2024 Fringe Festival Review: The Bells

The Bells is a musical retelling of the lives, loves, and deaths of the three Brontё sisters by Orpheum Productions. The story follows Anne (Arden Phillips), Charlotte (Emi Gusdal), and Emily (Cassie Hyman) as they navigate grief and their writing careers. It had a little of everything — musical numbers, tragic deaths, familial rivalries, and even a bit of incest.

While the script isn’t entirely historically accurate, it was an enjoyable watch. Knowing a bit about the Brontёs, I was expecting a lot more tragedy and gloom. There was a fair share of that, but also some upbeat musical numbers. It caught me off guard at first, but once I moved past my desire for greater tragedy it was almost fun to watch.

While there’s no way to fit in every year of three legendary writers’ lives into 60 minutes, the plot still felt rushed. The play began after the sisters’ mother died and felt like it was almost on fast-forward. When I left the theatre it felt like I was missing huge chunks of the story.

The script jumped from one conflict to another without adding much depth. Once the sisters’ brother, Branwell (Jackson Card) died, there was another musical number, and the play tied up the loose ends as quickly as possible. At times the play was focused more on Branwell’s life and relationship to the sisters, than the sisters themselves.

The cast all did a great job in their roles, even with a few fumbles onstage. Unfortunately, they dealt with one mic that was too quiet, another that was too sensitive, and a minor wardrobe malfunction. Card’s performance ultimately suffered because of difficulties with his mic. Often he was drowned out by the music. None of that was his fault, but it took away from his character’s impact. The other characters thankfully didn’t suffer from the malfunctions.

Gusdal and Hyman’s performances stood out exponentially — especially their singing. It outshone the mishaps and rushed storyline. It was the musical numbers that really made the play worth the watch. Credit is also due for Phillips’ performance — I only wish we had gotten to see more of her. It felt like her character was absent for much of the play and deserved a bigger share of the story.

Whenever the sisters did share the stage together— often it was just Charlotte and Emily — it was rife with tension. Grief from losing their mother and being on the brink of madness ended up being minor plot points. Instead the jealousy and disagreements between sisters took the forefront. But it remained very surface level and left me wishing there was more depth to the story.

The romances of the play were questionable at best. Considering the famous romantic leads of the Brontё sisters’ novels, this was unsurprising. Beyond the issue of incest between Emily and Branwell, the romances had the unfortunate effect of overpowering the sisters’ stories, which was what had drawn me to the play in the first place. It would have made for a better time had the script paid more mind to the sisters themselves.

While it’s not something I’d ever feel the need to see again, it was overall an entertaining play. I enjoyed myself, even if there were things I would have changed. It was really the musical numbers with Gusdal, Hyman, and Phillips that made it worthwhile.

The Bells is playing at the Fringe Festival until August 24.