Long Beach to premiere Philip Glass piece
The Long Beach Opera recently announced it is collaborating with the California Repertory Company to present the Southern California premiere of Philip Glass’s work ‘In the Penal Colony’, based on a story by Franz Kafka.
Glass’ work blends his adaptation of Kafka’s story with interviews given by ‘Rising Scholars’, a group of students who have been incarcerated. Since the story is an account of an inhumane prison system and the unyielding loyalty the ‘Officer’ shows to it, and to the ‘Machine’, despite its inherent unfairness, the work has references to contemporary prisons in the U.S. Glass himself said that exploring the current system of incarceration was one of his inspirations, and the more he studied it, the more disturbing he found it.
Performances are scheduled for April 25, 26 and 27 at 7:30 pm, and April 28 at 2:30 pm. The performances on April 25, 27, and 28 are already sold out. Additional performances are scheduled for May 2, 3, and 4 at 7:30 pm, and at 2:30 pm on May 5, although the May 5 show is also sold out.
The show will be performed at the CSULB Studio Theater on Bellflower Boulevard in Long Beach. Theaters like this can use poster printing to create advertisements for these performances.
Since so many shows are already sold out, those interested should buy their tickets as soon as possible.