Day 412- Pittsburgh Opera-“Proving Up” at the Bitz Opera Factory- Chasing the American Dream

 

Pittsburgh Opera’s Proving Up is a dark tragic collage of the struggles facing Nebraskan homesteaders in 1870s. These homesteaders flocked west dreaming of owning land. The opera, based on a short story by Karen Russell,  gives a haunting portal of the Zegner family’s efforts to meet the requirements of the Homestead Act of 1862 in order to own a piece of America. “Proving Up” preformed in the intimate setting of the Bitz Opera Factory, has the ambiance of a horror film about chasing an often-unattainable dream. 

Reflection

Proving Up showcases the talent of our Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist  (see Day 385). This 80 minute show, sung in English is a good opera for newbies. It engages the audience since you are close to the action in this intimate 213 seat setting. The resident artists with strong vocals  and superb acting captivate the hardness of the unforgiving land and the desire to own it even at the cost of their survival.    

The requirements of the Homestead Act needed to own the land: a house of sod, 5 years of harvest and a glass window, which is the hardest to secure, are repetitive themes in the libretto. The score uses dissonant harmonies, harmonicas,  guitars and varied rhythms that are sometimes down right spooky.   

The father, “Pa” Zegner (Brandon Bell ) opens  with the dream, “...come from every nation. Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm.”  The mother, “Ma” Zegner (Emily Richter ) seems broken as she repeatedly sings, “Where is God’s rain?”  The son, Miles (Fran Daniel Laucerica) fights the elements of a rainstorm and blizzard to share the glass window with another farmer before the government inspector’s visit asking, “Does a window make a home?” 

There is bloody brother in a steel tub, two dead Zegner singing sisters (Julia Swan Laird) and (Jazmine Olwalis) and a zombie like  Sodbuster (Evan Lazdowski) that wonders the land.

Yes it’s dark, like I said, akin to a good horror flick that does not end well.  Yet this eerie opera is relevant today. It ponders the question of the existence of the American dream, even for those that seem to do everything right. 

(Poven Up runs through 2/25/24.  La Traviata  runs March 16-24 and The Passion of Mary Cadwell runs April 27- May 5, 2024. Both of these shows are part of a new opera ride share program that puts a $60 dollar voucher in your Uber account with your ticket purchases. This makes a night out at the Opera a no parking, door to door experience. For tickets and more about the free ride voucher go to pittsburghopera.org.)

David Bachman Photography for Pittsburgh Opera

Other Sources

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/resident-artists/2023-24resident-artists/

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/season/free-low-cost-events/songshop/

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/season/la-traviata/

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/season/the-passion-of-mary-cardwell-dawson

https://www.pittsburghopera.org/tickets/free-rideshare-vouchers/

 

 

Day 411- Pittsburgh Public Theater - Dragon Lady- Generational Healing Through Story Telling

 

Pittsburgh Public Theater's Dragon Lady is the ultimate story telling experience with a punch of music and song. The author and performer, Sara Porkalob, tells the family history of the dragon lady, her grandmother who was a night club singer in the Philippines  before marriage brought her to the United States.  This one women show portrays three generations of  family struggles, pain and joys. It’s raw, funny and an authentic portrait of generational healing though story telling.    

Reflection

The show opens with the Dragon Lady singing and rapping  her life version to the beat of “House of the Rising Sun ” and  “Gangsta's Paradise.”  On her 60^th birthday she shares it all with her first born granddaughter, Sara. She believes that “60 is last of old person’s birthdays when we need to start to tell stories to our children before death.”  

Her story begins with childhood turmoil in the Philippines  and her father’s proclamation that, “you have my blood in your veins, trouble is a family trait.”  The account, often told with humour, is of one tough lady who had to claw her way through life.

After intermission, Sara’s mother (Maria) tells a different tale of the Dragon Lady. Maria’s narrative is critical of her mother’s life choices and her own upbringing. It’s a strained mother/daughter relationship sprinkled with love.  As I watched this show with my own mother,  I thought about the many times that  I too played the “blame game”  with her.    

Porkalob portrays every character: her grandmother, her mother, mother’s siblings, the night club madam and 18 others, with amazing alterations to her voice, posture and expressions. These character changes often occur at lighting speed but with understandable distinction. Porkalob’s singing and the quartet from the band Hot Dam Scandal  enhance this engaging painting of her life.

Sometimes all we have are our stories and memories of our past.  Like Porkalob, I have found  laughter and maybe even some healing reminiscing about my childhood with my closest friends , or recounting the stories of my immigrant  Italian huckster grandparents with my cousins.

 This show made me laugh and cry. There is sure to be something in Porkalob’s tale that will resonate with everyone because  family relationships, whether good or bad, bring meaning to our present. We all have a history, a story and even some pain that runs through our blood that “is of some use to us.”    

(Dragon Lady  runs until Feb 25, 2024 at Pittsburgh Public Theater. To purchase  tickets go to https://www.ppt.org/.  Also, you can live stream the show on Feb. 23rd and 25th for $49 per household. Get the live stream tickets at PPT.org/DragonLive.)

All Photos: Sara Porkalob in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s Dragon Lady by Michael Henninger )

My mom is
first US generation of our family.
I am second and my son 3rd.
Our stories bring meaning to
the present.

Spiritual Reflection

But now, O Lord, you are our Father: we are the clay, and you are the potter: we are all the work of your hand.  Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)

Other Sources

https://www.ppt.org/

https://www.ppt.org/production/87715/dragon-lady