April 21, 2018

A Literal and Spiritual Feast on Stage

Everything seems to become at once deeper and lighter from the moment you sit down in the Theatre at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church for the off-Broadway production of “Babette’s Feast.”

Everything seems to become at once deeper and lighter from the moment you sit down in the Theatre at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church for the off-Broadway production of “Babette’s Feast.” Originally a short story by Isak Dinesen, famous for her novel Out of Africa, it’s the story of a Christian community in Berlevag, Norway — “the most northern outpost of the continent of Europe in the Arctic circle … at the edge of space and time (summer’s nights are white and winter’s nights are black),” as the director’s note memorably describes it.

The play involves arrival of a refugee whose exemplary cooking skills make for the culminating feast that is replete with implications about the deepest questions of life and happiness, as well as a whole host of issues that have contemporary resonance — most obviously immigration. In “Babette’s Feast,” welcome is not only of mutual benefit but a road to peace, resilience, and eternity.

On a recent Wednesday night, during a “talk back” after the show, one of the actors sketched the outline of a living, breathing process where the simplicity of this particular production allows for the words to almost take on a life of their own. During the discussion, director Karin Coonrod nodded with joy at the recognition of a reality she had just watched: that “the word was made flesh” on stage.

One of the actresses, Abigail Killeen, referred to each performance as “a very important mountain to climb.” She had procured the rights to the Isak Dinesen story for the stage a decade ago in the hopes of getting to this point. You could see in her body language the life-giving nature of the production. In a world where a miserable, overwhelming noise and frenetic images of war and slaughter seem to drown the soul, there is breathing room around “Babette’s Feast.” It also happens to be, in keeping with what you might expect from the title, cultural nourishment for the soul.

The mountain Killeen talked about is, of course, life — which can be so sterile, so numbing, so completely without grace, if we let it. “Babette’s Feast,” on the other hand, is all about grace.

“We imagine grace to be finite,” someone says during the play. And that limit keeps us from following our dreams, keeps us from following even the lead of God. It keeps us from courage. We may be good people, but we’re not living up to the purposes for which we were made, fulfilling our divine potential. Throughout “Babette’s Feast,” with the strict asceticism among the townspeople pitched against the majesty of the Arctic expanse, there is an ever-present hope, even when “fear or scruples” weigh the characters down. Babette, the French woman who is welcomed into the life of the small, frigid town, “appeared to be a beggar … [but] turned out to be a conqueror,” a narrator explains. Her generosity unlocks “passions,” “memories” and “longings,” ones rooted in the uniqueness of the townspeople’s divinely created lives.

“Babette’s Feast” is unmistakably an invitation to a foretaste of heaven. It’s a gift wrapped in resplendent generosity, feeling undeserved and unexpected. It’s an unleashing of so much expectation and yet beyond anything the human mind could come to communicate during the daily grind. It’s in the wonder of the feast that fellowship invites a welling up of all the gifts of each man and woman around the table.

The hymn “Love Divine All Loves Excelling” seems to come to life in a performance of “Babette’s Feast.” It promises more. It’s the “more” of Easter. It’s an encounter with something like “unbounded love.” It reminds us that people trying to live virtuously can impart something beautiful and attract others to plausible joy.

As visitors leave part of their hearts in Berlevag, each relationship bears fruit as lives are dressed in virtue.

There’s amazing grace in communion. “Babette’s Feast” draws each audience member in to its living words of hope. It’s an enchantment that sends forth open hearts to take delight in life and what’s beyond the veil, as what’s beyond the veil becomes thinner — and irresistible — at the feast.

COPYRIGHT 2018 United Feature Syndicate

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.