Review: Nellie and the Women of Blackwell

A powerful “dark ride” into the history of mental health treatment

Wildrence, one of New York City’s staple immersive theatre studios & venues, opens its blue door again to teach us a lesson in local history and compassion. Its newest offering, Nellie and the Women of Blackwell, co-produced with Infinite Variety Productions, is a non-fiction immersive show based on the 1887 expose by Nellie Bly, “Ten Days in the Mad-house.” In it, a brave reporter recounts her experience as an undercover patient of Blackwell Asylum on Governors Island, publicizing all the horrors and atrocities she witnessed during her 10-day stay. The theatrical version of Bly’s adventures, written by Ashley Adelman and directed by Jessica Schechter, is a striking immersive experience that left me trembling for days after I saw it. Meticulously designed and beautifully performed by the cast of four actresses, this production is undoubtedly the strongest piece yet that I’ve seen coming out of Wildrence’s multiple partnerships with theatre companies.

Nicole Orabona and Kate Szekely in Nellie and the Women of Blackwell. Photo courtesy of Wildrence

After descending a staircase leading to the cellar in one of Chinatown’s buzzing streets, 16 audience members find themselves in a cramped editor’s office of the World newspaper. Nellie Bly (Kate Szekely), a lively young woman in a period blue skirt, enters nervously clutching her matching hat. I’m immediately immersed in the end of the 19th century and not just by Bree O’Connor’s costumes. The appearance of an arrogant and patronizing editor (Nicole Orabona) reminds me that I am in a world ruled by unabashed misogyny. The editor makes sexist remarks and grabs Nellie by the slide of the chin. Nellie seems to let it slide right beside her. Bly is on a mission to uncover the truth and will let nothing get in her way. Her effervescent enthusiasm is contagious, so I don’t hesitate when we are invited to check ourselves into the madhouse alongside Nellie.

All attendees are assigned an undercover female patient name as part of the mission, then documentary photographs of women (the real-life asylum patients) are passed around. Nellie encourages us to study and recreate their facial expressions in order for us to “blend in.” As a part of our “mental patient bootcamp,” Nelly unscrolls a long list of reasons why someone might be admitted into a mental institution from 1864–1889; she asks us to read the ones that catch our eye. “Immoral life,” “medicine to prevent conception,” “over-study of religion,” and “asthma” are but some of the reasons found among many signs of insanity. A chill goes through my spine. What started as an exciting journalistic mission soon turns dangerous and dark.

By way of performing signs of depression and mania in a women’s shelter later and a police court, Nellie and her 16 audience sidekicks are admitted to Blackwell Asylum. Here we meet one of the patients, gentle Tillie (Ashley Adelman), and an iron-hearted head nurse Mrs. Grupe (Janessa Floyd). There is only one other nurse and one other patient in the show, both performed by Nicole Orabona, but the clever use of the audience helps us to imagine the overpopulated mental institution even with these modest casting means. The well-fitted cast of four actresses bravely ventures into performing the most unflattering sides of the human psyche: sadism, abuse of power, horror, and despair. In such an intimate setting, Mrs. Grupe’s anger is genuinely scary (the staff always finds reasons to yell at the patients regardless of patient behavior) and Nellies’ crushed spirit is easy to sympathize with as we witness the abuse of patients in the asylum.

Nellie and the Women of Blackwell does a remarkable job making the audience a part of Nellie’s word in a gentle, non-intrusive way. This is especially valuable since the content is so harsh and might even be triggering for some people. The care for the audience starts with arming us with a safe word and ensuring audience members are never left alone with a character in the position of power. I realize that I am always with a friend, either Nellie or Tille. The experience is structured as a dark ride, with the 16 audience members often separated and reshuffled and guided to different scenes that are running in parallel. At various points of the journey, I am pushed onto a scale by the nurse or left to shiver on a staircase collecting leaves and munch on a stale piece of bread.

There are just enough theatrical moments in Nellie and the Women of Blackwell to punctuate the kafkaesque horror and absurdity of life in a mental health facility. But surprisingly enough, the truth reveals itself as stranger than fiction. In the days after seeing the show, I began questioning what in this production was historically accurate and what was merely artistic liberty. For example, I was sure that the cramped rows of narrow tables in the dining room where patients were allowed only sit on one side was an invention of the design team. This unwelcoming set stirred huge discomfort in me and reminded me of a proscenium theatre at once. How surprised I was to discover a historical photograph of the asylum’s dining room on the show’s webpage! Here they are, patients stuffed behind the narrow tables, all facing in one direction.

Aside from the excruciating thought that what I’m witnessing is based on real events, the acting is stellar and the narrative utterly compelling. Furthermore, I am stunned by the thorough production design. I swear I smelled ancient damp rags, unwashed bodies, and bitter medicines during my stay at the Blackwell, so vivid is the world created by the production. The sound design by Andrew Dunn mostly consists of environmental noise that barely attracts any attention but affects the subconscious. When we are in the examination room, I hear the sound of a draft whizzing quietly by and immediately have goosebumps, even before Tillie shivers and Nellie complains about the cold. The sickly-greenish hue of the hospital’s windowless rooms contributes to the atmosphere of a depressing, concentration-camp-like facility.

The set design by Andrew Dunn in collaboration with Wildrence also transforms the compact venue into a variety of rooms, ones that are re-dressed with impressive speed. Nearly every nook and cranny of Wildrence is utilized efficiently, including the staircase and the hallway. In fact, one of my favorite scenes — the medical exam required upon admission — happens in a hallway, divided into small sections by white curtains. Each section holds two people and has a mirror on the wall. Obedient to the institution of the unseen doctor, I stick out my tongue and show my wrists, feeling much like I am in an interrogation room and am about to be sent to prison. There is no way to argue or communicate with the doctor, so I feel doomed. I am soon to discover that all communications with medical professionals here are one-sided, since the head doctor is a dummy, controlled by Mrs. Grupe.

After spending ten days in the asylum on Roosevelt Island, Nellie was released. Her eye-witness testimony exposed the mistreatment of the patients and caused a wave of reforms in mental health institutions. In particular, as is stated by Nellie herself, “New York City has appropriated $1,000,000 more per annum than ever before for the care of the insane,” meaning that her work caused the city to spend additional funding (approximately 26.15 million dollars at today’s rate) to improve patient conditions that year. Nellie and the Women of Blackwell continues the mission of the title heroine, as the creators of the show have partnered with Lenox Hill Neighboring House to raise awareness of women’s homelessness and mental health.

The changes in treating women’s mental health since 1887 are drastic, yet there is still much work to be done. More people struggle with mental health issues then you might think. Each year, 1 in 5 women in the United States has a mental health problem such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or an eating disorder. A lot of the work to be done is around finding ways to de-stigmatize the treatment of women’s mental health in the United States. And speaking up on behalf of those who, for one reason or another, have lost their voice and their agency, is the work that every one of us can and should do.

(This review was published on NoProscenium.com on February 25)