Lilith in Pisces
Directed by: Stephanie Cox-Connolly; Playwright: Kayla Eisenberg
Presented by: Drops in the Vase
The Flea Theater - The Siggy at 20 Thomas Street New York, NY
March 5-22nd 2025
Photo Credit: Kent Meister
“Come one, come all, enter the world beneath the veil, if you dare dream at all.” As you make your way into the theater, for some of us self-proclaimed theater disciples also known as church or the holy grail, a beautifully embellished set design straight from the pages of a millennial’s suburban dream book graces the stage. Your quintessential “Live, Laugh, Love” frame decorates the wall, a candid reminder of the millennial’s guide to namaste and manifestation, stark reminders of self-empowerment of “having everything and more.” How sublime is it when peace, power and profundity in the new millennium is practicing yoga poses, drinking Sancerre while watching Netflix on your Roku, a typical lazy Sunday after all. Now, add a highchair to the mix, as we can safely assume a baby must also debut at some point. Is it not all so painstakingly familiar? We have enough instagram stories on how to rear children that they can possibly rear themselves nowadays!
Until… Lilith in Pisces begins.
The well-lit stage shudders to black as we embrace darkness. Two mysterious, shrouded in black cloak women walk center stage to recite incantations under a hovering, striking red light. Are we missing something here? Are we hearing correctly as they repeat, “She will drink blood, she will feast on flesh?” Whose blood? What flesh?! Just moments before we were cocooned with feelings of safety and comfort in scene design so familiar to most we could have just apparated from our own living rooms into the theater seats. But no, we are exactly where playwright, Kayla Eisenberg, wants us—at the edge of our seats in anticipation. Just as one of the cloaked women is about to steal a kiss from the other, the lights come back on, swerving us right back to our previous comfort. Talk about a radical foray into this world by the swift precise direction of Stephanie Cox-Connolly, also dubbed a master designer of gore for indie theater and film.
For those of us who believe in astrology and for those who scoff at it, this play presents us with the underlying theme: does astrology ultimately indicate your fate? Two women’s fates become intertwined when Erin arrives as a babysitter for Diane. Upon introduction Diane is a semi-neurotic yet charming, seemingly frustrated mother, whose carefree days are now curtailed by the responsibilities of motherhood. Watching her rummage through the kitchen as she shatters glass in an awkward hurry is an audience delight. During these silent and frustrating moments, we are engaged in Diane’s microcosm and the mundanity of routine.
Enter babysitter Erin.
Erin’s gothic attire is embellished with lace, and torn black stockings- hello Hot Topic post 2004! Once again, the world before us is truly not as we would assume it to be, when circumstance has it that just when we think Diane is rushing off to an engagement to accompany her husband, she stays behind to inform Erin of the world of astrology, witchcraft, conjurings and seances. Something tells us we are no longer in our millennial sanctuary Kansas anymore! Diane, your quintessential suburban housewife, versus Erin, the goth, who we would peg a witch, is exactly where the playwright once again throws us for a toss.
Diane regales Erin to the lore of the all mighty, Lilith,—a powerful woman who, according to biblical times, was cast out of the Garden of Eden from Adam. Falling from God’s grace, she joins dark forces to become the all-encompassing and powerful Goddess or as powerful women usually get labeled or casted off as a demonic entity. If there were ever the best example in a dictionary of the word “stigma,” women betwixt in with obedience. Lilith takes on all these negative connotations depending on who you ask because she had an opinion, voiced it and was not subdued to the whimsy of Adam. What connects our central characters is how they astrologically share Lilith in Pisces. Those with Lilith in Pisces embody traits that are interpreted to have a deep and natural ease in forming spiritual and romantic connections, but with a potential to be too idealistic leading to self-sacrifice or losing oneself in relationships. These elements are what unfold throughout, leaving us to ponder: is our fate truly hidden in the stars, or are we our own masters of fate?
Lilith in Pisces examines how choices made in life only reveal parts of who we are. The truth of our humanity can never escape our core. Those who try to break free from the essence of their being will eventually have to come to harsh terms when the series of choices made running from their nature lead them right back to it. The eternal mirror of truth reveals your soul, it is the very intrinsic fabric of your being; the question is what you choose to see when you look—or the bitter circumstances that will surround you when you do not. If life beyond the veil fascinates you or for those experiencing great discomfort in occultism as it clashes with the world which you know to be true, come experience Kayla Eisenberg’s Lilith in Pisces, may pondering the nature of your spirit enthrall you.
Click HERE for tickets. (pay-what-you-can matinee at 3pm on March 16)
Review by Bianca Lopez.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on March 10th, 2025. All rights reserved.