Where the Mountain Meets the Sea is in many respects the opposite of Signature Theatre’s other ongoing show, Hair.
Hair is maximalist in costuming, number of cast members, set design, and in the number and volume of songs. Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, described in the program as a “play with music” rather than a musical, has two named characters, two supporting musicians, five songs, and almost no set or props. Yet all this serves only to make the D.C. premiere of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea a testament to the miracle of theater—the willing suspension of disbelief by an audience.
Composed of dueling—and dueting—monologues, the play begins with its father and son protagonists separated by a continent, misunderstandings, and decades. Starting in Los Angeles is Jonah (Isaac “Deacon Izzy” Bell), the thoroughly assimilated child of Haitian immigrants pursuing a doctorate in linguistics, who has never come out to his father as gay. When that father, Jean (Robert Cornelius), dies in Miami, Jonah sets out on a cross-country journey to claim his father’s ashes and return them to Haiti, attempting to trace, as he goes, the East-to-West journey his parents took across their new country before Jonah’s birth. The deceased Jean, meanwhile, narrates his own journeys, both physical—from Haiti to the U.S.; from Miami to L.A.—and metaphorical: from respected teacher in his homeland to airport baggage handler who falls in and out of love, all while growing further and further away from his son. Jonah and Jean are assisted in storytelling by two musicians (Rob Morrison, who is also the show’s music director, and Awa Sal Secka) equipped with various instruments, many of them percussion.
Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, which premiered in 2020 at the Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Kentucky, draws on the lived experience of Haitian American playwright and television writer Jeff Augustin. He explains the Haitian oral storytelling tradition that his family preserved in their move to the U.S. in an interview featured in the show’s program. In Haitian folklore, “characters constantly run away from their family and their homeland in search of a new identity” but, pursued by divine forces, “[they]cannot outrun their destinies.” Augustin’s stated intention to use folk music—specifically Haitian folk and Americana, both of which, the program reminds showgoers, “have roots in Africa”—to bridge seemingly irreconcilable distances comes through clearly in Where the Mountain Meets the Sea without being too obvious or cloying.
The folk songs written by the Bengsons for the show advance the story and, more importantly, could stand on their own as an EP. The first number in particular, the Haitian lament “Sonjé M (Remember Me)” will haunt audience members for days afterward. More specifically, it is Cornelius’s sad, lilting rendition of “Sonjé M” that will especially linger.
Cornelius is the absolute standout of Where the Mountain Meets the Sea. Opening the show spotlit on a bare stage, he commands the attention and belief of the audience at once with his rich, warm voice—which is even more impressive considering his first lines are in French, part of a grammar lesson he remembers giving on his last day in Haiti. To hear Augustin’s script delivered by Cornelius’s voice is a delight.
The unfortunate downside of Cornelius’s superb performance is that the very good performance of Bell suffers by the comparison. Bell’s Jonah is funny and engages easily with the audience, but there were several noticeable times in which Bell stumbled over the first few words of lines and had to begin again. Hopefully, this was a hiccup of opening night; Bell ought to take his time in delivery, confident that the audience is rooting for both him and for Jonah.
Where the Mountain Meets the Sea is 90 minutes without intermission, packed full of as much emotion and as many symbols as an hour and a half can hold, without ever feeling overstuffed, exploitative, or cheap. This father-son journey is definitely worth the ‘trip’ to Signature Theatre.
Where the Mountain Meets the Sea, written by Jeff Augustin with music by the Bengsons, choreographed by Dane Figueroa Edidi and directed by Timothy Douglas, runs through July 7 at Signature Theatre. sigtheatre.org. $40–$89.