Maria Caruso
Incarnation – Digital Release
Filmed live at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
London, England
October 2024

By Steve Sucato

Laying her soul bare onstage has brought dancer-choreographer Maria Caruso international acclaim in recent years. Following the success of her gripping 2020 solo dance theater work, Metamorphosis—a passionate portrayal of a woman revealing her innermost heartaches and joys—Caruso’s latest epic solo piece, Incarnation, revealed the truths behind Metamorphosis. 

Newly released this month on streaming platforms, Broadway on Demand and Amazon Prime Video, the digital release of Incarnation was filmed live at London’s iconic Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, in October 2024. It was the first-ever evening-length solo dance production presented by the theatre in its 361-year history.

The 65-minute Incarnation began with a 10-minute film recap of scenes from Metamorphosis, accompanied by a voiceover from Caruso outlining how the production became her magnum opus and permanently changed her life. She spoke of Metamorphosis as revealing turning points in her life that shaped who she was and how the solo’s cathartic journey left her feeling complete, causing her to pause her career for a time.    

Inspired by comments from audience members who wanted to know more about the events in Caruso’s life depicted in the autobiographical Metamorphosis, Caruso said in her monologue that you didn’t have to see Metamorphosis to understand Incarnation. Having seen both productions, experiencing Metamorphosis would give viewers a deeper understanding of the broader context of Caruso’s life. The bombshell moment in the monologue, and ultimately the impetus of the autobiographical story revealed in Incarnation, came with the revelation that Caruso had gone through multiple miscarriages during the run of Metamorphosis. The final images of the Metamorphosis film recap showed her cryptically referencing those events with her cradling a wadded-up blanket of fabric that represented the infant children she had lost. 

Incarnation was set to emotional and atmospheric original music commissioned for the production by Ryan Onestak, a composition student at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Following the film, Caruso’s live performance began with her tied to a chair and struggling to free herself. The scene served as a metaphor for the inner struggles Caruso was experiencing, which would unfold with a fervor throughout the piece. 

Using multiple camera angles, including overhead, floor-level, and from behind Caruso, Incarnation provided the viewer with an up-close and intimate perspective of Caruso’s performance. We saw her sweat, shed tears, and move with purpose through sharp and gestural dance phrases; one jolting us with a blood-curdling silent scream.

Like Metamorphosis, Incarnation came with a rack of dresses used for periodic costume changes, indicating turning points in Caruso’s life. The work alternated between small dance solos and Caruso seated at a writing desk, penning desperate letters to an unknown recipient about her current mental and emotional state, pleading for a response from them to help her cope with the gripping depression in her life.

The letter writing was carried out in the style of television’s The Tonight Show’s recurring “Thank You Notes” segment, in which host Jimmy Fallon begins each note with a grand arm flourish to put pen to paper. Caruso’s letters served as a vehicle for Caruso to narrate her thoughts culled from her real-life journal entries during Metamorphosis’ run. They told of the dark state of being Caruso was in and her hopelessness as a result of her miscarriages. In them, she pleaded with the letter’s recipient, whom she considered the only light in her life, to send a response. 

While the voiced-over letter-writing scenes served to advance Incarnation’s storyline, some scenes felt a little mawkish in a Hallmark Channel movie kind of way, including one in which Caruso recited the Ecclesiastes 3:1 bible verse.

As the letters go unanswered, it becomes clear that Caruso is writing to herself and that only she can save herself by coming to terms with what has happened and is happening in her life. 

Incarnation and Caruso’s performance in it shone brightest in its dance sections. Changing into a different costume for each, Caruso moved through robust choreography that expressed a range of moods from despondent to sanguine. In one section, costumed in a fuchsia dress and carrying a snow globe, she moved like a rhythmic gymnast in a ball routine. In another, Caruso donned a white, wedding-like dress and channeled her inner Loïe Fuller dancer, performing joyfully with framed fabric pieces that she used like bird wings to swoosh and swoop around her body. The joy of that dance, however, did not last as, toward its end, Caruso’s inner demons resurfaced, and she slumped to the stage floor in deep despair.

Although a continuation of Metamorphosis, Incarnation was its own animal. It differed from Metamorphosis’ raw nerve, intense outpourings of emotion that gushed out of Caruso’s body like blood in her veins, washing over the audience. In Incarnation, Caruso’s emotional outpourings also had gut-punching intensity, but were received more like an echo than a direct hit.  

In the end, Incarnation proved another masterful performance by Caruso.  She is at her very best when traumatic events in her personal life closely inform her work. Also deserving of kudos was Onestak’s brilliant music for the work. 

As a dance film, director Matthew Titterton and crew did a marvelous job in capturing Caruso’s nuanced and riveting performance. A filmed post-show talk back with Caruso and the audience also provided further insight into the work and the artist. At a mere $2.99 to stream on Amazon Prime and $3.99 on Broadway on Demand, Incarnation is a steal to see dance-theater work of this high caliber. Rent it today.

MARIA CARURO’S INCARNATION
A SOLO DANCE THEATRE INSTALLATION
FILMED LIVE AT LONDON’S THEATRE ROYAL, DRURY LANE
CAST: Maria Angelica Caruso
DIRECTOR: Matthew Titterton
PRODUCER: M-Train Productions, Aria Entertainment, AdVision TV
YEAR: 2024
RUNTIME: 105 minutes