Overture

Scene 1: Introduction

NANCY. “So then–after the Lord has spoken to them–

He was received up into heaven–

and He sat on the right hand of God–

with signs following. Amen. Amen.”

Do I want to stay here with him?

Yes, Lord! Thank you, Lord!

Ah!

 

COLEMAN.  I got you, Nancy! 

I heard you admit there's another man.

That's enough for a divorce.

Have you been having carnal intercourse

with the son of a bitch or not?

 

NANCY. I have not! It is your ugly eyes

that sees ugly things.

He has asked me to marry him.

His name is Obediah Buckhorn.

He is a great preacher.

 

COLEMAN. I never heard of him.

 

NANCY. Oh, Coleman, you are as dumb as a ditch!

 

OBY. Good evening. God bless you.

 

NANCY. Oby! 

 

OBY. I don't like to fight, Christian.

 

COLEMAN. Don't call me no Christian.

I'm not one.

You stole my wife, my furniture, my family heirlooms,

and my Dodge pick-up truck.

 

OBY. Stole ?

 

NANCY. Coleman, you are the disgust of this world.

 

NANCY. Hello, Billy.

 

BILLY. Hidy. I got them.

 

OBY. Set them down over there, Billy.

 

COLEMAN. I'll be damned.

Nancy, you stole every single thing

right out of our house!

 

NANCY. Nobody stole nothing!

 

OBY. Just hold it! 

Speak your piece.

Scene 2: Coleman's aria.

 

COLEMAN . My name is Coleman Hannibal Shedman, Junior.

I own and manage–

– the Shedman Fish Farm,

left me by my father when he died.

Like a fool,

I wanted to get married.

On our honeymoon I took her all the way to Virginia!

 

NANCY. Oh, Coleman, you are as dumb as a ditch!

 

COLEMAN. To camp at beautiful Hungry Mother State Park!

I planned for us to fish together.

All she could say was,

 

NANCY. Hungry Mother is a stupid name for a State Park,

and a miserable place for a Christian honeymoon.

 

COLEMAN. One week ago.

I come home upset,

full of misguided love.

I took Nancy tenderly in my arms,

 

NANCY. Coleman you are the disgust of this world.

 

COLEMAN. and tried to tell her how much I cared.

 

NANCY. Oh, my God!

 

COLEMAN. But I was tired!

 

NANCY. Oh, my God!

 

COLEMAN.   Working and slaving

to support my wife at the fish farm.

And when I woke up the next morning,

wife, furniture, family heirlooms, and my Dodge pick-up, gone!

In their place, a little note.

 

NANCY.  “Dear Coleman. Last night

I met a real man. Yours truly, Nancy.”

 

COLEMAN. I want my furniture,

family heirlooms, my Dodge pick-up, and a divorce!

 

Scene 3: Nancy's aria.

 

NANCY. A lot more happened that night than you'll admit,

you horse-faced rat and rodent, you.

You were not full of misguided love,

you were full of beer and whiskey!

and all of a sudden grabbing me.

In spite of myself,

I was swept with carnal desire.

When I finally managed to get my clothes decently off,

you pawing and clutching,

and finally, I wanted you,

because I want a baby , Coleman, a baby , and said so!

Then, you climbing on top of me on that old sofa

and just hanging there.

Then passing out! Out, boom!

Me rolling humiliated out from under you.

You rolled over on the floor, flop !

Like that, with your pants down

and that thing of yours asleep just like you, flop !

 

COLEMAN. I want my furniture, my family heirlooms, and my Dodge pick-up truck.

 

NANCY. You don't know what it's like,

to be a mortified wife. I felt so bad.

Dear Jesus, I prayed, give me a sign.

Somebody was at the front door.

I turned around, crying.

It was Oby.

 

COLEMAN. Doing what, preacher? Whacking off?

 

OBY. I asked her if she had a match.

So I could light my campfire.

 

NANCY. So understanding and polite

(I was naked.)

I put on my clothes.

 

OBY. And she went with me to my campfire.

 

NANCY. I told Oby everything.

He understood.

 

NANCY and OBY. And I/he told me/her things, about life,

and Jesus our Lord, and the Bible,

things that I/she never heard before anywhere.

 

COLEMAN. I want my furniture, my family heirlooms, and my Dodge pick-up truck.

 

NANCY. And he took me in his manly arms,

and he said a prayer in my ear, and kissed me.

What a difference, between day

and  night!

 

Scene 4: Interlude 1

HART. I thought you wasn't coming!

 

RUDD. I waited half an hour at the pool room!

 

HART. Pool room! I thought you said meet here!

 

RUDD. No, no, we were supposed to meet there and come here later!

 

HART. Who said that?

 

RUDD. You did.

 

HART. No I didn't! What I said was–

 

RUDD. Well, never mind! I'm sorry if I messed up.

 

HART. No, I did. Just so you're here.

 

RUDD. I am.

 

HART. It's all right then. Everything's   all right. 

 

LORENA. Oh, I'm so sorry!

I thought there was a church service here .

 

OBY. Come right in and sit down.

It will begin shortly.

 

COLEMAN. Two men are hugging and kissing

each other back there.

 

MRS. WALL. Hidy. Hello, Nancy.

You sweet thing.

Praise the Lord.

 

COLEMAN. All right. Your turn.

 

OBY. Me?

 

COLEMAN. We get to hear your story

of what happened on that fateful night. All fifty of us.

 

MURIEL. Hey, Nancy,

 

NANCY. Muriel! You brought the baby!

 Hey, there! Hey, honey! Whoo-hoo! Why, he's just the sweetest thing!

 

OBY.  You want to hear my story, here it is.

 

Scene 5: Oby's Aria

It started when I got laid off my fulltime job

at the Skyrocket Bowling Alley.

I went camping. I'd run out of matches.

I saw this little house.

The front door was open.

There, without any clothes on,

 

COLEMAN. I'll be damned.

 

OBY. was a fine young lady.

 

COLEMAN. You stole my wife,

 

OBY. I said, “Ah, hello. You got a match?”

She not only gave me a box of matches,

 

NANCY. Oby!

 

OBY. she came down and cooked for me.

You want to know why

she likes my campfire better than yours?

Because I know that God Himself

is always the other person around any fire.

She asked me what to do.

I said, “Go ask my Daddy.”

 

COLEMAN. I'll be damned!

 

NANCY. Oby!

 

OBY. He knows more than I do.

she had a pick-up truck

and some furniture

she wanted to take with her.

Well, Daddy liked her right off.

 

COLEMAN. I want my pick-up truck, my furniture,

And my family heirlooms,

I'll be damned.

You stole my wife.

I'll be damned.

 

NANCY. And he took in his manly arms,

And he said a prayer in my ear,

And kissed me! Oby! Oby!

 

OBY. She had a pick-up truck

and some furniture

she wanted to take with her.

Well, Daddy liked her right off.

 

COLEMAN. I want my pick-up truck, my furniture,

And my family heirlooms,

I'll be damned.

You stole my wife.

I'll be damned.

 

NANCY. And he took in his manly arms,

And he said a prayer in my ear,

And kissed me! Oby! Oby! Oby!

Scene 6: The Confrontation of Buckhorn.

COLEMAN. Are you saying

that you took her to see your Daddy?

When you marry him,

you still gonna live with Daddy?

 

NANCY. You are the one insisted I am going to marry Oby.

 

COLEMAN. Huh?

 

NANCY. I'm not.

 

COLEMAN. You said you was going to marry Obediah Buckhorn.

 

NANCY. Yes. Obediah Buckhorn, Senior.

 

OBY. Daddy.

 

COLEMAN. Daddy ? Well, god-a-odd-damn!

My fine young wife left me for Daddy.

Where in hell is he, anyhow?

Yoo-hoo! Daddy?

 

BUCKHORN. 

Right here. God bless you, son.

 

COLEMAN. Him?

 

NANCY. Him. 

 

COLEMAN. Daddy, I can put your ass in jail.

You and your idiot son

stole my wife.

I got you dead to rights.

 

BUCKHORN. I understand how you must feel.

Life is hard.

 

NANCY.  Yes, Lord.

 

BUCKHORN. But your wife came to us of her own free will and suffering, because of you.

 

NANCY.  Yes, Lord.

 

BUCKHORN. And her own ignorance.

 

NANCY.  Yes, Lord.

 

BUCKHORN. We have a service to the Lord God

to celebrate.

You will know everything you want to know.

After the worship. Excuse me.

Scene 7: Interlude 2 and Coleman's Aria 2

BONNIE. How are you, Nancy?

 

NANCY. Fine. Bonnie. How're you?

 

BONNIE. Doing all right, praise the Lord.

Hello. Welcome to our church.

 

COLEMAN. God damn it, Nancy.

 

BONNIE. Oh, it's your husband.

 

COLEMAN. I'm here for a divorce.

 

BUCKORN. I think we're ready, now.

Is Cancer Woman here yet?

 

OBY. No, sir.

 

COLEMAN. Who?

 

NANCY. A woman who has cancer.

She comes here because it helps her.

She don't have no place else to go.

 

COLEMAN. If she has cancer,

why doesn't she go to a hospital?

 

NANCY. You don't know what you're talking about.

 

COLEMAN. Oh? Didn't my Mama die of it

when I was a boy?

Didn't I carry my Daddy to the hospital with it

two years ago?  Didn't I watch my Daddy die?

Scene 8: Cancer Woman and “Rock of Ages”

CANCER WOMAN. Hidy.

 

BUCKHORN. Hello, Cancer Woman.

 

CANCER WOMAN.

Hello, son.

 

COLEMAN.You got cancer?

 

CANCER WOMAN. Yes.

 

BUCKHORN. Now, friends. Let's start the worship.

 

ALL. Rock of Ages, cleft for me

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure,

Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labors of my hands,

Can fulfill Thy laws demands;

Could my zeal no respite know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone.

Thou must save and Thou alone.

 

COLEMAN. 

What about the divorce?

What about my property?

What about this old man you're going to marry?

You lost your mind?

Bunch of lunatics in here.

What kind of religion is this, anyhow? Nancy?

Scene 9: Buckhorn's Declaration.

BUCKHORN. Now, folks. Before any other thing,

I must declare myself to you!

 

CONGREGATION. Amen, brother.

 

BUCKHORN. You all know the sunshine

that has come into my life.

This young and tender maiden–

 

COLEMAN. Maiden? Hoo!

 

BUCKHORN. Who came to me lost and forlorn, ravaged by the brutality of godless wedlock.

 

COLEMAN. And pissed off in the bargain.

 

BUCKHORN.  Came here to me,

and to our church,

and asked us for help,

for guidance, for love and faith.

And she was healed!

Made whole! Sound!

Radiant with the spirit of the Lord!

Is this any kind of lie?

Speak the truth, little Nancy!

 

NANCY. 

Nothing in my hand I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress,

Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly;

Wash me Savior, or I die.

 

BUCKHORN. Here is her husband,

come cursing amongst us.

With rage, tight as a tick.

You may not believe this,

but everybody here

comprehends your extreme married misery.

Including me.

Nobody belittles it.

Til church is over,

you are our friend and guest.

Isn't that right?

 

ALL. Why, yes! It certainly is!

Yes, indeed, Welcome, friend.

 

BUCKHORN. 

Well, what is real religion?

One thing I know,

it don't have no beginning,

it don't have no end.

It is happening all the time,

Tonight I hope it will happen to us.

 

ALL. When the roll is called up yonder,

When the roll I called up yonder,

When the roll is called up yonder,

When the roll is called up yonder I'll be there. Amen.

 

BUCKHORN. Bonnie?

Scene 10: Bonnie's Aria

BONNIE. Friends, the Kiley Haines family

were burned out of their house last night.

They were not hurt,

but their clothes went up with everything else.

I have the children's sizes here.

If you'll bring in what you can,

I'll see they get it.

We have new faces with us tonight.

A new friend, Mrs. Lorena Cosburg.

 

ALL. Welcome, Hidy!

 

LORENA. Hello.

 

BONNIE. You all know what happened to me here.

How sick I was over it.

I appreciated your visits and your prayers.

I know now how the sick and the needy feel.

And–oh, Lord–now I want to pray!

Scene 11: Idumea

CHORUS. And am I born to die?

To lay this body down!

And must my trembling spirit fly

Into a world unknown?

A land of deepest shade,

Unpierced by human thought;

The dreary regions of the dead,

Where all things are forgot!

Soon as from earth I go,

What will become of me?

Eternal happiness or woe,

Must then my portion be!

Waked by the trumpet sound,

I from my grave shall rise;

And see the Judge with glory crowned,

And see the flaming skies!

 

NANCY.  Oh. Lord! Let me pray to you for my husband, Coleman!

Forgive my evil thoughts against him!

You know I can't stand him anymore,

and he is a terrible mess,

but maybe he can't help that, Lord,

and I pray that you will come into his life

and do him some good and show him the way!

Amen, Lord Jesus!

Scene 12: Interlude 3

BUCKHORN. Now folks, I see Muriel and Billy Boggs

with some good news. Billy?

 

BILLY. Well, we had the baby, as you know.

She's got it with her. Muriel?

 

MURIEL. He's only three weeks old.

Edward William Boggs.

You all know we never meant to have him this fast.

But we're happy about it, anyhow.

Ain't we, Billy?

 

BILLY.  Yeah.

 

MURIEL. He needs a godmother.

Will you do that for us?

I believe that you will get well,

and live for many years.

He might need somebody like you,

who is good and wise.

 

CANCER WOMAN. You people are the best things

in the world to me.

BUCKHORN. You know, Jesus was a baby like this, once.

How we love that. Baby Jesus.

Mrs. Wall, play us some Baby Jesus music.

Sing, friends.

Scene 13: The Revelation (Coleman/Nancy's argument 1).

ALL. Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son,

Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor.

Thou, my soul's Glory, Joy, and Crown.

 

COLEMAN.  There is something wrong about these people.

I just feel it.

 

ALL. Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son,

Thee will I cherish. Thee will I honor.

Thou my soul's Glory, Joy, and Crown.

 

COLEMAN. I mean, they're not all right in the head. 

What kind of church is this?

What are they doing up there,

pretending that damn baby is Jesus?

Something is dead wrong

about this whole thing.

You can marry Oby, Daddy,

or the milkman. I don't care!

 

ALL. Fair are the meadows,

Fairer still the woodlands,

Robed in the blooming garb of spring:

Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,

Who makes the woeful heart to sing.

 

COLEMAN. 

I'm here to get what's coming to me.

My furniture, my family heirlooms, and a new pick-up-truck!

Until that's settled, here I sit!

 

NANCY. I wouldn't sit on them boxes,

if I were you.

 

ALL. Fair is the sunshine. Fairer still the moonlight.

And all the twinkling, starry host.

Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer,

Than all the angels heaven can boast.

 

Fairest Lord Jesus, ruler of all nature,

O Thou of God and man the Son,

Thee will I cherish. Thee will I honor.

Thou my soul's Glory, Joy, and Crown.

Fair is the sunshine. Fairer still the moonlight.

 

COLEMAN. Oh, you wouldn't, would you?

 

NANCY. And I wouldn't kick them like that, neither.

 

COLEMAN. Snakes! Jesus Christ!

There's rattlesnakes in these boxes!

Diamond god damned backed rattlesnakes!

And copperhead! Deadly serpents!

They're poison! They'll kill you!

What are they doing in –

 

ALL. Fair is the sunshine. Fairer still the moonlight.

And all the twinkling, starry host.

Jesus shines–

 

COLEMAN .

My god. You're Pentecostal Church Snake handlers.

 

BUCKHORN. Amen, son.

 

CHORUS.  Amen.     

Scene 1: Introduction and Trio

COLEMAN. Pentacostal Church of God Snake handlers. Maniacs.

You pick up them snakes?

Hold them in your hands?

 

BUCKHORN. That has been known to happen.

 

COLEMAN. I read something about a man just last –

 

BONNIE. Gilbert Letty. He almost died.

 

COLEMAN. Haven't some people died? It's been in the papers–

 

BUCHKHORN. That has been known to happen.

 

BONNIE. They think they have faith.

When the test comes, they don't.

COLEMAN. Haven't some people died? Haven't some people died? Haven't some people died?

BONNIE. They think they have faith. They think they have faith.

BUCKHORN. That has been known to happen.

 

COLEMAN. Haven't some people died? Haven't some people died? Haven't some people died?

BONNIE. They think they have faith. They think they have faith.

BUCKHORN. That has been known to happen.

Scene 2: The Tempting of Buckhorn

COLEMAN. I know what you really want, preacher.

It is now time, friends, for the holy offering!

That's what you want! Gimme, gimme!

You ain't getting a thin dime out of me, Daddy!

 

BUCKHORN. See that bucket

way back there against that wall?

That's our offering plate.

Nobody even has to look at it,

much less put money in it,

 

ALL. Yes, that's right. Yes.

 

BUCKHORN. Now, you put your thin dime in that bucket, or don't.

In your own kind of talk,

we don't give a flying fuck

what you do with your money!

I swore at this man.

I lost my temper, curse of my life.

Help me, friends.

OH! GOD!

Help me, friends! I'm lost in anger!

Mrs. Wall! Sing something! Help me!

Scene 3: Come Home

Help me friends! I'm lost.

Help me friends! I'm lost.

 

ALL.

Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling,

Calling for you, and for me,

See on the portals He's waiting and watching,

Watching for you and for me.

 

Come home, come home, come home, come home,

you who are weary, come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling.

Calling, O sinner, come home!

BUCKHORN. Thank you friends, praise God.

Thank you friends, and praise God.

Thank you friends, and praise God.

When we ask him together,

He takes away our hate.

Don't we know, you can't get rid of it by yourself.

 

ALL. O for the wonderful love He has promised

Promised for you and for me,

Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,

Pardon for you and for me.

Come home, come home, come home come home,

You who are weary come home.

Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling.

Calling, O sinner, come home! Amen.

Scene 4: Lorena and Buckhorn's duet

LORENA. I do so enjoy singing with you, and everyone–

They don't know I'm here tonight.

My husband, Frank. Or my children.

They look down on people like you.

I've driven past this church, alone, many times.

I never had the courage to come in.

The only time I ever crossed anybody in my life–

 

BUCKHORN. You see, we observe no strict order

of worship here.

 

LORENA. was coming here tonight.

 

BUCKHORN. Worship don't have much order to it,

not if it's real.

 

LORENA. I want to know what you believe.

 

BUCKHORN. No preacher can schedule the Holy Ghost,

shorely not me.

 

LORENA. Because in my life–in my own life—

 

BUCKHORN. He will come, He will come, Sister Cosburg, all the same.

Scene 5: Buckhorn's Confrontation 2

BUCKHORN. I am ready. For the Holy Ghost.

For my little bride, and the joy of our union!

 

ALL. Yes, we're ready. Yes.

 

COLEMAN. Wait just a second, Reverend Daddy.

You got a growed up son,

How did you come by him? Santy Claus?

 

NANCY. Throw him out!

 

BUCKHORN. I am tempted.

But friends, in forty-three years

of Christian ministry,

no human soul has ever been

cast out of a church by me.

Of course, there is a first time for everything!

 

COLEMAN. And that is the man

stole my wife for his Daddy.

You ain't got a Momma around

for me anywhere, have you?

 

OBY. Now, don't you talk about my Momma!

 

COLEMAN. What happened to her?

 

OBY. She died. When I was the littlest boy.

After the other one, and before–

 

BUCKHORN. Son! No need to go into all that.

 

COLEMAN. Just how many wives you had, Reverend Daddy?

 

BUCKHORN. That is none of your business!

 

COLEMAN. Let's see. Three? 

Four? 

Five? 

Glory to God. Six?

 

BUCKHORN. Taken by the Lord.

 

NANCY. Six?

 

BUCKHORN. My offspring number seventeen children,

thirty-one grandchildren, and

–a number of great-grandchildren.

 

COLEMAN. Six mommas in the cemetery,

all wore out.

 

NANCY.  Six? I am number seven?

Scene 6: Hart and Rudd's Testimony

HART. If it hadn't been for this man, and these people, I would have–

if I couldn't come here, –ah, Howard!

 

RUDD. It's all right, Orin.

 

COLEMAN. Fags, by god. Queers.

 

OBY. Well, so what?

 

COLEMAN. But what are they doing in church?

Why ain't they in a bus station somewhere?

 

MRS. WALL. What he don't know would fill a book.

 

BONNIE. Amen.

 

MRS. WALL. 

I love to tell the story

Of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and his glory,

Of Jesus and his love.

 

MRS. WALL & LORENA. I love to tell the story,

Because I know ‘tis true,

It satisfies my longings,

As nothing else can do.

 

MRS. WALL, LORENA, & BILLY.  I love to tell the story,

Twill be my song in glory,

To tell the old, old story,

Of Jesus and His love.

 

HART. 

We met fourteen years ago,

working the state roads.

Mean, both of us.

Hung over every morning,

 

RUDD. Orin was drinking too much.

I'd get him home to his wife May.

 

HART. And I did the same for Howard.

One time Edna left him,

and took their little girl Jean with her.

Howard clamped a razor blade in a pair of pliers,

and tried to cut his throat. See the scars?

Without me, you'd have died.

 

RUDD. Yep.

 

MRS. WALL & LORENA. I love to tell the story.

It did so much for me;

And that is just the reason.

I tell it now to thee.

 

HART. I got him to the hospital.

But in other times,

it was Howard come to get me,

me wanting to break to pieces

any man come near me,

and Howard the only man alive

could take me home.

 

RUDD, Bad ass fighting men.

Kill the world.

His boy Wayne William got sick and died.

His wife couldn't stop drinking no more than he could.

 

HART. I commenced carrying a gun.

 

MRS. WALL, LORENA, & BILLY. I love to tell the story,

Twill be my song in glory.

To tell the old, old story.

Of Jesus and His love.

 

RUDD. I got him drunk one night, and stole his gun.

I said, “I heard about a place

where crazy people play with death,

and rattlesnakes.

If that's what you want, we'll do it there.”

 

HART. He marched me in this room under my own gun.

When the serpents appeared,

I'd never seen nothing like it.

And the worship.

I remembered my boy and my wife still alive.

In the music and the singing, I said,

“Give me that snake, Jesus Christ, you know I want it!”

And I took one up.

I held my death here, in these hands.

And of all the people in the world that night,

the Lord annointed Orin Hart.

 

RUDD. And Howard Rudd.

Scene 7: Fight Scene 1

You see, bad ass?

 

COLEMAN. Sure. Ain't they pretty?

Fags ain't always like girls.

They can look like truck drivers and be queer.

 

HART. Son, if you want

to get yourself beaten to a pulp,

that man or me, either one–

 

COLEMAN.  One at a time, or both together! Come on! 

Come on, queer!

 

HART + RUDD. Bad ass, when we come in here,

we felt the power!

Not no foolishness with guns,

not no beating and drinking and murder,

but the power!

We seen that roof up there split apart!

Our mouths dried up.

Our hearts stopped.

Down from heaven come the Holy Ghost

and I mean he moved on us!

That was the power!

And we loved each other, freely,

and said we didn't want to die.

Because for the first time in all our miserable lives,

we knowed what a victory was!

Saved! SAVED!

Glory to God.

 

COLEMAN. So beat me up.

I won't be put off by bunch of lunatics in a circus! You're fakes.

What you do with them snakes is a lie.

Scene 8: Church History/Bonnie's Aria

BUCKHORN. This man was named George Hensley.

In nineteen hundred and nine,

he was the first to read in the Bible,

“They shall take up serpents,”

and then go out and do it.

He founded the Dolley Pond Church of God,

With Signs Following, in Tennessee.

He founded this church,

in nineteen forty-eight.

Yes, people have died.

And we are still here.

 

BONNIE. Oh, god! Don't I know that!

 

BUCKHORN. Tell him, Bonnie, if you want to!

 

BONNIE. My sister Joann got desperate, too,

just like the rest of us.

I brought her here.

I told her not to move without the power.

But she did.

She cried out and grabbed a snake

and he bit her.

That night, Jesus took her.

She's with Him now, in heaven.

 

BUCKHORN. Lots of people like you say we're crazy

to need this worship this strong this bad!

But we do! This is our nature!

 

BONNIE. Awful things were said about me.

My own family tried to have me arrested.

But I'm still here.

I still worship in this church!

 

BUCKHORN. And we are still here.

 

BONNIE. Some people say

I killed my own sister!

I brought her to God!

Scene 9: Service Begins/Coleman + Nancy's Argument

BUCKHORN. Mrs. Wall. Give us a hymn, in the name of the Lord.

Something quiet. To calm us down.

And prepare us for the worship,

which I am holding up no longer.

 

CHORUS. What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

 

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

 

Can we find a friend so faithful

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our ev'ry weakness,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

 

Are we weak and heavy laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge,

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

 

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

In his arms He'll take and shield thee,

Thou will find a solace there.

 

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer

 

O what peace we often forfeit

O what neeless paid we bear

All because we do not carry

Ev'rything to God in prayer!

 

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

 

COLEMAN.  I can see why you left me.

I can see why you're here.

But this crazy religion just ain't true.

 

NANCY. How can you tell? How can you tell?

 

COLEMAN. Because my Daddy taught me to face life as it is!

And it is mostly god-awful hard!

That's the truth.

 

NANCY. Face it without nothing?

No love, no children, nothing?

 

COLEMAN. What is wrong about me

without something just as wrong about them?

 

NANCY. You drink whiskey and beer.

You curse all the time.

 

COLEMAN. Yes. Yes. But I don't whine, or cry,

or beg help from Jesus, like a coward.

 

NANCY. You hate yourself!

 

COLEMAN. All right. Sometimes.

Nancy, come home.

I got you into this. I'll get you out.

You can't marry that old man.

 

NANCY. Six wives?

 

COLEMAN. I'll be a good husband.

I'll never hit you again.

 

NANCY. Six wives?

 

OLEMAN. I won't drink. I won't swear.

I might even take you to church.

 

NANCY. What? 

 

COLEMAN. Some decent church.

I'll even pray with you.

Help us poor sinners.

See, I can do that. Praise the Lord!

 

CHORUS. Amen! Amen brother! Praise the Lord!!

Scene 10: Fight Scene 2.

COLEMAN. What the hell do you mean,

listenin' in on us?

I ain't praying in this place!

I'm trying to talk to my god damn stupid wife!!

 

NANCY. You can have the furniture.

Your family heirlooms.

I owe you a pick-up truck.

Goodbye, Coleman.

Scene 11: Coleman's Breakdown

CANCER WOMAN. They cut me to pieces.

I'll be dead, soon, like your momma and daddy.

that's all right:

You don't have to worry about all that.

 

COLEMAN. Mama! Daddy!

 

BUCKHORN. We wish we could tell you what to do.

We can't. We're in this trouble, too.

All we can do is worship.

Read me the words of Jesus Christ!

Scene 12: Salvation Scene + God's Visit

BILLY. The Book of Mark. Chapter 16, verses 17 and 18.

“And these signs shall follow them that believe.”

 

CHORUS. Amen.

 

BILLY. “They shall speak with new tongues–”

 

CHORUS. Amen!

 

BILLY. “They shall take up serpents–”

 

CHORUS. Amen! Glory to God!

Glory to God!

Praise the Lord!

 

BILLY. Ah! Ah! Sha–gon-du-lah! Sha–gon–du–lah!! Ma– shill– a hon– du– lah!!

Gos–la! Gos–la!

Ah–gall–a sonda! Ah–gall– a sonda! Eee–ma–nona!

Eee– ma– nona! La–gall–la–sa! La–gall–la sa!!!

 

CANCER WOMAN. You see! I'm still alive!

They said my life was over!

But I feel the power of the Lord,

I hold the serpent!

I defeat him!

God gives me this victory!

I feel wonderful!

 

CHORUS. Stand up, Stand up for Jesus

Ye soldiers of the cross,

Lift high His royal banner,

It must not suffer loss!

 

COLEMAN.  Get out of my way!

 

NANCY. No, Coleman! No!

 

HART and RUDD. You'll risk your life!

You'll put it on the line!

If you believe, you'll live!

 

CANCER WOMAN and BUCKHORN. But if you don't, you can die!

 

CHORUS. From victory unto victory

His army shall He lead,

Till ev'ry foe I vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed.

 

COLEMAN. Then I'll die!

Right here! 

AHHHH!!!

 

BUCKHORN. Praise the Lord!

He made us!

We are His!

 

CHORUS. Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Stand in His strength alone:

The arm of flesh will fail you

Ye dare not trust your own;

Put on the gospel armor,

Each piece put on with prayer,

Where duty calls or danger,

Be never wanting there.

 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

Ye soldiers of the cross,

Lift high His royal banner,

It must not suffer loss;

From vict'ry unto vict'ry,

His army shall He lead,

Till ev'ry foe is vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed.

 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,

The trumpet call obey;

Forth to the mighty conflict,

In this His glor'ious day.

“Ye that are men now serve Him.”

Against unnumbered foes;

Let courage rise with danger,

And strength to strength oppose.

 

MRS. WALL. Sister!

 

LORENA. Yes, sister?

 

MRS. WALL. Tell her! Tell her!

 

MURIEL. The first time I seen the snakes,

I nearly died.

I couldn't move.

I stood there, praying.

Then the Holy Ghost gave me the power!

 

LORENA. What's it like?

 

MURIEL. Your hands get numb.

 

LORENA. Yes?

 

MURIEL. Then they get cold.

 

LORENA. Yes?

 

MURIEL. They begin to itch!

 

LORENA. Oh, yes! I have never felt like this before!

 

MRS. WALL. Do your hands itch now, sister?

 

LORENA. They do!

 

MURIEL. Then, if you have the power, grab him.

 

MRS. WALL. It's the best feeling you'll ever have!

 

LORENA. Give it to me! Give it–

 

LORENA, MURIEL , + MRS.WALL. Ah! AHHH!!!

O, God in heaven!

O, God in Heaven!!!  

 

BUCKHORN. Praise the Lord!

He made us!

We are His!

Praise the Lord!

He made us!

We are His!

Praise the Lord!

 

LORENA, MURIEL, + MRS.WALL. Ah! AHHH!!!

O, God in heaven!

O, God in Heaven!!!

O, God in Heaven!!!

O, God in Heaven!!!

O, God in Heaven!!!

O, God in Heaven!!!

 

COLEMAN. Saved! Saved! Saved! Saved! Saved! Saved! Saved! Saved!

Scene 13: Farewells

 

COLEMAN. It's eating on you, ain't it?

And them drugs?

I can tell. Hang on to me.

 

BUCKHORN. Young man?

 

COLEMAN. I want to join this church.

Please take me.

Don't send me away.

Don't send me away.

 

BUCKHORN. Little bride?

 

NANCY. I'm leaving.

I don't want to be a child no more.

I do thank you.

All of you. I'll come to church again, some day.

Good luck, Coleman.

 

BUCKHORN. She goes. You stay. 

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Scene 14: Muriel's Aria and Unchanging Love

MURIEL. There's a wideness in God's mercy

Like the wideness of the sea,

There is a kindness in His justice.

That is more than liberty.

For the love of God is broader

Than the measures of man's mind;

And the heart of the Eternal

Is most wonderfully kind.

 

ALL. For the love of God is broader

Than the measures of man's mind;

And the heart of the Eternal

Is most wonderfully kind.

 

MURIEL. Jesus defend us, O sweet mercy send us,

O angels attend us with unchanging love,

Jesus defend us and sweet mercy send us,

And angels attend us from heaven above.

 

CHORUS. Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us,

Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us,

Jesus defend us,

O sweet mercy send us,

O angels attend us

with unchanging love,

Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us

Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us,

Unchanging love.

Unchanging love

Unchanging love

Jesus defend us

 

LORENA. Unchanging love.

 

MURIEL. Unchanging love.

 

COLEMAN. Unchanging love.

 

BUCKHORN. Unchanging love.

 

CHORUS. Jesus defend us

 

LORENA. Unchanging love.

BUCKHORN. Unchanging love.

 

CHORUS. And angels attend us from heaven above.

Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us,

Angels attend us

Sweet mercy send us,

Jesus defend us

O Sweet mercy send us,

O Angels attend us

With unchanging love

Jesus defend us.

 

MURIEL. Unchanging love.

 

CHORUS. And sweet mercy send us

 

COLEMAN. Unchanging love.

 

CHORUS. And angels attend us from heaven above.

 

MURIEL, LORENA, COLEMAN, & BUCKHORN. Unchanging love.

Unchanging love.                        

 

CHORUS. Amen

Southerner Coleman Shedman demands a divorce from his wife, Nancy, who he thinks has left him for a preacher–Oby. Coleman, Nancy, and Oby each recollect the couple's last night together quite differently. It turns out Coleman is mistaken about Oby: Nancy has left him for Oby's elderly father, Obediah Buckhorn. Reverend Buckhorn leads a group of desperate misfits whose worship includes singing four traditional hymns (in the first act) and a literal belief in an obscure verse from the Book of Mark. The act concludes with Coleman's horrified realization he is in the midst of a cult of Pentecostal snake handlers.

In Act II Coleman witnesses a series of religious-conversion testimonials. These worshippers include a woman dying of cancer; a suicidal, roughneck, gay couple; a teenaged couple unprepared for sudden parenthood; a middle-aged woman defying her family to try to find meaning in her life; and a woman accused of killing her sister with poisonous snakes. As the testimonials become more intense and six other hymn tunes appear, the service climaxes with the ecstatic handling of snakes. The only skeptic, Coleman is nevertheless moved to handle a serpent, and, in a blinding flash, finds salvation. Nancy, on the other hand, becomes disillusioned with Buckhorn and leaves the church. All the remaining parishioners embrace their renewed victory over death and celebrate the unchanging love of God.

In order of appearance:

NANCY SHEDMAN, Soprano	Natalie Polito
COLEMAN SHEDMAN, Tenor	Matthew DiBattista
OBEDIAH BUCKHORN, JR. (Oby), Baritone	Philip Lima
HOWARD RUDD, Bass-Baritone	Ulysses Thomas
ORIN HART, Baritone	Ishan Johnson
LORENA COSBURG, Mezzo-soprano	Lori L'Italien
MRS. WALL, Mezzo-soprano, pianist	Sharon Brown
MURIEL BOGGS, Soprano	Meena Malik
BILLY BOGGS, Baritone, guitarist	Jeffrey McEvoy
REV. OBEDIAH BUCKHORN, SR. (BUCKHORN), Bass	Robert Honeysucker
BONNIE BRIDGE, Mezzo-soprano	Elizabeth Anker
CANCER WOMAN, Mezzo-soprano	Bethany Tammaro Condon
ENSEMBLE	Amy Dancz (cover Nancy), Adrian Jones (cover Coleman), Ulysses Thomas (cover Buckhorn), Sara Bielanski (cover Bonnie), Rachel Selan (cover Lorena); Erin Holmes (cover Muriel), Stephanie Kacoyanis  (cover Mrs. Wall), Christie Lee Gibson (cover Cancer Woman), Cleveland Jones,  Brooklyn Rohm.

 

Steve Kirby, guitar

Maja Tremiszewska, synthesizer

Irina Bazik, piano

Mark Poniatowski, bass

Steve Rose, percussion

Larry Bell, conductor

 

Deep gratitude to Fay Chandler and John Moriarity.

Acknowledgements: D'Anna Fortunato, Amy Merrill, Sandro Scoccia, New England Conservatory, Corinne King.

Special thanks to Mark DiGiovanni and Julia Noulin-Mérat.

Katherine Spencer designed the poster/flyer/program cover.

Website construction by Carl Hu.

 

The information Romulus Linney gives in this play about the history of the Pentecostal Holiness Church With Signs Following, sung by the Rev. Buckhorn and quoted from an apocryphal verse in the Bible by Billy Boggs, is historically accurate. Billy quotes the Book of Mark, Chapter 16, verses 17 and 18: “And these signs shall follow them that believe. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents.” The Reverend reads from an old newspaper clipping about George Hensley, who, in 1909, took this passage literally and founded the Dolley Pond Church of God in Tennessee.

In addition to handling poisonous snakes, the parishioners also drink strychnine to test their faith. Speaking in tongues is common, as a manifestation of religious ecstasy, and laying on of hands—such as when the parishioners bring Rev. Buckhorn “home”–is another feature of this church in which little hierarchy obtains. Rather than listen to a formal sermon, individual members are called upon to “testify.” (In an opera, we would call these “arias.”) Music is part and parcel of the service.

Perhaps surprisingly, considering that this church, which continues to this day, is found in the Appalachian South, racial integration was not an issue. From the beginning the Pentecostal snake handlers were integrated: All souls were viewed as equally deserving of salvation.

For more information on Pentecostalism see Dennis Covington, Salvation on Sand Mountain: Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia (New York: Penguin Press, 1995) and Randall J. Stephens, The Fire Spreads: Holiness and Pentecostalism in the American South (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).

Both playwright Romulus Linney and composer Larry Bell are from North Carolina, where each has strong connections to Pentecostal services.

Composer Larry Bell's music has been widely performed in the United States and abroad by the Seattle Symphony (Sacred Symphonies), Atlanta Symphony (Hansel and Gretel), RAI Orchestra of Rome, Juilliard Philharmonia (The Idea of Order at Key West), Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Songs of Innocence and Experience), Russe Philharmonia (Bulgaria), Boston Civic Symphony, the University of Miami Symphony (Sentimental Muse for Bassoon and Orchestra), ÖENM (Salzburg) and Speculum Musicae (Conceto for Oboe), the Boston Chamber Music Society, and Music Today (NYC) (Piano Concerto), the Borromeo Quartet, as well as at festivals in Ravinia, Aspen, Valencia (Spain), Pontino (Italy), San Salvador, Moscow Autumn, and New Zealand. The Juilliard String Quartet premiered Bell's first String Quartet, written when the composer was only twenty-one. Sixteen CDs of Bell's works appear on North/South, Vienna Modern Masters, and Albany Records labels. Bell has been awarded the Rome Prize, fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, and the Charles Ives Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

         As a pianist Bell has given recitals throughout the United States, as well as in Italy, Austria, and Japan, and frequently records on compact disc. Bell received his MM and DMA from The Juilliard School, working with Vincent Persichetti and Roger Sessions, and later taught in Juilliard's Pre-College Division. For a complete catalog of Bell's works and CDs, visit www.LarryBellmusic.com.

 

Playwright Romulus Linney is the author of three novels, many short stories, and five anthologies of plays, staged throughout the United States and abroad. They include The Sorrows of Frederick, Holy Ghosts, Childe Byron, Heathen Valley, "2,"  and, most recently, an adaptation of Ernest L. Gaines's novel A Lesson Before Dying, which has been produced in New York and in numerous regional theatres, and an adaptation of Tim O'Brien's novel Going After Cacciato, commissioned by the Epic Repertory Theatre. He has won two Obie awards, one for sustained excellence in playwriting, two National Critics Awards, three DramaLogue Awards, and many fellowships, including grants from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations.

          His stories appear in many literary journals and in the anthologies Pushcart Prize, New Stories From The South, and Best Of The Year, 2001 and 2002. Linney is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Ensemble Studio Theatre, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He is the Founding Playwright of Signature Theatre and was recently inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which gave him both its Academy Award in Literature and its Award of Merit Medal for Drama.

 

Musicologist Andrea Olmstead (Librettist, Producer) is the author of five books including one on the history of The Juilliard School, where she taught Music History for eight years. She has also taught at New England Conservatory, The Boston Conservatory (where for 15 years she taught Opera History to graduate opera majors), Boston University, and UMass-Amherst, and has served as Christopher Hogwood Research Fellow at the Handel and Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus. She has given pre-concert talks to two seasons of H&H concerts, as well as for the Boston Symphony, the Boston Civic Symphony, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra. Olmstead is also a CD producer. Visit her website at www.AndreaOlmstead.com.

 

Eve Summer (Director) directs theater and opera and serves as Managing Director for the Foundation for Modern Opera's annual The Shakespeare Concerts and Assistant Executive Director for Commonwealth Opera. Recent directing credits include Extremities, The Woolgatherer, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged), Two Gentleman of Verona, Puccini's Suor Angelica , and her own adaptation of Thomas Berger's novel Neighbors . Last season Summer assistant directed The Nose and The Bartered Bride and directed Little Red Riding Hood at Opera Boston. Recent choreography credits include Romeo and Juliet , The Tempest , and Don Giovanni . Summer holds a degree in foreign languages (French, German, and Italian) and has written translations for Boston Opera Collaborative's productions of Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, and Suor Angelica. This fall, in addition to staging the world premiere of Holy Ghosts, Summer will direct The Merry Wives of Windsor at MIT and stage a new production of Mozart's Così fan tutte at Commonwealth Opera.  www.EveSummer.net

Sharon Brown (Mrs. Wall, Chorus Master) has been a singer, conductor, and teacher in the Boston area for almost 25 years.   On the voice faculty of Berklee College of Music, she teaches vocal technique classes, the Musical Theater Workshop, vocal pedagogy, as well as private students. She has also taught at Simmons College, The Boston Conservatory, and Northeastern. Her performing credits as a mezzo-soprano include many years with Boston Lyric Opera chorus, as well as several roles with them. She has also performed with Boston Academy, Intermezzo Chamber Opera, Salisbury Lyric Opera, and has sung oratorios with several orchestras in the area.

       As a conductor, Brown began and led The Boston Conservatory Women's Chorus for seven years, and recently retired after twenty years as the music director for the Fisk Methodist Church in Natick. She also conducted the Simmons College Choral for four years and led the Masterworks Choral in two of their “Summer Sings.” Brown holds a BM and MM in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory where she studied with Elisabeth Phinney.

 

 

Cast biographies

 

Described as “Brilliant” and a "Maga-talent" by Opera News , Matthew DiBattista (Coleman Shedman) has performed throughout the United States, Italy, France, and Portugal. DiBattista created the role of Wesley in the Emmy Award-nominated opera Central Park on PBS's Great Performance and sang Martin in The Tender Land (also on PBS). He has sung under such conductors as James Conlon, Seiji Ozawa, Keith Lockhart, and Robert Shaw. DiBattista's recent performances as Bégearss in The Ghosts of Versailles and the Valet Tenors in The Tales of Hoffmann at Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Boston Lyric Opera received critical acclaim. He will repeat The Tales of Hoffmann at Opera Colorado in 2009. DiBattista will also sing Spoletta in Tosca at Opera Colorado (2010), Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro (2010) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and will cover Xu Xian in the world premiere of Madame White Snake at Opera Boston (2009) where he recently sang Yarzhkin in The Nose.  A featured soloist at the Great Waters Music Festival (2009), he will be soloist in Elijah with the Assabet Valley Mastersingers (2010). Recent soloist appearances include Portland Symphony's Magic of Christmas, Boston Classical Orchestra's Music of Love, Britten's Nocturne with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Mozart's Requiem with The New Bedford Symphony, and Messiah with the Worcester Chorus. dibaunlimited.com.

 

Soprano Natalie Polito (Nancy Shedman) recently completed the Studio Artist Program of Opera New Jersey, where she covered Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail , and appeared as Marguerite in scenes from Gounod's Faust. Polito's 2008-2009 credits include Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus) with Opera del West, Madame Goldentrill (The Impresario) with Metro West Opera, Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Opera By the Bay, Fanny (La Cambiale di Matrimonio ) and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), both with Boston Opera Collaborative, and appearances as the Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with both Worcester Opera Works and Opera del West. Past roles include Violetta (La Traviata ) with Opera By the Bay, the Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) at the Intermezzo Young Artist Program, Elettra (Idomeneo ) with Opera Hub, and the title role in Boston Opera Collaborative's Iphigénie en Aulide .

      Polito has also been seen in concert with Opera New Jersey, Opera Providence, Longwood Opera, Mass Theatrica, New England Light Opera, and at the Duxbury Music Festival, where she won Third Place in the 2008 Solo Competition. She was also a 2009 Finalist in the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition. Natalile Polito holds an MM in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and a BM in Vocal Performance with Honors from Northwestern University.

A recipient of the Boston Globe's 1995 “Musician of the Year,” baritone Robert Honeysucker (Rev. Buckhorn) has thrilled opera audiences in Boston, Hartford, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Fort Worth, and Tulsa, as well as in New Zealand, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. He has performed with conductors Michael Tilson Thomas, Roberto Abbado, Seiji Ozawa, Kurt Masur, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Marin Alsop, and Christopher Hogwood. Honeysucker has also sung with orchestras in Switzerland, Australia, and Japan, and most recently made his London debut at Wigmore Hall. He is a member of Videmus and Jubilee Trio, and has been recorded on Brave, New World, Cambria Master, Koch International Classics, Centaur, Albany, and Videmus Records. Honeysucker is on the faculties of the Boston Conservatory, the Longy School of Music and New England Conservatory's Extension Division.

 

Philip Lima's (“Oby” Buckhorn, Jr., cover Hart) burgeoning career has been marked by critical praise: “His singing was glorious” (The Boston Globe ) – “vibrant baritone and a commanding presence” (Cleveland Plain Dealer ). Highlights of his most recent and upcoming concert engagements include performances with orchestras in Korea, Ukraine, New York, Boston, Memphis, San Diego, Monterey (CA), Oklahoma City, and more than twenty other U.S. cities. His 2005 performance of Schubert's Winterreise with pianist Beverly Orlove was described by The Boston Phoenix as one of Boston's “Unforgettable Classical Events of 2005.”               

 

Mezzo-soprano Lori L'Italien (Lorena Cosburg) is enjoying a full season after her recent graduation from Longy School of Music, where she earned her MM in Opera Performance. Most recently she was engaged with MetroWest Opera as L'Enfant (cover) in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges, as Mercedes (cover) in Boston Opera Collaborative's summer production of Carmen and in a concert of opera excerpts as Carmen and Orlofsky with North of Boston Arts Center. She is a 2004 graduate of the University of Maine where she earned her bachelor's degree in music education. L'Italien's fall season will see her performing the role of Betty Paris in Boston Opera Collaborative's October production of The Crucible and The Mother in Amahl and The Night Visitors with Indian Hill Music in December.

 

Baritone Ishan Johnson (Orin Hart) had a recent success with Des Moines Metro Opera last season, where he was seen as Jazz in Regina, Junior Mister in Cradle Will Rock, and Bobby in Mahagonny Songspiel. Johnson has been on the roster of Opera Boston for five seasons and was last seen in their acclaimed production of The Nose. Other credits include Jake in Porgy and Bess with the Utah Festival Opera, Betto in Gianni Schicchi with the B.U. Opera Institute, Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors with the UNCG Opera Theatre, and Mr. Dashwood in the New England premiere of Adamo's Little Women. He is an alumnus of the James Collier Apprentice Program of Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Utah Festival Opera Young Artist Program and a graduate of Boston University.

Ulysses Thomas (Howard Rudd, cover Buckhorn) has appeared as a featured artist with a number of ensembles in and around the Boston area including Boston Baroque, Masterworks Chorale, Cambridge Concentus, Exsultemus, Boston Choral Ensemble, Newburyport Choral Society, The Concord Chorus, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Emmanuel Music. In February 2008 Thomas made his professional stage debut with Opera Boston/Boston Baroque in Handel's Semele as the High Priest, and in November 2008 he made his company debut with Boston Lyric Opera as Luther and Crespel in Les contes d'Hoffmann and sang the Commendatore in Don Giovanni that season. At Boston University Thomas has appeared as Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia , Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Alcindoro in La Bohème, A Man with a Cornet Case in Dominick Argento's Postcard from Morocco, Bustamente in Massenet's La Navarraise, Rakitin in Lee Hoiby's A Month in the Country, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Collatinus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Pope/Cardinal B in Philip Glass's Galileo Galilei. Thomas is currently a doctoral student in vocal performance at Boston University after having received his B. from Clayton State University in Georgia and his MM from Boston University. Among his honors and awards, Thomas spent two summers as a vocal fellow at Tanglewood Music Center where he worked with artists including James Levine, Phyllis Curtin, and John Harbison. He was a finalist in the 2001 Orpheus National Competition for Vocalists which awarded him its Richard Strauss Award.

 

Elizabeth Anker's (Bonnie Bridge) has premiered dozens of works written for her deep contralto voice. Her repertoire spans the medieval work of Hildegard von Bingen to contemporary improvisations. She has performed with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque, the Handel and Haydn Society, Emmanuel Music, and at Bach festivals in San Francisco and France. Opera roles include Ma Moss (Copland's Tender Land ), Galatea (Handel's Aci, Galatea e Polifemo), and the title role in the modern premiere of Cesti's Semiramide. Recordings include music of Bach, new music, and several discs of American and Shaker hymns. Anker has toured with Sequentia of Cologne, Magnificat Baroque, and the Boston Camerata. She is on the voice faculties of the Longy School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music.

 

Jeffrey McEvoy (Billy Boggs), lyric baritone, is an emerging artist who has quickly established himself in Boston. He has sung with Opera Boston, the Boston Opera Collaborative, OperaHub, Kansas City Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Lake George Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera. He has been a Kansas City district finalist in MONCA and first-place winner in the Midwest District of the NATS competition in both the Graduate and Senior Men divisions. McEvoy holds his DMA form the University of Kansas, MM from Wichita State University, and BA from John Brown University. He will be joining the voice faculty at the University of Connecticut this fall. Visit his website at www.jeffreymcevoy.com.

 

Bethany Tammaro Condon, mezzo-soprano (Cancer Woman), a graduate of the New England Conservatory with a BM in Vocal Performance and of the Tanglewood Music Center, sang the role of Maman in L'enfant et les Sortilèges with Metro West Opera and the Witch from Hansel and Gretel with Opera del West. She reprised the role of Mrs. Nolan in The Medium with Mass Theatrica and recently performed two benefit concerts with them. In 2008 she performed in the ensemble in The Magic Flute with the Boston Opera Collaborative. In 2009 she will sing the role of the Mother in Gabriella Snyder's world premiere of The Rough-Face Girl with Mass Theatrica. Tammaro Condon teaches voice privately in Sharon, MA, and at the School of Continuing Education at Braintree High School. She studies voice with Sharon Daniels, Director of the Boston University Opera Institute.

 

Soprano Meena Malik (Muriel) began singing in her native Japan and made her operatic debut as Sandman in Hansel and Gretel. She has performed the roles of Nestoria in Schindemann's Ego , Miles in The Turn of the Screw, the title role of Cinderella, the novice in Suor Angelica, First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, and LaChouette/Una Pastourelle in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges. She has sung with Opera Providence, New England Conservatory, Cedar House Theater, MetroWest Opera, and the Boston Opera Collaborative. Malik has been a featured soloist with various choirs and orchestras in works such as Vivaldi's Gloria, Mozart's Requiem, Fauré's Requiem, and Vaughan Williams's Dona Nobis Pacem. Currently, Malik freelances in the Boston area and continues her private studies with Carole Haber.

 

Tenor Adrian Jones (Ensemble, cover Coleman), a native of Jackson, TN, is a recent graduate of the New England Conservatory, where he received a MM degree in Voice Performance. He earned a BM degree in Voice Performance from Otterbein College in Westerville, OH, where he studied with bass-baritone Robert Nims. Stage credits include Prince Charming in Cendrillon (Massenet), Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro , Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Lover in Amelia Goes to the Ball, Dr. Miracle in Le Docteur Miracle, English Tenor in Angelique (Ibert), and Beppe in I Pagliacci. Jones is currently a student of tenor William Cotten.

 

Amy Dancz, soprano (Ensemble, cover Nancy), recently completed her MM in Vocal Performance at the New England Conservatory and currently studies under Carole Haber. Opera roles include Micaëla (Carmen cover), Geraldine (A Hand of Bridge ), 1st Knitter (A Game of Chance), Nella (Gianni Schicchi ), and 1st Boy (The Magic Flute ). Upcoming performances include Ann Putnam in Boston Opera Collaborative's The Crucible  and Chorus in Boston Lyric Opera's Idomeneo.   

     In August, Dancz was a featured soloist in Haydn's Creation with Chorus Pro Musica. Internationally, she was chosen to participate in the University of Miami Salzburg program in 2003 and 2006, where she studied with world-renowned soprano Patricia Wise. Both summers she was awarded Salzburg Scholarships for exceptional vocal talent. Dancz has twice been a winner of the Herb Alpert Foundation Scholarship with the Society of Singers.

 

Sara Bielanski, mezzo-soprano (Ensemble, cover Bonnie), was winner of the 2008 Boston NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Competition in the Professional Division. Mezzo-soprano Sara Bielanski has collaborated with Opera Boston, Newton Symphony, Masterworks Chorale, Chorus Pro Musica, Fine Arts Chorale, Newburyport Choral Society, Quincy Choral Society, New England Light Opera, Longwood Opera, Valley Light Opera, Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Boston Pops Chorus, and has appeared as soloist with orchestra at many area universities and churches. Opera highlights include Mercedes (Carmen), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Sherry in Salvatore Macchia's atonal opera Insectaphobia!, and Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas). Concert solo highlights include Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Mozart's Requiem, Stravinsky's Cantata, and Handel's Messiah. Bielanski is also a founding member of the Boston-based classical improvisation group, The Meltdown Incentive, and is an avid jazz musician as well, having performed with jazz legends Sheila Jordan, Rufus Reid, and The Platters lead singer Duke Daniels.

 

A native of Los Angeles, Rachel Selan, mezzo-soprano (Ensemble, cover Lorena), just completed her Graduate Diploma at the New England Conservatory of Music. Performance credits include Carmen (Carmen cover), Le nozze di Figaro (Marcellina), Gianni Schicchi (Zita), Suor Angelica (Principessa), The Mikado (Pitti Sing), Into the Woods (Baker's Wife), The Medium (Mrs. Nolan, Baba cover) L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (Squirrel/Cat cover), The Music Man (Alma Hix), world-premiere Sara McKinnon, and Miss Lonelyhearts (Fay Doyle cover). She made her Jordan Hall debut in NEC's production of Cole!, returning to the Jordan Hall stage in the world-premiere of Percy Grainger's Random Rounds, A Hand of Bridge (Sally), and Side by Side by Sondheim. Selan is a student of Patricia Craig and a member of Boston Opera Collaborative. She holds a BM from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a MM from the University of Southern California. Upcoming engagements include The Crucible (Rebecca Nurse).

 

Soprano Erin Holmes (Ensemble, cover Muriel) has appeared with Opera Boston, Opera Providence, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Longwood Opera, New England Light Opera, New England Conservatory Opera Theatre, Opera del West, and Washington D.C.'s Strathmore Hall. In 2008 Holmes made her European debut as L'Aurora in Cavalli's L'Egisto at the Teatro della Biccieraia in Arezzo, Italy. Upcoming engagements include Bridget Booth in Ward's The Crucible with Boston Opera Collaborative. Holmes's fluency in Spanish enables her to serve as a diction coach to may Boston-area singers. She holds a MM in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory.

 

Stephanie Kacoyanis, mezzo-soprano (Ensemble, cover Mrs. Wall), has performed throughout the Boston area. Her opera credits include performances with Opera del West, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro (Indian Hill Opera) and Suor Infermiera in Suor Angelica (Boston University Opera Institute). In concert, she has appeared as a soloist with Cambridge Concentus, Brookline Chorus (where she was also Artist-in-Residence), Newburyport Choral Society, and the Wellesley College Choir. She has performed with the Accademia d'Amore for Baroque Opera (Seattle) and upcoming performances are planned with the Hellenic Music Foundation (New York). She won the Kanellos Award at the 2009 Greek Women's University Club Music Competition. Kacoyanis holds degrees from Wellesley College (English) and Boston University (MM, voice).

Christie Lee Gibson, mezzo-soprano (Ensemble, cover Cancer Woman), is an opera singer, theater artist, and experimental musician. She has recently performed as The Dragonfly in L'Enfant et les Sortilèges with MetroWest Opera, Helen/Farmer's Wife in The Caitlin County Hemp Wars, and Soldier/Famigliari in L'Incoronazione di Poppea with OperaHub. Other roles include Pepa (Goyescas ), Baba (The Medium ), Bessie (Songspiel Mahagonny ), Papagena (The Magic Flute ), and chorus with Opera Providence. Gibson and experimental musician Arvid Tomayko-Peters co-composed and perform the piece Requiem aeternam at festivals and alternative venues throughout New England. She is a member of Fort Point Theatre Channel and works with them as a director, actor, and vocal coach. An alumna of Brown University, she studies with Patty Thom. Visit Christieleegibson.com.

 

Tenor Cleveland Jones (Ensemble), a native of North, South Carolina, is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Theater. While at Morehouse, Jones began his musical career by performing and touring with the Morehouse College Glee Club both in the chorus and as a soloist. He has performed with the legendary Ray Charles and toured the US as well as cities in Poland. Jones starred as the lead in Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story and performed in many other musicals. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, Jones has a degree in Professional Music. At Berklee he was featured in Jason Robert Brown's Parade and Stephen Sondheim's Follies, and numerous other shows.  

 

 

Holy Ghosts is ensemble-member baritone Brooklyn Rohm's first fully staged opera. From a young age Rohm was immersed in choral and Classical music. At age nine he became involved with musical theater and, before reaching eighteen, had performed in more than twenty productions, which expanded not only his vocal perspective but also his stage presence. Rohm is currently a third-semester student at the Berklee College of Music. He sees himself growing as a musician and actor by participating in future productions. Rohm also pursues community service, which he finds rewarding.

 

Band members

 

Pianist Irina Bazik was born and studied in Serbia. After starting her second master's degree at New England Conservatory of Music she was offered a full scholarship from The Boston Conservatory. Bazik was the winner of International Competition “Cita di Streza” in Italy, Nikolai Rubinstein International Competition in Paris, Special First Prize winner at the International Competition “Petar Konjovic” in Serbia for the years 1993, 1997 and 2000. After receiving a scholarship from Austrian government, Bazik participated in Sommerakademie in Baden.

           Since her first solo recital in the age of 10 most of her performances have been recorded and broadcast live for national television and radio stations. Bazik has played as a soloist with the Belgrade Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yugoslav army Symphony Orchestra, Simfonia Perugina (Italy). In the past 16 years Bazik has performed in Italy, Austria, Sweden, Ukraine, Slovenia, France, and the US. Bazik is starting her third graduate program at Longy Conservatory of Music.

 

Piano soloist Maja Tremiszewska, synthesizer, is also an avid chamber musician. Her Three Colors Trio won the first prize at the First International Chamber Music Competition of New England and was awarded a performance at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall. During the summer of 2007 and 2008 she attended the Fontainebleau École d'Arts Americaines in France, where she performed in the hall where Maurice Ravel and Aaron Copland presented their works for Nadia Boulanger. Thanks to the scholarship awarded by the Fontainebleau Associations, she had a chance to work with Phillippe Entremont and Philippe Bianconi. Among other festivals she attended was Bowdoin International Summer Festival in Maine, which also granted her a full scholarship.

     Tremiszewska graduated from Gdansk Academy of Music in Poland, receiving a MM degree. Her Graduate Performance Diploma is from the Boston Conservatory. In September of 2009 she will begin her doctorate degree at Boston University, which granted her its Dean's Award.

 

Mark Poniatowski, bass, is a native New Englander who moved to Los Angeles after graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1986. There he performed with such blues greats as Floyd Dixon, Junior Watson (guitarist for Canned Heat), and Kid Ramos (currently with The Fabulous T-birds). His performances throughout the US and Europe include the Boston Globe Jazz Festival, Orange County Blues Festival, California, The River Festival, Wichita, Kansas, The Natt Jazz Festival in Burgin, Norway, and at the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria. His Acoustic bass playing can be heard on the former George Carlin Show on Fox TV or at movie theaters during the Sony Digital Dynamic Sound (SDDS) logo.

      Poniatowski has recorded several CD's including The Bruce Katz Band "Mississippi Moan" on Audio Quest and The College Boys "Radio Fusion Radio" on Virgin records.

 

   Guitarist, composer, educator Steven Kirby has appeared on over 25 recordings including two as a leader-–Point Of Balance and North Light—and has performed and/or recorded with many of today's most respected contemporary musicians including Chris Potter, George Garzone, Scott Colley, Bruce Barth, Joe Lovano, Harvie Swartz, and others. He has toured throughout the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, and Europe. Kirby's music has been played on over 100 radio stations in the US and internationally including features on NPR's “Here and Now,” “Jazz with Bob Parlocha,” and “Eric in the Evening.” His jazz compositions have won awards in the International Songwriting Competition and the Billboard Song Contest and Downbeat . He is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and has a masters degree in Jazz Composition from UMass-Amherst. Kirby is currently on the music faculty at Berklee College of Music, Salem State College, and Brandeis University.  

 

Steve Rose is a Boston native with over three decades of experience playing drums and percussion. He did not start seriously studying music until age fourteen. In his senior year of high school he earned chairs in the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble and the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. He spent the next decade and a half with two US Army Bands and three US Air Force Bands, doing tours of duty in Texas, Japan, Virginia, Germany, and Boston. His teachers have included Bradley Anderson, Alan Dawson, Steven Grimo, and Bob Gullotti. Career highlights include playing The King and I with Yul Brynner, as well performing with artists such as Sadao Watanabe, Kevin Eubanks, Fernando Holz, and Toots Thielemans. Rose is currently freelancing in the Boston area while attending school for a second career in Radiologic Technology. 

 

 

 

Production team

 

Katherine Spencer (Set/Graphic Designer), an artist and designer who recently moved to the Boston area from Maryland, has a background in traditional woodworking and in acting, but her primary creative endeavor is painting. Katherine studied classics and art at Yale University where, as an undergraduate, she designed the sets for the Yale Drama's 2005 Mainstage Production of Mother Courage and Her Children.

 

Cara Pacifico (Costume Designer) is a local freelance costume designer, properties designer, and dramaturg. Her recent costuming work includes Boston Opera Collaborative's Carmen and the premiere of Matthew Vest's opera The Hourglass with Juventas! New Music Ensemble. She has previously designed properties for Fort Point Theatre Channel's Present Imperfect , Gurnet Theatre Project's Essential Self Defense and Boston Theatre Works' Elliot Norton Award-Winning production of Angels in America. After returning from the dramaturgy program at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she dramaturged New Repertory Theatre's According to Tip, which won the Elliot Norton's “Outstanding New Script.” Pacifico is a graduate of Tufts University.

 

Chris Nayler's (Lighting Designer) previous design work has been seen in the Juventas! productions of The Hourglass and Year of the Serpent, the Boston Opera Collaborative productions of Iphigenie en Aulide, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, and Alcina, as well as the premiere of A Prioresses Tale at Eastern Nazarene College. His full-time responsibilities find him managing Kresge Auditorium and other Campus Activities Complex spaces at MIT. He is also a frequent freelancer on corporate and themed events with VDA Productions. This fall Nayler will be designing for the Boston Opera Collaborative production of The Crucible .

 

Aurora De Lucia (Production Stage Manager) is a member of Actor's Equity Association. www.AuroraStageManagement.com.

 

Ben Elkin (Assistant Stage Manager) is a senior at Brandeis University majoring in Theater Arts. He recently was the Assistant Stage Manager for Boston Opera Collaborative's production of Carmen . At Brandeis he worked on The Threepenny Opera (Run Crew), Salome (Sound Op.), Good (Run Crew), The Misanthrope (Light Board Op.), The Love Talker (Stage Manager), The Dumb Waiter (Co-Props Master), and Anything Goes (Stage Manager).

 

Krisann Kiley (Hair and Makeup) has focused on fashion, film, and weddings. Kiley is makinger her Boston theater debut with Holy Ghosts. She specializes in natural, stylized, pin-up, boudoir, wedding, and corrective cover-up, and her clients include Matt Dallas, Thirteen Yards to Victory, Shannon Michelle Photography, Screamkings Productions, Grace Ormonde Grand Bridal Show, Boston Burlesque Expo, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Helath.

Production specs for Holy Ghosts, an opera in two acts, by Larry Bell*

One set. A wooden room in the rural South.
Minimal props, including Bibles and rubber snakes.
No costume changes.
In American English; Southern accent not required.

SINGERS: Twelve named characters–six women (2 soprani and 4 mezzos) and six men (1 tenor, 5 baritones). Minimum essential ensemble members: one soprano and three tenors. = 4 chorus members.

Maximum desirable ensemble members: two sopranos (each covering a named role);four mezzos (each covering a named role); three tenors (one covering the lead role, the other two to provide harmony for the 9 hymn tunes); and 5 high and low baritones (each covering a named role). = up to 14 chorus members.

BAND: An offstage band of five members: one piano; one synthesizer; one electric guitar;
one bass guitar; drum set. Can be placed on stage, either behind/next to the set, exposed, or in a pit.

ON STAGE piano/digital piano plus electric guitar played by cast members.
Two acts in “real time.” Each act lasts 50 minutes, plus a two-and-a-half-minute overture.
Libretto based on the repertoire play Holy Ghosts by renowned playwright and two-time
Obie Award winner Romulus Linney.

This American verismo  “rock opera” is considered “accessible” with trained singers accompanied

by a rock band. Nine hymn tunes appear both in the play and in the opera, and named characters play an onstage piano and guitar.
The story is based on an actual, Southern Appalachian religion, the Pentecostal Holiness Amalgamated Church of God, which believes in an obscure verse from the Book of Mark that involves handling poisonous snakes. This manifestation of religious ecstasy provides the otherwise down-and-out parishioners with a sense of triumph over death and a tangible proof of the existence of the power of God and the Holy Ghost in their lives.

Information about Holy Ghosts website. Simply click here on the website to view and listen to the 3-camera video of the complete opera, along with a scrollable libretto and complete program: www.holyghoststheopera.com. This world premiere production was filmed 15 September 2009 at the Berklee Performance Center in Boston, MA. The composer conducted.
Opera companies interested in producing Holy Ghosts may also request a promotional DVD and/or a CD of the opera. Full and vocal scores are available for perusal. Contact Andrea.Olmstead@gmail.com.

Holy Ghosts is published by Casa Rustica Publications, Inc., an affiliate of BMI. Larry Bell and librettist Andrea Olmstead (see www.AndreaOlmstead.com) co-direct this publishing company. You may also contact Larry Bell’s manager:

ROSALIE CALABRESE MANAGEMENT
Box 20580
Park West Station
New York, New York 10025