'She Stoops to Conquer' at the Powel House

The Mechanical Theater is a contemporary company focusing on plays of the past, and it raised money to produce its latest in quintessential 21st-century fashion: crowdfunding. She Stoops to Conquer, an 18th-century play, runs April 9 through 19 at The Powel House, one of four houses under the control of the nonprofit Philadelphia Society for the Preservation of Landmarks.

The story: Charles Marlow is “the perfect scoundrel” with women, as long as they aren’t upper class. When he meets Kate Hardcastle, though, he can barely look at her, let alone romance her. Kate decides that all Marlow needs is a lesson in confidence, and she’s the one to teach him. The play is essentially a love story with realistic people and attitudes about love, sex, and marriage that aren’t so different from today. That speaks to the quality of the playwright and the play, said company founder Loretta Vasile.

She founded the company in 2013 after hearing ghost stories at Physick House in Old City and started writing a murder mystery. Mechanical has been the Powel’s resident theater company since August 2014 (Powel celebrates its 250th anniversary this year). Vasile’s goal is to help people embrace and experience Philadelphia’s beautiful historic places, she said.

Millennials’ nostalgia

Vasile, 28, explains the company’s philosophy: “An argument can be made that the millennial generation is a deeply nostalgic one…not just about our own childhoods, [but] for things that we never experienced when they were first happening.”

Millennials watch superhero movies about characters that were created when their parents were preteens, she said, and they like vintage style and costume drama (Downton Abbey or even Mad Men). It’s a trend with a logical foundation, she said: “The values and identity of preceding generations were all about breaking down social constructs that were oppressive and outdated. Things had to be broken down. But now, people who are finding their artistic footing in today’s cultural climate are looking back at history and saying…‘are there things worth saving?’ Yes, there certainly are.”

Plays in historic places

The plays’ settings may fit the historic spaces, but they might not. Vasile has done and will continue to do shows from various eras. In most shows, she includes tidbits about Philly’s history, neighborhoods, and more. Vasile hopes people will visit often, to appreciate both the spaces and the plays.

“By doing what I do, I can bring people into a beautiful historical space filled with lovely things, that were made not merely to be functional, but to be beautiful, and show them a story that was written at a time when the sound of the language was just as important as the story itself,” she said. “This can be truly an uplifting and joyous experience.”

The Mechanical Theater’s She Stoops to Conquer ($30) runs April 9 through 19 (shows at 7pm nightly and 2pm Sunday) at The Powel House, 244 South 3rd St, Philadelphia. For tickets, click here or call 215-925-2251 and follow prompts to speak to administrator Jorja Fullerton.