CRESCENT CITY

a hyperopera

In May, two friends of mine were generous enough to give me a ticket to see the last performance of an innovative new opera in Atwater Village put on by a company called The Industry. The opera was staged "in the square" inside a giant warehouse, with the action taking place all over the space as opposed to a traditional opera house with seats looking up at a stage. Pre-recorded video played on the many large screens in the room, along with live footage from stationary cameras and hand-held cameras carried around by the performers.

The audience had a choice of four ticket types:

Pedestrian/Standing Room - Standing the whole time, but with the option to move around the room to follow the action.

Seated Perimeter - Sitting along the outside of the warehouse. (This is where I sat) 

Dive Bar Bean Bags - Sitting on bean bags in the middle of all the action. (My two friends sat there.)

Eye of the Hurricane - Sitting above the warehouse, looking down on all the action.

Admittedly,  I kept hearing about Crescent City, but was quite skeptical and would have missed out on this wonderful night without the free ticket. There was such a buzz of expectancy and excitement before the show started, which added to the energy of the show. Not only were there some talented voices, namely Ashley Faatoalia, but I found it to be very imaginative and kind of fun. It was definitely different, but I really enjoyed it. 

Click here more info on Crescent City and The Industry.