Mary’s Wondrous Body
Written and directed by Madeline Wall
Produced in two iterations in the autumns of 2022 and 2023 at the Elision Playhouse.
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2022 ITERATION:
Sarah Broude
Tessa Dahlgren
Isabella Dunsieth
Nick Miller
Gillian Mueller
Em Adam Rosenberg
Laila Sahir
Caleb Wagner
2023 ITERATION:
Sarah Broude
Gillian Constable
Isabella Dunsieth
Eva Gemlo
Tia Tanzer
Caleb Wagner
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2022 ITERATION:
Alissa Barthel (Stage Manager)
Patrick Brien (Producer)
Tessa Dahlgren (Violence Choreographer)
Uriyah Dahlman (Lighting Design)
Emily Garst (Production Photographer)
Joni Griffith (Co-Composer / Arranger)
Emma Lai (Producer)
Mariabella Sorini (SM / Costume Design)
Tia Tanzer (Associate Producer / Director)
Harrison Wade (Co-Composer / Arranger)
Madeline Wall (Writer / Director / Producer)
2023 ITERATION:
Tessa Dahlgren (Producer)
William Edson (Producer)
Meghan Gaffney (Stage Manager)
Emily Garst (Production Photographer)
Eva Gemlo (Co-Composer / Arranger)
Laina Grendle (Lighting Design)
Joni Griffith (Co-Composer / Arranger)
Gillian Mueller (Associate Director)
Madeline Wall (Writer / Director / Producer)
SYNOPSIS
Mary's Wondrous Body is a play with original music about Mary Toft, who purportedly gave birth to rabbits, and the miscarriage (of a pregnancy, of a community) that made it (almost) possible.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Mary Toft was real. She was 23 years old in 1726. That year, she both lost a pregnancy and captivated a country by pretending to give birth to rabbits. We will never be able to make sense of either of these events.
Maternal impression is the concept, widely believed in both popular and academic circles during Mary's lifetime, that a pregnant person's imagination can impact the physical formation of a fetus.
The events that inspired the play occurred in England in 1726, but Mary endeavors to bring this story to you, where you are situated, in every way she can. This is why the production sounds, looks, and (hopefully) feels as though it is happening closer to here, and closer to today.
Mary will ask you some difficult questions. We invite you to raise your hands and find one another.
PRESS QUOTES
“Beautifully weaves together history, comedy, drama, and music.” -Jill Schafer, Cherry and Spoon
“Each iteration is causing it to become richer and finer-tuned. Wall’s script is clever and gritty.” -Jacob Aloi, MPR News
Named Cherry and Spoon’s Favorite New Theater Company of 2022 based on the first iteration.
AUDIENCE QUOTES
“This play connected me to the pain and power of birth.”
“Strange and upsetting and gorgeous.”
“Dick jokes, class & medicine critique, powerful femme energy, singing, rabbits…what more could you want?”
“I want to eat it.”
