The Secrets We Keep Examines Powerful, Painful Themes in Astounding Fashion

Slavic Folklore arrives in the present day to take on the tragedies of the past, and it’s unforgettable.

The Secrets We Keep is a musical fairytale, grounded in grim reality. A modern-day town in the Slavic region is haunted by the Rusalki (“Slavic mermaids”), beautiful nymph-like woman who reside in the waters among the forest trees. They were all once humans, and are now in an after-death existence of willful luring and killing (all while angelically singing). We meet Luba (Lynn Pineda), the newest Rusalka, who as a young Jewish Polish girl was beaten and drowned at the end of the second World War. She lives in eternal pain, grieving the violent loss of her life and of her great love, Bronislawa (Presley Zisk). “In the Night, I Am Alone,” she laments in song, as her Rusalki sisters dance menacingly around her, their feral manner clashing with their fairy-like appearance.

Luba’s confidant in the group is Dobra (Erin Yoffee), the second-youngest Rusaka. Luba and Dobra have the distinction of not having deliberately chosen to become Rusalki, unlike their peers. This coupled with their relatively recent arrival in the afterlife have allowed them to retain some semblance of humanity and conscience, while the others exist merely to woo and then destroy (as depicted in “Come to Me”).

Into this dark world arrive Kat (Megan Audette) and her partner Liesa (Sarah Reid Vinyard). Kat has come to see the land of her ancestors, many of whom perished in the Holocaust. The friendly, good-hearted Kat stumbles upon the Rusalki, and is saved from death at their hands by Luba, who is still trying to hold on to her own humanity. Kat sweetly offers Luba human snacks and friendship, and they quickly bond.

But a shocking twist regarding Kat’s ancestry threatens to extinguish Luba’s human heart for good and plunge her fully into the darkness under the lake. And “Trinity Week”—the time when the Rusalki are at their most powerful and dangerous—is looming. As Kat seeks to learn more from first the local library and then from a woman who lived through the war, Liesa finds herself in great danger from the Rusalki. Like Kat before her, she is also saved by Luba at first—but this time, recent revelations have threatened to make Luba the most vicious Rusalki of all.

Luba’s plight is an intensely moving one, as she tries to choose between vengeance and redemption, and slowly begins to realize that perhaps the best revenge is to seek none at all.

The musical is beautifully realized; the Rusalki are elegant in their white robes while their crimson-colored hands remain a stark reminder of their bloodlust. Their gorgeous songs and spirited dancing contrast the viciousness of their hunger and hatred. The powerful themes depicted—the horror of genocide, he subjugation and defiling of women, the cyclical human patterns of fear, hatred, destruction and vengeance—are brought to a life in a new context that is undeniably thought-provoking. It creates a powerful story that, while based on myth, tackles head-on the all too real horrors of the past in a time when many choose to forget—and threaten to repeat.

The Secrets We Keep is written and directed by Danielle Wirsansky, with music by Frank Sanchez and choreography by Elizabeth Kessler.