Night Journey, the dance, had its premiere only two and a half years after Appalachian Spring, and it is a close cousin. It too has a stream-of-consciousness narration: Jocasta, as she is about to kill herself, remembering what has happened to her. It too contains soul-delving solos, broken up by ensemble dances. Here, however, the ensemble is a darker element. As the story was taken from Greek tragedy, so the corps is the equivalent of Greek tragedy’s chorus. They tell us how to feel: afraid mostly. In this piece Graham pushed her habitual economy to its limits.
Martha Graham
as Queen Jocasta
Bertram Ross
as King Oedipus
Paul Taylor
as Tiresias
Helen McGehee
as Chorus Leader
Mary Hinkson
as Chorus
Akiko Kanda
as Chorus
Ethel Winter
as Chorus
Linda Hodes
as Chorus
Carol Payne
as Chorus
Bette Shaler
as Chorus
