Alchymia Theatre, at Saint Ignatius Auditorium.
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There’s little factual data on the 15th-century martyr Christian Rosenkreutz, whose life inspired the Rosicrucians, an esoteric organization initially distinguished by its promotion of alchemy, though nowadays it’s more concerned with spiritual fulfillment through metaphysical exercises. Soon after the group was launched, in 1604, one Johann Valentin Andreae wrote a pamphlet, The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz, that spread this quasi-religious philosophy throughout the Western world. Centuries later, Andreae’s tale of Rosenkreutz’s discovery of his chosen path attracted the praise of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Anthroposophical Society, under whose auspices Alchymia Theatre now presents The Initiation, Christopher Marcus’s adaptation of Andreae’s mystical narrative.
