Seven Deadly Sins by Hilary Bettis et al. (review)

On a day when the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 2,439 Americans died from COVID-19, those of us who ventured to see Miami New Drama’s Seven Deadly Sins were not hard pressed to wonder which of these ancient sins we committed by attending an in-person theatrical performance. Did we exhibit Pride by betting masks, handwashing, and keeping six feet apart would be enough to save us from infection? Were we guilty of Gluttony because, after nine months of being quarantined from live entertainment, we were consumed by our insatiable desire to see artists in the flesh? Within the context of closing out a year marred by pandemic, racial unrest, and hostile political gamesmanship, the universal themes and timely issues presented in this experimental series of seven, ten-minute vignettes underscored that we were not the first to pose such questions and we would not be the last.

Miami New Drama artistic director Michel Haus-mann hatched his idea for Seven Deadly Sins while strolling down Miami Beach’s sparsely populated Lincoln Road, a pedestrian street usually teeming with tourists and locals. Having noticed the number of the storefronts shuttered and hoping for a way to revitalize the commercial strip, Hausmann envisioned the storefronts as makeshift theatres. He commissioned a diverse group of playwrights of four men and three women, five of whom are Hispanic and two of whom are non-Hispanic Black, to write the scripts. With the help of COVID-19 safety protocols approved by the Actors’ Equity Association, the company presented a safe way for performers, crew members, and audience members to enjoy live theatre.

The Colony Theater’s box office provided audience members with a wristband marked with a deadly sin. They were then asked to have drinks and appetizers at Purgatory, a pop-up bar located in the center of Lincoln Road. The Mistress of Purgatory (Kareem Khouri) serenaded the audience with songs before they were divided into groups based on their designated sin. Guides bearing electric torches escorted each group from stage to stage and morphed into COVID-19 safety protocol enforcers.

Six storefront windows as well as the Colony’s street-facing cargo door served as stages; twelve chairs spaced individually and in pairs in front of each stage served as seating. Theatregoers were given headphones that they plugged into receivers fastened to each chair so they could hear dialogue and sound effects. In perhaps the most interesting seating arrangement, since the cargo door for the Colony faces Lenox Avenue, half of the audience sat in chairs in a parking spot and the other half sat across the street in chairs assembled on the sidewalk opposite the theatre while cars and trucks barreled through the audience.

Two adjoining storefront windows serve as the stages for Seven Deadly Sin’s Pride and Sloth, where Stephen G. Anthony (John C. Calhoun) and Sandi Stock (Regina) perform. The play won the 2021 Drama League Award for Outstanding Interactive or Socially Distanced Theater. (Photo: Justin Swader.)

Despite the risk-taking involved in attending live theatre as the pandemic raged, the very act of seeing Seven Deadly Sins felt less sinful than life affirming. The spectacle of staging a production that upheld COVID-19 safety protocols and the strangeness of seeing a play while being watched by passersby enjoying an evening on Miami Beach treated the audience like it too was an ensemble of actors. This heady amalgamation of fear and daring created a thrilling atmosphere where the lines between actors and audience, exhibitionist and voyeur, conscientious citizen and salacious scofflaw were shattered. As fascinating as the safety precautions were, the playwrights and directors did a fine job ensuring that the logistics of how to perform during a pandemic did not overshadow the artistic merits of their work.

The seven deadly sins have proven a...