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Cambridge director knows how to play to his audience
By adamg on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 10:07am
Rachel Zimmerman reports that during intermission at a play at a Cambridge school last night, the director announced the results of a procedural vote in the House on health care (not the actual, final vote):
The audience stood up and cheered.
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Comments
It was not the director who
It was not the director who announced the vote, but Cambridge School Committee member Patty Nolan. I assume that the director was consulted. I heard the announcement from behind the curtain, where I was working the curtain as stage hand in the right wing, so did not witness the interaction between them. I was the first to applaud though.
By the way, it is a really good show.
quibbles
First of all, thanks to Rachel for her very apt description of "Springtime for Haman". Now to the quibbles. "Play" is not at all an apt description. This is an opera, i.e., a story told through song. With the exception of a few spoken words, the entire production is sung. Yes, the performances are generously hosted by the Peabody School, but they are in no way a production of the Peabody School, although there are Peabody School students in the cast.
Before you have visions of fat ladies in armor breaking glasses with their high notes, let me assure you that this is not that kind of opera. As the North Cambridge Family Opera website (www.familyopera.org) says, the music is in a variety of styles. The performers range in age from 7 to 82. The aim is to put on a show that adults and children can all enjoy on both sides of the footlights. I can testify from my own observation that children as young as four had a great time (and refused a parental offer to leave at intermission), as did people old enough to have grandchildren or even great-grandchildren that age, not to mention people of various ages in between. My own daughter, who is 12 and performing in her fifth NCFO opera, saw the 2004 world premiere of "Springtime for Haman" and loved it. There are still four shows that you can see this coming weekend (with who knows what momentous news to be announced at intermission). For more information, see the NCFO website and the Cambridge Chronicle story (http://tinyurl.com/yjmffbo).