The mystery of whales with their unusual ability to live and breathe air in water was a fascinating subject of creation myths about transformation. Inuit tradition said whales were born from a girl who was thrown into the sea by her father for being terribly disobedient. When she tried to climb back into his boat, he chopped off her fingers, one by one, and each of her severed fingers turned into a different animal: a right whale, a narwhal, a beluga, a seal, and so forth.

Darwin’s suggestion in 1859 that whales arose from bears, sketching a scenario in which selective pressures might cause bears to evolve into whales, seemed no less fantastical; embarrassed by criticism of his idea, Darwin removed his hypothetical swimming bears from later editions of the Origin of The Species. Even as 20th century scientists pieced together the fossil record of whales, the idea that a creature could evolve out of the sea only to return sounded to some like a ridiculous fiction.

Inspired by creation myths and scientific facts, Evolution combines the Paleontological history of whale evolution with the contemporary tale of a woman’s extraordinary transformation.

Thus begins the story of Minnie, Pammy and Mother, a family coping with the mysterious changes brought about by an undetermined illness, the estrangement of two siblings and a mother’s desperation to protect her children. As each struggles with the impending transformation, objects from the past and the memories they evoke act as catalysts for the characters in this solo show that asks the question, “How should we respond to change?” The inevitable nature of transformation, the seduction of memory and the power of family loyalty collide in this highly theatrical piece enhanced by the evocative music of award winning composer Marc Mellits. Evolution takes the audience on a journey into another world where past, present and future exist in the same time and space.