{photo: David McCadden (Ray Ford) welcomes the space program to Huntsville Alabama (and later becomes a NASA scientist and the first African American to integrate the University of Alabama at Huntsville) in Apollo, premiering January 16th here at PCS.}
I had a chance to watch the first run through of Apollo on Wednesday afternoon, and I have to admit that I was kind of blown away. I saw the first two parts of the piece in Los Angeles a few years ago and looooooved it. But I think in that incarnation I was ‘wowed’ but not particularly affected emotionally.
{photo:Nancy Keystone in the rehearsal studio.}
In this new incarnation (which premieres the entire three part cycle), Nancy Keystone (pictured above) - the writer and director - has streamlined the story, and drawn out deeper, more potent connections between the intersections between the three parts in a truly astounding way.
{The cast of Apollo rehearse the “impossible problem of cotton” sequence.}
Images of reaching into the air repeat throughout the piece, at first seeming to reference the American aspiration for space flight, but later evoking images of the aspiration for freedom through the Civil Rights movement.
{photo: “the impossible problem of cotton” segment during the workshop production of Part 3 [Liberation] at San Diego Rep. Photo by Sibyl Wickersheimer.}
The visuals of the piece are breathtaking, and how the actors manage to keep the logistical demands in their brains and bodies is beyond me.
{photo: Apollo ensemble member Andy Hirsch on a rehearsal break.}
The performances themselves really affected me. Andy plays Eli Rosenbaum in part two, who as a very young attorney with the Justice Department, began a lifelong search for Nazi war criminals hiding in the United States. A line he repeats, “What do people do? And what do we do with people?” stayed in my head for days afterward.
{photo: Apollo ensemble member Lorne Green.}
In part three, Lorne plays Dred Scott, whose name I knew but whose story I was not aware of. Nancy has done a beautiful job of weaving through connections from the history of America’s relationship with slavery, to our aspirations to reach beyond the earth. Lorne provides a beautiful, grounded presence in an act that is pretty overwhelming. The accumulation of emotional resonances really built for me into a wholly original, very powerful event. Cannot wait for you to see this one!
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This morning we’re going to have our first run-through of the entire show in the PCS rehearsal hall. We’ve been rehearsing 
Need an inspiration jump start as you head in to the new year? We’re delighted to announce that, between now and December 31st you can purchase your Fertile Ground Festival Pass from Portland Center Stage and save $40 off the regular price. 
The Festival Pass gets you a ticket to 
Other festival events we recommend include Dave Frishberg’s new musical adaptation of Vitriol and Violets (about Dorothy Parker and the other writers of the fabled “Algonquin Round Table”), Ezra Weiss’ new Jazz version of Alice in Wonderland, and Eleanor O’Brien’s steamy exploration of the feminine libido in Inviting Desire.
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