Ars Nova Presents

In Association with Rosalind Productions

ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS

By Heather Christian

Directed by Lee Sunday Evans

HEATHER CHRISTIAN’S
ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS

ran March 17 to May 22, 2022
Ars Nova at Greenwich House
Off-Broadway
In this sweeping world premiere, composer Heather Christian infuses the classical oratorio with blues, gospel, jazz and soul. Oratorio for Living Things unfolds the complex layers of what it means to be alive and our relationship to time. Staged by Obie Award-winning director Lee Sunday Evans and featuring eighteen virtuosic singers and instrumentalists, the experience surrounds and uplifts, celebrating our curiosity, our wonder, and what we’re capable of becoming when in communion with each other. The resulting music-theater event heralds Christian as an undeniable artistic force.
Starring
JOHNNY BUTLER
KIRSTYN CAE BALLARD
JANE CARDONA
SEAN DONOVAN
CARLA DUREN
CLÉRIDA ELTIMÉ
ASHLEY PÉREZ FLANAGAN
BRIAN FLORES
ODETTA HARTMAN
QUENTIN OLIVER LEE
LIZ LEIMKUHLER
BARRIE LOBO MCLAIN
ANGEL LOZADA
DIVYA MAUS
JOHN MURCHINSON
ONYIE NWACHUKWU
PETER WISE
SAM WEBER
DITO VAN REIGERSBERG
Composer/Creator
HEATHER CHRISTIAN
Director
LEE SUNDAY EVANS
Music Director/Performer
BEN MOSS
Scenic Design
KRISTEN ROBINSON
Costume Design
MÁRION TALÁN DE LA ROSA
Lighting Design
JEANETTE OI-SUK YEW
Sound Design
NICK KOURTIDES
Latin Translation & Latin Consultant
GREG TAUBMAN
Stage Manager
JO FERNANDEZ
Assistant Stage Manager
KELSEY VIVIAN
Associate Director
KEENAN TYLER OLIPHANT
Assistant Director
LIZA COUSER
Associate Music Director
JACKLYN RIHA
Casting
HENRY RUSSELL BERGSTEIN, CSA

Production Photos

Reviews

“PROFOUNDLY STRANGE & OVERWHELMINGLY BEAUTIFUL – HEATHER CHRISTIAN’S RAPTUROUS NEW MUSIC-THEATER WORK TURNS A TINY AMPHITHEATER INTO A VAST CATHEDRAL OF SOUND”

– Jesse Green, The New York Times

“A WORK THAT SUCCESSFULLY ESTABLISHES A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE SACRED AND THE MUNDANE, BETWEEN THE INVISIBLE AND WHAT WE GRASP WITH OUR SENSES.”

– Jose Solís, The New York Times

“EXHILARATING! BREATHTAKING! A TRANSCENDENT EXPERIENCE!”

– Raven Snook, Time Out New York

“GORGEOUS – A MUST SEE!”

– Adam Feldman, Time Out New York

“A WHITEWATER CATARACT OF SOUND & MEANING”

– Helen Shaw, Vulture

“RAVISHING! THIS COLLISION OF CLASSICAL MUSIC, EXPERIMENTAL THEATER, AND THEORETICAL PHYSICS GENERATES SO MUCH CREATIVE ENERGY, IT FEELS LIKE IT COULD POWER EVERY THEATER IN NEW YORK.”

– Zachary Stewart, TheaterMania