by Melanie Wong
In accordance with their self-proclaimed mission to reach
new audiences and change America’s “stuffy” and “elitist” perception of opera,
nonprofit organization Opera on Tap presented their first original opera, SMASHED: The Carrie Nation Story, last week at HERE Arts Center. Lightly
based on the story of legendary temperance leader Carrie Nation, the one-act
opera told the story of booze: the people who drink it, and the people who
don’t.
As audience members found their seats in the black box
theater, they passed an onstage urinal next to a New York Department of Health "C"-grade sign, a lone
drunk sitting at a bar, and a group of noodling musicians—each with beer in hand. The lone drunk proved to be the narrator (portrayed by Lynn Berg) and opened the show by stumbling over
the audience, greeting them as he went.
The ensuing hour proved to be a hilarious
slapstick-style opera that included a supermodel-status God, played by Joseph
Flaxman, who Carrie addressed as “Big Dog,” communicated through an oversized
diamond-crusted iPhone, donned
Ray-Bans, consistently re-enacted a Sistine Chapel pose with his followers, and
gifted Carrie with a scared jumbo bottle of tequila. Other highlights included the “27 Evils of Booze,” during which a newly sober
Carrie (Krista Wozniak) and the bartender (also performed by Flaxman) entered
into a debate over the pros and cons of alcohol, while a scientist (Flaxman again) gave an amusing lecture on beer.
Contemporary chamber ensemble Hotel Elefant starred as house
band, giving an effective performance of Brooklyn-based composer James Barry’s quirky and fitting score. The supporting cast, in the form of the “Carrie
Nation All-Stars” and “Uncle Jimmy Liquid Courage Brigade” provided entertaining
backup throughout. Although Timothy Braun’s comical libretto succeeded in keeping
the audience laughing, the plotline was iffy and the ending was cheap, with
Carrie jumping on the alcoholic bandwagon after losing a coin toss. Regardless
of the plot, however, each of the actors sang with great ease and character;
and Opera on Tap was able to accomplish its goal: Anyone who experiences the
absurd booze-opera will go happy and with a fully transformed view of opera.
SMASHED: The Carrie Nation Story was part of the SubletSeries@HERE Program, providing artists with discounted space, equipment, and technical support.