"A 75-minute blaze through 300 years of American history," says Davóne Tines, Co-Creator and Singer in "The Black Clown." "It's the Black perspective within America, but told with a lot of brashness, joy and also honesty about this country."
Tines stars in the title role.
"It's essentially about a character, the Black clown, realizing his oppression as represented by a clown suit that's been placed on him by society," he says. "And then he reviews 300 years of American history, realizing that he and his people and his lineage have survived and persevered through all of that time, and that he can actually cast off this costume that's been placed on him, that he can reclaim his own identity as a full individual, free, in society."
Tines collaborated with composer, Michael Schachter, and director, Zack Winokur, to bring Hughes' poem to life.
"And the best way to do that is with all of the scale and the glitz of a Broadway musical on an opera stage," says Tines.
"Davóne is an opera singer of extraordinary charisma and talent," says Winokur, who helped co-create the show.
There are an additional 12 performers in the ensemble.
"The music of the show takes its inspiration from Langston Hughes' own time, the Harlem Renaissance," says Tines.
"We looked at the Cotton Club. We looked at Cab Calloway, Josephine Baker," says Winokur.
Jazz, blues and gospel are woven into the opera.
"We sort of bop between a lot of different visual sensibilities and stylistic sensibilities with music and dance and, you know, visual effects," says Winokur.
Staying true to Hughes' 1931 poem, his words are unchanged for the stage. "Even though the poem is timeless, it is of its time, and there are certain ways of talking about racial strife that are complicated, but it's important for us to look at the truth of that time in order to understand our past, as we imagine the future," says Tines.
"The Black Clown" runs May 14 - 17 at the Miller Theater.
*A Note from Opera Philadelphia:
This production contains racial slurs and stylized representations of violence, particularly related to slavery, as well as haze, simulated smoking, and bright flashing lights.
All tickets are Pick Your Price, starting at $11. Any amount above $11 helps support other operagoers and the work we present on stage.
Opera Philadelphia - "The Black Clown" | Link to Tickets at the Miller Theater
Miller Theater
250 S. Broad Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102