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Mahagonny Songspiel

West Edge Opera, 2012

A nomadic theater troupe and a group of orphan children are traveling through dry land on a boat – now on wheels. They are in quest of utopia – water. As they travel through an electrified desert, the women lament the lack of whisky while the men gamble as they discuss the impoverishment of the people. Jimmy, now claiming to be God, questions the others before ordering them to hell. They respond that they cannot be sent to hell, since they are already there. As they travel, they encounter a nomadic tribe that trades found relic from the past and perform their cryptic play Les mamelles de Tirésias. The “play” is about the past excesses that brought about the world they now inhabit where overpopulation and global warming have depleted all the natural resources and made water the most scarce and valuable commodity.

Composer: Kurt Weill
Director:
Elkhanah Pulitzer
Sets: Chad Owens & Elkhanah Pulitzer
Lights: Jasmine Krech
Costumes: Shannon Maxham
Photos: Jamie Buschbaum

© Elkhanah Pulitzer