American Stage readying ‘The Scarlet Letter’

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter is set in Puritanical 17^th century New England, yet its central theme – blanket judgement and damnation of someone who does something you don’t understand – is eternal.

This week, American Stage is putting the finishing touches on its first show of the year, Kate Hamill’s adaptation of The Scarlet Letter.

Arpita Mukherjee

Arpita Mukherjee is directing the production, which opens Jan. 21. The New York-based director is a major fan of Hammill’s literary adaptations.

“All six characters are making tough moral choices,” Mukherjee believes. “There are no villains in this play; the characters in the play are inside this societal system and trying to figure out what things mean in their lives, and why things are happening. And there are no sufficient answers.

“And I feel that very much in 2026, that sort of crisis of the things you believe, the things you thought, the stories you are told and what happens when they fail us. And later when we have to build our own story. So that’s why I think it’s so relevant now – especially in this time where things are so divided and people are so quick to judge someone.”

The story, in a nutshell: Young bride Hester Prynne has an affair and gives birth to a child, while refusing to divulge the identity of the father.

As punishment, Hester is publicly humiliated, and sentenced to wear a large, red letter “A” (for adultery) on her clothing at all times.

The setting and the storyline have not changed, the director reports, although the language and certain design elements have been modernized. “Hester is not this pitiful thing, to be looked at with pity,” Mukherjee says. “Like in the novel.

“There’s a real fortitude. She’s making choices for her daughter, for her life – there’s something really active about her, and how she’s choosing to live her life. She’s a complicated character.”

Anula Navlekar

Anula Navlekar, also from New York, has the lead role. “I actually feel like Hester manages to hold on to her identity despite what society tries to put on her,” she explains. “She manages to retain her sense of dignity, her compassion, despite her flaws.”

Mukherjee: “I’d also say that this adaptation has a lot of humor in it, which I think actually balances some of the darker themes of the original novel. And also just humanizes the characters a lot more, and makes them more relatable to a contemporary audience.”

Both director and lead actor give props to the design team, which includes scenic designer Yoon Bae, whose distinctive work has been seen often on London’s West End, and all across America.

During a Sunday afternoon “Behind the Scenes” event at American Stage, Bae detailed her process for researching, imagining and designing the set for this production of The Scarlet Letter.

Bae was joined by St. Petersburg software and theater designer Michael Horn, who created Pearl, Hester Prynne’s 4-year-old daughter. Pearl is a puppet – unreal yet strangely real, in accordance with Hamill’s directive that she be “inherently otherworldly; a little bit alive and a little bit dead.”

Hamill, explains Navlekar, insisted on this curious ambiguity for a reason. “In contemporary times, we would never place judgement on a child. We would never look at a child and say it should be ostracized.” The townspeople in The Scarlett Letter believe Pearl is evil.

In the novel, Mukherjee adds, “Pearl doesn’t look like anything. She has this magical, almost angel-like quality. She is the only character ‘born’ of this new world. She’s almost this metaphor embodiment of what the future can be, that even the characters in the play cannot yet imagine. But she’s right next to them.”

Find showtimes and tickets for The Scarlett Letter at this link.

Scenic designer Yoon Bae at the Jan. 11 “Behind the Scenes” event.