Review: ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS, AND RAGING QUEENS is a Patchwork of Emotion

SNAP! Productions, in its mission to present ground-breaking theatre that promotes diversity tolerance, has continued in its tradition with its current production, ELEGIES FOR ANGELS, PUNKS, AND RAGING QUEENS. Not what you might think of as a traditional musical, it is a unique mix of poetry interspersed with song. Free verse is spoken by the deceased in past tense, while songs are sung by the living in present tense. It is a dichotomy that works well to show the marks left by the departed on those who remain.

The NAMES Project of 1987 and Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology" (poems of the deceased in a small town) inspired Bill Russell (book and lyrics) to develop a theatre project centering on AIDs and its devastation. With Janet Hood (music), they developed a patchwork of monologues and songs that could be presented by a varying number of actors. In SNAP!'s production, twenty-three of these monologues are spoken by a rainbow of Omaha actors. No one actor portrays more than one character, hence the very large cast. Four talented singers, however, sing all ten songs either as solos or in groups representing the continuation and collaboration of survivors and loved ones touched by the disease.

The NAMES Project was birthed by Cleve Jones who wanted the public to feel the loss those affected by AIDS felt. He conceived the idea of 6' by 3' quilt panels that contained whatever family and friends felt represented the life of their loved one. Displayed in Washington DC in October of 1987, The Quilt consisted of roughly 1,500 panels, but by 1992, it had grown to 8,288 panels displayed in front of the White House. It was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988. In 2005 The Quilt was dedicated as an official American treasure.

Instead of using a quilt as the symbol for this show, Directors Michael Simpson and Echelle Childers worked with Set Designer Ben Adams to create a festoon of red ribbons hanging from the ceiling and illuminated by red spotlights. On the floor are red swirls topped with an eclectic mix of small tables and chairs serving to emphasize the diversity of the persons on the set.

Kate Schader serves as Music Director and pianist, with Cellist Christina Allred/Molly Rezich and Harpist Anita Clark. Positioned behind a wall of red strings, this particular grouping of instrumentalists adds a melancholy tone, but also provides solid background for upbeat songs.

The four vocalists, J. L. Van Horn, Joey Galda, Emily Jane Moore, and Jennifer Gilg, are more than capable of performing the songs tickling every human emotion. I felt invited to listen to their intimate life stories. There's a spirit of contagious camaraderie in this small space.

This is a moving production--one that opens our eyes to lives ruined by disease. Their stories are multifarious. There's the party guy with the red silk pocket handkerchief who just wants to be remembered with a showy celebration of life. There's a young woman who contracted AIDS from her boyfriend, a child born with AIDS, a woman who lost her daughter because of a transfusion, an Army veteran who became addicted in Vietnam, a secretary who devoted herself to her boss as she was dying, and so many more.

There will be laughter. There will be tears. And there will be many recollections of this production in the weeks to come. For it will not leave your mind easily. ELEGIES is an epitaph for the departed and a love song that lives on.

Photo Credit: Michal Simpson