But the highlight of the evening was its centerpiece, “Forever” — quite easily the strangest opera I’ve ever seen. Rather than dig into humanity for material, composer Elizabeth Gartman and librettist Melisa Tien dispose of it altogether, opting instead for a world populated by humanistic petrochemicals and tenacious microorganisms. Thus, “Forever” stages a meet-cute...
Washington National Opera renews commitment to future of American opera
A three-character opera lasting 20 minutes is not a vast canvas, and it turns out that less can be more in a mini-opera. The most successful of the three new works, Forever by Elizabeth Gartman, was also the most frivolous, at least on the surface. Set to a libretto by Melisa Tien, it featured...
Psalmayene 24 Set to Direct Arena Stage’s World Premiere of Tempestuous Elements
Kia Corthron’s new play explores the trailblazing career of Black feminist Anna Julia Cooper. By Molly Higgins for Playbill.com January 17, 2024 Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage has announced the cast and creative team for the world premiere of Kia Corthron’s Tempestuous Elements. The production will run at the Mead Center for American Theater’s Fichandler Stage...
Discussion with award-winning Crime & Punishment adapters/playwrights Sue Campbell and Curt Columbus
See Curt Columbus here....
Best Of: Ask A Playwright with Panelist Psalmayene 24
Playwrights Karen Zacarías, James Ijames, and Psalmayene 24 join our panel. Before Hamlet could pose the iconic question of “To be or not to be,” the line began as merely a thought in the mind of a playwright. While Shakespeare is long gone, theater – and thus playwriting – is very much alive. Theater,...