The Stonewall Operas (multiple performances)
In conjunction with the exhibition Art after Stonewall, 1969–1989
These four brand-new 30-minute Stonewall-inspired operas are written and composed by alums of Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, as part of the Advanced Opera Lab led by Randall Eng, Associate Arts Professor of Graduate Musical Theatre Writing, and Sam Helfrich, Associate Arts Professor of Design for Stage & Film (both Tisch School of the Arts). The operas are designed by students from the Dance Department (both Tisch School of the Arts), directed by students from the New School, and performed by professional opera singers from American Opera Projects.
Performance schedule:
Saturday, May 18, 1:30 and 7:30 pm—Shubert Theatre @ Tisch, 721 Broadway
Tickets available here. **Open only to students and faculty of NYU**
Sunday, May 19, 7:00 pm and Monday, May 20, 8:00 pm—The Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street
Tickets available here.
Excerpts from The Stonewall Operas will also be performed at the opening reception for Art after Stonewall, 1969–1989 on Monday, April 23 at 7:00 pm. The reception is free and open to the public, no reservation required.
Operas:
Outside
Music by Bryan Blaskie; Libretto by Seth Christenfeld; Directed by Francisco Rodriguez
In the early hours of June 28, 1969, in another bar somewhere else in the Village, a young man struggles with a pair of intertwined decisions: how to live as his authentic self and whether or not to go outside and join a revolution that has been drawing ever closer.
The Pomada Inn
Music by Brian Cavanagh-Strong; Libretto by Ben Bonemma; Directed by Sam Helfrich
2019. In Kiev, Igor wants to go to the bathhouse but Alek fears a police raid; in New York, Holly and Tara don’t have to worry about such things. The Pomada Inn throws these couples together across time and space to explore the global legacy of Stonewall and the work that still needs to be done.
Nightlife
Music by T.J. Rubin; Libretto by Deepali Gupta; Directed by Nina Fry
On June 28, 1969, a jazz quartet finishes a gig at the Village Vanguard and embarks on an odyssey around the corner to arrive at the Stonewall Inn. In a sonic landscape awash with Lynchian blue notes and surreal motives, four musicians strive for self-acceptance among the dissonance.
The Community
Music by Kevin Cummines; Libretto by Shoshana Greenberg; Directed by I-Chen Wang
It’s 400 years in the future, and humanity has rebuilt itself after an apocalyptic event that sent the survivors into another dark age. The only artifact they have from the previous civilization is a book on the history of the Stonewall Uprising. A madcap dystopian comedy that asks, what happens when a society is built on the story of Stonewall and what happens when someone wants to deviate from the norms?
Performances by
Errin Duane Brooks, Brandon Coleman, Sara Couden, Matthew Curran, Amy Justman, Kathryn Krasovec, Damian Norfleet, Jordan Rutter
Music Direction
Kelly Horsted and Jillian Zack
Set Designers
Marisa Kaugars, Lina Younes, Mamoon Tebbo, Aoshuang Zhang
Costume Designers
Stine Bauger Dahlman, Heather Freedman, Rebecca S. Kanach
Lighting Designers
Chris D’Angelo, Tyler Dubuc, Hamilton Guillén
This is a collaborative project of NYU/Tisch’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, Department of Design for Stage and Film, and Department of Dance; the New School; American Opera Projects; and The Stonewall Inn; co-sponsored by the Grey Art Gallery.