Mona Fastvold’s set on “The Testament of Ann Lee” is much like the world of her subject, the founder of the Shaker religious movement in the 18th century: Immersive, wildly ambitious, utopian even, ...

Which parts of the movie are rooted in history, and which are the speculative stuff of Lee lore?

If the Shakers have a lasting cultural legacy, it is their music — most famously “Simple Gifts,” the uplifting spiritual Aaron Copland immortalized in his ballet “Appalachian Spring.” It stands to ...

Amanda Seyfried says no to sex in the dance-fueled film "The Testament of Ann Lee," which tells the real history behind the ...

Amanda Siegfried gives a powerful and fearless performance in this drama based on the true story of Ann Lee, the founder of Shaker religious community in 1774 Colonial America. Director/co-writer ...

From the first musical moments of The Testament of Ann Lee, I was enraptured. Admittedly, I went in knowing nothing of its subject, an 18th-century religious figure who led the Shakers, a sect also ...

Mother Ann, as Lee was called, was one of history’s few female faith leaders, which is probably why we don’t know that much ...

Stay on top of what’s happening in the Bay Area with essential Bay Area news stories, sent to your inbox every weekday. Bay Area-raised host Ericka Cruz Guevarra brings you context and analysis to ...