ONE WAY TRIP TO MARS – A ROCK OPERA to be Featured at The Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D.C. This Week

This week One Way Trip to Mars - A Rock Opera, written by Maine musicians Peter Alexander and Johannah Harkness, will be featured at The Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D.C., the world's largest event dedicated to human exploration of Mars, where Buzz Aldrin and several other astronauts will be speaking. The conference organizers invited Alexander to perform songs and show video clips of the production. One Way Trip to Mars - A Rock Opera, a multi-media spectacular in the tradition of The Who's Tommy and David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust, makes its world theatrical premiere at the Waterville Opera House August 24 through 27, 2017.

One Way Trip To Mars - A Rock Opera features 21 original songs written by Alexander and Harkness and is directed by Dennis St. Pierre. "When I heard Peter and Johannah's music and read the story embodied in their lyrics, I was completely blown away," said St. Pierre. "This is truly a great show, and we are proud that it was endorsed for submission to the annual festival of the National Alliance of Musical Theaters and has been accepted for its world theatrical premiere at Waterville Opera House."

One Way Trip to Mars is set in 2033 and tells a fictional story about Cruise, the first human chosen to fly a solo, one-way mission to establish a human colony on Mars. The performance takes audiences on an emotional rollercoaster, from the exuberance Cruise feels in response to being chosen for the mission, to his coming to grips with the reality of forever leaving behind everything he loves on earth, including his life partner and fellow astronaut, Cassandra. When catastrophic events on earth cause communication links with Mars to go down, Cruise is left alone in the universe. In an effort to save the mission, and possibly the human race, the space agency sends Cassandra to join Cruise on the red planet-but there's no radio contact! From there the story accelerates to its dramatic conclusion. The storyline for this dramatic rock opera was inspired by actual plans by several space agencies to send manned missions to Mars within the next 10 to 20 years.

Alexander and Harkness conceived of this idea and began writing the rock opera in 2015. In the fall of 2016, they produced a series of multi-media concert performances of the show with their "Hollowbody Electric Band" and an orchestra and chorus of 30 musicians. Two of their earlier CD's have competed in the Grammys and received international praise; one of Alexander's songs was even recorded by Rod Stewart.

Alexander (also known as Peter Blachly) comes from a family of classically trained musicians. His musical career has included performances with Chuck Berry, Poco, Tim Hardin, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and other legends of folk and rock music. After moving to Maine in 2008, Peter served as Executive Director of Maine Alliance for Arts Education and president of the Maine Songwriters Association.

Harkness is also an accomplished artist and songwriter. It was she who originally conceived of One Way Trip to Mars as a rock opera, and she was the artistic director for the production of the show's multi-media concerts last fall. Harkness, who has a private psychology practice, has a particular interest in the human condition. She brings a theatrical sensibility to her work, some of which can be seen on YouTube in a recent Hollowbody Electric Band music video, Wicked Witch, (https://youtu.be/eP1RR3xM7hU) and in video excerpts of One Way Trip to Mars (https://youtu.be/UJkhVa6EwWU).

Alexander and Harkness have teamed up with dramatist and director Dennis St. Pierre to execute their vision for the opera. St. Pierre is a professional performer and interdisciplinary artist and educator with an MFA in Intermedia from the University of Maine at Orono and a BA in Theater from Franklin Pierce University. He is a member of Actors Equity and Screen Actors Guild and has worked for more than 30 theater companies and television production companies throughout the U.S. St. Pierre has recruited an "A-team" production staff that includes Colin Whitely as production manager and sound designer, Chad Lefevbre as lighting designer, Nacole Palmer as vocal director, Ray Bailey as music director, and Anna Grywalski as costume designer.

One Way Trip to Mars - A Rock Opera

Tickets: $24 adults, $22 seniors and students. Tickets go on sale May 12 at www.operahouse.org. For more information, visit http://www.onewaytriptomars.org.

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