Isabella of Boston
January 29, 2024
Description
“C’est Mon Plaisir” is engraved below a phoenix, an emblem of immortality, on a crest that hangs in the entranceway to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.
C’est Mon Plaisir. It’s My Pleasure.
The pleasure refers to the vast art collection that Isabella Stewart Gardner dedicated her life to curating. From the late 19th century through the early 20th century, Isabella collated one of the most eclectic and meaningful series of galleries the world has ever seen. And in 1990, 13 works estimated to be worth over 500 million dollars were stolen from her museum, the home she made in Boston.
Is this how Isabella is remembered? Not as a dedicated steward, patron of young artists, and scandalizing socialite, but by the empty frames that hang forlornly to this day in the Dutch Room of her museum?
Her life, her fears, and her triumphs shine bright, like she did. ISABELLA OF BOSTON reminds us that legacy can be created, yet it can just as easily be taken away. Like paintings cut out of their frames, casting shadows over a long and fascinating life, legacy is ultimately left up to the living.
Join ISABELLA OF BOSTON at The Green Room 42 for a night of the new musical’s beautiful score by Neil Klein (Playing Dead, Archie’s Weird Parody).
ISABELLA OF BOSTON was created by Avery L. Ingvarson and Neil Klein.