Review: Baroque Opera Gets a Modern Makeover in YOU WE US ALL

As the title implies You We Us All explores that which binds humanity, from the seeming ubiquity of shallow, Western pop-culture to archetypal human values and experiences embodied literally on the stage as the characters Hope, Virtue, Time, Death and Love.

Gorgeously composed by Shara Worden and written, directed and designed by Andrew Ondrejack much of You We Us All combines period instruments, haute couture and a fascination with celebrity against the backdrop of a multimedia tapestry comprised of ever-shifting browser windows.

In contrast to the ornate display on stage, the overall message lacks the same complexity, content with being a playful exploration of the modern human experience through a Baroque filter.

The set eventually devolves and the cast members strip their clothing, resulting in a marked divergence from the earlier color and vibrancy. Time, an adult male figure clad in nothing but a series of diaper-like undies, strips down as well revealing nothing but identical pairs of white briefs as commentary on the construct of time itself.

Without their fancy costumes the players are equalized, reduced to ordinary humans, symbolizing how similar we all are under our phenotypical exteriors and individual experiences. For who has not or will not experience the joys and hardships of love, grasped tenaciously at hope or lost it? Who hasn't had to come to terms with a definition of virtue or the realization of death?

You We Us All is an elaborate way of making a simple point about the inevitable aspects of a human life though I feel the true backbone of the show is the incredible musical score. It was this, matched with inventive theatricality, that makes You We Us All one of the most enjoyable shows I've seen all year.

Photo by Kerstin Behrendt

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