is given great thematic resonance. Eisenberg’s script explores regret, resolve, and defiance through this interesting prism.

Director Stephanie Cox-Connolly (S.U.N. in the USA, The Blood Brothers Present… Horror Anthologies) demonstrates exactly why she’s been called the “Tom Savini of Off-Off Broadway” (New York Times), blending horror tropes in service of a wholly original vision to spectacular effect. Taking cues from giallo (1970s Italian horror cinema) but eschewing any knife-wielding killers, the production plays with a persistent sense of heightened unreality. At the same time, Cox-Connolly never loses sight of the emotional weight of the story. The supernatural happenings never detract from the weighty drama, they instead make it all the more compelling.

In true genre tradition, director Cox-Connolly also serves as the production’s special effects designer. Cabinets rattle, objects fall by themselves, and glass shatters in such a way as to seem completely real (even from the front row). Her handiwork in the field, along with those of sound designer Aremis Zara Gültekin and lighting designer Nina Agelvis, is on full display during the show’s climax of a séance gone wrong. It’s quite an elaborate sequence, making for a memorable conclusion to the show.

So much of the play hinges on the audience’s ability to connect with Diane, and understudy Morgan Zipf-Meister (Push Up, It’s Getting Tired Mildred) – subbing for Evelyn Peralta – delivers a captivating portrayal. She captures the character’s profound weariness from the very beginning of the show: Diane, clad in a long dress and matching shawl (from costume designer Ariel Chana Pellman), hunched over the TV watching game shows. Scurrying around the stage, her movements are quick and intentionally shaky, as if the character is forcibly willing herself not to collapse at any given moment.

Even her impeccably-organized shelves (overseen by scenic designer Sandy Yaklin) seem to suggest a feeling of being trapped. Diane is in constant pain – both physical and emotional – yet her eyes light up whenever she starts talking about Lilith. Zipf-Meister (who is also the production manager) shifts her entire body language to convey the change – she sits up straight, gesticulates, and speaks in a faster, excited rant. Her performance is phenomenal. She’s on stage for almost the entire runtime and firing on all cylinders throughout.

Erin, in her gothically elegant red blouse and corset paired with Doc Martens, is more reserved and responsible than her counterpart. Actress Nicki Kissil (Mourning Journal, ZOOMERS) gives a necessarily subtle performance. They play the proverbial straight man to Diane’s high-strung impulsive behaviors, providing the production a necessary foot in reality at all times. Kissil gives the audiences glimpses of Erin’s inner self – generally keeping an even-keeled somber disposition, but letting their guard down at quick interjections and sudden stops. Kissil dials the character up and down slowly, culminating in an extended monologue they skillfully deliver.

The two leads, on stage together nearly the entire play, have an easy chemistry. Zipf-Meister and Kissil bounce off each other effortlessly, mirroring and reflecting in equal measure. The blocking often provides contrast – one stands while the other sits, one tenses while the other relaxes. Both are constantly evaluating and adjusting their opinion of the other, a complex dynamic that both actresses play to the hilt.

Diane’s husband Mark, played by Richard Lovejoy (Lovejoy on Lovejoy, It’s Getting Tired Mildred) is relegated to the background for most of the play. The character is written a tad cartoonish in his controlling nature, but Lovejoy keeps his performance grounded enough to still feel real.

Lilith in Pisces is phenomenal. It is charming, sharp, and quietly tragic – sometimes all at once. It channels a unique idea and offbeat energy into a memorable and delightful piece of theater.

Lilith in Pisces (through March 22nd, 2025)

Drops in the Vase

The Flea Theater, 20 Thomas St, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit http://www.dropsinthevase.com/tickets

Running time: 110 minutes without an intermission