Monodrama LUCY: A MEMORY OPERA examines thin line between man and ape in Milwaukee World Premiere

After exciting collaborations with choreographers Dylan Crossman and Amber Sloan in Montreal and NYC earlier this fall, composer John Glover, librettist Kelley Rourke and director Erik Pearson will receive the world premiere of, Lucy: A Memory Opera  in November. Workshopped in 2010 by AOP at WNYC's Greene Space, Lucy will receive it's world premiere November 7-9, 2014, in Milwaukee, WI in a production by Milwaukee Opera Theater, who commissioned the work. Inspired by true events, Lucy tells the story of psychologist Maurice Temerlin who, along with his wife Jane, adopted a day-old chimpanzee in the sixties. Naming her Lucy, their intention was to raise her "as much as possible as though she were a human being". Lucy learned to dress herself, eat with silverware, make tea for guests, look at magazines, communicate through sign language and enjoy cocktails. As Temerlin struggles to hold on to memories of a happy, albeit unconventional, family life, documentation from the experiment challenges him to come to terms with the project's ultimate consequences.

Unfolding in one 70-minute act, this intimate and confrontational one-man show is written for baritone Andrew Wilkowske, REDSHIFT Ensemble and pianist/music director Chris Zemliauskas. With a libretto from Kelley Rourke and projection designs and direction by Erik Pearson, Lucy promises to be a unique operatic experience.

Tickets to the Milwaukee world premiere are only $28 and may be purchased here.

Watch excerpts from the workshop performance at WNYC's Greene Space, presented by American Opera Projects below:

[vimeo 48973868 w=500 h=281]

Or watch an additional excerpt here