Interview: Connecticut playwright Marc Deaton of ELEGY FOR A FALLEN ANGEL

The world premiere of new play, Elegy for a Fallen Angel, is coming to Connecticut next month. Opening for two performances only at Madison Lyric Stage. 

Elegy for a Fallen Angel follows two siblings, Arielle and Uriel, as they escape the tormented home of their mother, Belinda, and begin a path of self-discovery and recovery.  Along their journey, they encounter a chorus of mythic angels and daemons, including Azrael (The Angel of Death), Gabriel (The Herald), Lilith (The Night Monster) and Lucifer (The Prince of Darkness).  Elegy for a Fallen Angel explores a world of child neglect and abandonment, as it intersects with a fantasy realm of angels, daemons and monsters.

Elegy for a Fallen Angel features original music by Connecticut pianist and composer, Nathaniel Baker. Baker utilized themes by world-renowned Baroque composers Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel and composed the score for small chamber orchestra.

I sat down with Connecticut playwright and artistic director of Madison Lyric Stage, Marc Deaton, to learn more.

What is Elegy for a Fallen Angel about? 

It is the story of a brother and sister who are raised as feral children, suffering great abuse and neglect, who hold on to reality through the fantasy world of Angels, which has told to them by their abusive mother.

What do you think will resonate with audiences? 

We all have beliefs and alternate realities which help us cope with the traumas of life.

What inspired you to write this piece? 

Because of my own childhood, I have always been aware and interested in the treatment of children and the neglect of children particular ways.  I have read about many landmark cases of “feral” children, as well as the impact that organized religion and various cults have on children. Then, there is this fascination I have with angels and daemons.

This is your fourth play. Is Elegy for a Fallen Angel related in any way? 

First of this trilogy was Swan Knight, a sung monodrama, which deals with aspects of my childhood and many of the same times as Elegy.  Then came A Memory of Truth? in 2021, which took another look at these issues through the eyes of three of my female family monarchs.  I consider these three distinct works part of a larger trilogy, that encompasses not just my autobiographical details, but an analysis of the issues of child neglect and abuse.  I also wrote a one man show about Wagnerian tenor Max Lorenz, called We Loved Only for the Music. 

What should audiences expect? 

There is a wide range of emotion and I hope a great deal of beauty represented in these different portals of reality.

Elegy for a Fallen Angel features a cast of professional, Connecticut-based actors and vocalists: Marc Deaton, Allison Lindsay, Sonny Capaccio, Vicki Revere, Patty Carver, John Johmann, Richard Wald, Mary McCue, Julie Rumbled, Sierra Manning, Fredrick Goff, Steve Brady, Martin Kluger, Kent Morris, Ralene Goff, and Jessica Drolet.

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