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What's a Songspiel?
The term was coined by Kurt
Weill and Bertolt Brecht for the Mahagonny Songspiel (1927) . It's a
pun on the term 'Singspiel', a musico-dramatic work with a German text. The
most famous singspiel would be Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic
Flute) whose dramatic sense was idolized by Kurt Weill.
During the 20’s, Brecht and
Weill were fascinated with Jazz and American popular songs and decided to
use the English term ‘Song’ to describe music that could reach a wider
audience, unlike the “exclusive” German Lied.
Classifying ‘The Ghorbil’ a Songspiel is my
tribute to Kurt Weill and his philosophy that music is for the people.
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ACT
I
Gabriel,
or Gabe, is a comic strip artist at “The Street Walk Journal”. A desirable
bachelor, he lives in a studio apartment in Manhattan and spends his nights
lounging in bars. Sara, a waitress at a fancy mid-town restaurant, is
Gabe’s… girlfriend. She loves him and he takes advantage of that. Rachel,
a photographer for the newspaper, is also attracted to Gabe, despite his
negative image. Lately Gabe has been suffering from writer’s block, a fact
noticed by Stone, his boss and editor in the paper, who threatens to
fire him. As time runs out, Gabe dreams up a new concept – an ugly and mean,
hunched and green character – The Ghorbil.
ACT
II
A great success! The
character of the Ghorbil becomes popular among grownups and kids alike. His
desirability among women increases and so does his despicable behavior
toward them. But success has a price and Gabe begins to feel it… To make
things better, Gabe makes drastic changes to his concept.
ACT
III
The public dislikes the new idea and so do
women. The new Ghorbil is a flop. Stone won’t let this happen and explains
to Gabe why he must do what he’s told.
INTERMISSION
ACT
IV
Gabe made up his mind, but he won’t let anyone
see him and must live in recluse. He won’t allow his friends to come to his
flat, and when they do we understand why. Rachel appears at his flat,
offering some sympathy, but Gabe is ungrateful and gets what he deserves.
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CREDITS:
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CAST |
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Gabe |
Brian Jagde |
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Sara |
Katherine
Maroney |
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Stone |
Jorell
Williams |
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Rachel |
Julia Tarlo |
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Rita |
Erin Matson |
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Gayle |
Amy LaReau |
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Ghorbil |
Ezra Lebank |
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ORCHESTRA |
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Flute, Alto
Flute, Piccolo |
Anne
Chairge
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Oboe,
English Horn |
Ruth
Dyckman |
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Clarinet,
Bass Clarinet |
James
Cucinotta |
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Alto & Bari
Saxophones |
Brett
Gregory |
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French Horn |
Jessica
Ramsey |
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Trumpet |
Ricardo Cox |
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Trombone |
Gordon
Brewley |
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Tuba |
Cassidy
Donohue |
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Percussion |
Darick
Kelly |
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Guitar |
Jonathan
Jetter |
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Violin |
David Keen |
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Cello |
Victor
Isayev |
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Contrabass |
Becki
Advocate |
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Piano |
Norviasuki
Guerrier |
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Accordion |
Ronen Codor |
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Electronic Music
& Diaper
Commercial |
Keith
Rudolph |
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Music
Composed and Conducted by
Gad Emile Zeitune
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Libretto |
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Yaniv Berman |
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Producer |
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Christian Vinces |
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Stage Manager |
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Kate Scott |
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Staging Director, Vocal Coach and Rehearsal Pianist
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David Recca |
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Ghorbil Design, Posters and Animation |
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Glenn Curry |
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Comics and Storyboards |
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Brad Langer |
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Costumes |
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Katie Boyd |
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Lighting |
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Fiona Wong |
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Video |
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Christian Vinces |
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Set Design and Props |
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Shu Yuan Chan |
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Ghorbil Choreography |
Katie Griffler |
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