Pack a rEvolver this weekend

Classical pianist Karen Lee-Morang and opera singer Joel Klein (aka Maria Toilette) join forces with composer Isaiah Bell in “Cocktales with Maria”at the rEvolver Festival.

The rEvolver Festival looks like the most likely place to have a good time in a theatre this weekend. 

So far, I’ve only seen one show at rEvolver, Double Recessive, which imagines redheads as the world’s new pariahs. In its exploration of the political manipulation of xenophobia, Double Recessive has great fun with stylistic elements, including repurposed news footage. Playwright Jordan Lloyd Watkins forgets to tell a story, though, so the show isn’t entirely successful.

But Hell of a Girl, Jeff Gladstone’s rockabilly opera based on the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, looks like it could be a hot rEvolver ticket. And so does Cocktales with Maria, in which classical musicians—one of whom is a drag queen—explore verbatim texts submitted by gay men about their sexual encounters.

Thanks to artistic producers Daniel Martin and David Mott for producing this unique festival of original work by emerging—and, okay, some established—artists.