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Adding Machine: A Musical
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Event Type(s):
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Arts / Theatre / Music
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Description:
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While this operatic musical first premiered in 2007, Elmer Rice wrote his original Expressionist classic The Adding Machine in 1923. In their adaptation, Jason Loewith and Joshua Schmidt have created a modern American opera that challenges audiences both with its themes as well as its music.
Adding Machine follows Mr. Zero’s journey from his life of crunching numbers to his afterlife in the Elysian Fields, where he is offered one last chance for romance and redemption. Loewith and Schmidt have stayed faithful to Rice’s story of the dehumanized Everyman, accentuating through operatic composition this satiric exploration of the American Dream and the beleaguered drones who strive to achieve it.
We're not going to lie. This is not a safe piece. Overt racism, casual misogyny, and a pervading misanthropy are magnified by a score filled with dissonant harmonies layered over complex polyrhythms blending into sweet, disturbing torch songs and black comedy. Adding Machine: A Musical is not a passive entertainment. It asks its audience to do a bit of work, to retain an open mind, to find something marvelous in a horrible, ordinary life.
Think Sweeney Todd meets The Honeymooners. Think Bela Bartok scoring Curb Your Enthusiasm. Adding Machine: A Musical may be a dark tale of heartbreak, disappointment, murder, and despair, but there's one important thing audiences should remember—it's okay to laugh.
The Live Arts cast includes Amy Anderson, Jonathan Cobb, Chris Estey, Noah Grabeel, Josh Handal, Matthew Minnicino, Marija Reiff, Michelle Staller, and Alli Villines.
Tickets are $19.50. Friends of Live Arts get 10% off. Wednesday performances are always
Pay-What-You-Can. Tickets may be purchased online at www.livearts.org or by calling the Live Arts Box Office at 434-977-4177 x108.
Find out more on the Live Arts website at livearts.org
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Address:
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123 East Water Street
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Charlottesville, Virginia 22901
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Date:
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Thursday, 5/10/2012
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Start Time:
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7:30 PM
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End Time:
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9:30 PM
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Please note - All events are posted by their respective organizations. Each organization is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their events. Any / All event related questions should be directed to the posting organization.
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