ɪ’liʒən: the process of joining together or merging things, especially abstract ideas
A Flight of Short Musicals - 2022
With humor and heart, we'll explore the many ways people cope with and overcome life's uncertainties and challenges.
Crossing Over by Timothy Huang
Blank Slate by Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary
Over Texas by Michael John LaChiusa
People are Dancing by Sarah Hammond and Benny Gammerman
Occupy by James Phillips with music by Rosabella Gregory
Highlights!
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*Member of Actors Equity Association
The Shows
In Timothy Huang's Crossing Over, Lily Green, a young tele-commuter who is more afraid of leaving her apartment than the horror films she watches, finds herself in a precarious position when her neighbor Cece shows up at her door claiming that a ghost is haunting her apartment. The bulb above Cece’s door, which usually casts protective light has suddenly gone out and in its absence, the sepctre has moved in. All Cece wants is for Lily to cross over her threshold and help her change a lightbulb. But crossing over means opening herself up to a world Lily is convinced does not want her.
Blank Slate was written by Julia Meinwald and Gordon Leary. It tells the story of Reynolds. After unexpectedly losing his job, Reynolds finds his way to a Thrift Shop with a goal of starting over -- with a blank slate -- to reinvent himself. With the help of the thrift store clerk, Reynolds tries on new personas anchored by unique items in the store he could purchase. By the end, Reynold has a decision to make. How much change does he really want? Who does he want to be? And what items will leave the store with him to begin his new life?
Over Texas is a vignette from Michael John LaChiusa's First Lady Suite which takes place on Air Force One as it flies into Dallas on November 22, 1963. Mary Gallagher (the First Lady's secretary) and Evelyn Lincoln (the President's secretary) are on board sharing their thoughts about working for the First Family. Feeling sleepy before landing, Mary takes a nap and has a prophetic dream. This work was to be part of our production of First Lady Suite postponed in 2020 by COVID. The full production is still on hold, but we are thrilled to present one piece.
People are Dancing was written by Sarah Hammond and Benny Gammerman. James and Rebecca are two strangers who meet at the airport as they arrive in Venice for a vacation. Both are alone and end up spending quite a bit of time together during their stay. On the last night there, they reflect on their time together, talk about who they are in their real life "back home" . . . and decide whether on that last night in Venice they should spend their time packing for their return, or have "this one last night".
A woman writes a letter to God, and then decides she wants it back. Her effort to retrieve the letter leads to life-altering actions. Occupy is a play with music written by James Phillips with music by Rosabella Gregory. It is from City Stories: Tales of Love and Magic in London. City Stories premiered in London in 2013 and moved to NYC Off-Broadway in 2016. We had pre-pandemic plans to bring the show (and Rosabella) to Twin Cities audiences. Alas, COVID had other plans -- but we are thrilled that James and Rosabella have given us permission to share this vignette from the show.
The Reviews!
Cherry and Spoon: "Elision has a knack for finding hidden gems, and for this program they found six of them: short musicals, or excerpts from musicals, that are perfect and complete in just 15 minutes or less. If you're interested in the future of music-theater that's more than just the big splashy musical, you don't want to miss this."
Talkin' Broadway: "Theatre Elision is back presenting its unique brand of spare but elegant, thought-provoking work, and its attention to superb singing. Flight of Short Musicals - 2022 was no exception."
The Pictures!
