| bare | |
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bare Off-Broadway Poster |
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| Music | Damon Intrabartolo |
| Lyrics | Jon Hartmere, Jr. |
| Book | Jon Hartmere, Jr. Damon Intrabartolo |
| Productions | 2000 Los Angeles 2004 Off-Broadway 2008 Sacramento 2008 Houston 2008 Seattle 2009 Amherst 2009 Denver 2009 Toronto, Canada 2010 Rochester, NY 2010 Sydney 2011 Minneapolis 2011 St. Louis 2011 Lansing 2011 Kalispell 2011 Putnam, CT 2011 Windsor, Canada 2011 Kingston, NY 2011 Detroit, MI |
bare, also known as bare: A Pop Opera, is a rock musical with a book by Jon Hartmere, Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo, lyrics by Hartmere and music by Intrabartolo. The story focuses on two gay high school students and their struggles at their private, Catholic boarding school.
The musical debuted at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, California, running from October 2000 - February 25, 2001. The New York production of bare, at the American Theatre of Actors off-Broadway, ran from April 19 - May 27, 2004. The Los Angeles production and the New York production were both directed by Kristin Hanggi. bare made its Houston debut at The Country Playhouse Black Box Productions June 6–21, 2008. It was directed by O'Dell Hutchison with musical direction by Luke Kirkwood. bare had its Canadian Premiere in the Summer of 2009 at the Hart House Theatre, Toronto. The production was produced by WatersEdge Productions Inc. bare had its Sydney Premiere in September 2010 at the New Theatre, as part of the Sydney Fringe Festival. bare played at the Black Box Theater (also known as The Complex Performing Arts Center) in Putnam Connecticut from July 8-16, 2011. It was performed by MacEwan University performing arts grads and Raw Mango Productions at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival, August 14-20, 2011.
Theatrical performance rights for the bare are available from Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
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An 11-song CD sampler featuring the 2004 New York cast was offered to every ticket buyer during the final performances of the off-Broadway run. It was recorded by Sh-K-Boom Records's Kurt Deutsch.[1] The sampler is also made available for free download from the Sh-K-Boom website.[2]
The full studio album from Bare was released on October 30, 2007 as a full three-disc CD + DVD set. Produced by Deborah Lurie and Casey Stone, Vocal Direction by Eric Anderson, Vocal Contracting by Bobbi Page. Orchestrations and Arrangements by Deborah Lurie.[3]
bare opens on the Feast of the Epiphany, at Mass in St. Cecilia's Boarding School. Peter, an altar boy, is dozing off and having a nightmare in which he is outed and condemned by everyone ("Epiphany"). After Mass, Peter encounters Jason, St. Cecilia's resident golden boy who's also his roommate and secret lover; Jason tries to assure Peter about their secret relationship ("You & I"). Peter asks Jason to audition for Romeo and Juliet, but Jason refuses. Afterward, by himself, Peter reflects his angst about his relationship with Jason ("Role of a Lifetime").
At "Auditions," Sister Chantelle, the drama teacher, is dismayed by the lack of adept actors, until Jason shows up, to the shock of all present. He and Matt, another altar boy, battle for the part of Romeo. In the end, Jason is cast as Romeo, Ivy (Peter and Jason's friend, whom Matt is in love with) as Juliet, Peter as Mercutio, Matt as Tybalt, and Nadia (Jason's overweight, sharp-tongued twin sister) as the nurse. Jason attempts to console his sister, who wanted be Juliet ("Plain Jane Fat Ass"). Opening a belated birthday gift, the siblings discover Jason has been accepted into Notre Dame. The song was replaced with "Love, Dad" in the 2004 Off-Broadway production.
Later, Matt attempts to plan a small surprise birthday for Ivy. Lucas, the school's party boy, plans a trip to a rave, bringing along ecstasy and two other drugs (K and GHB) ("Wonderland"). Seeing a scantily-clad Ivy and its effect on Matt, Nadia decides to spend "A Quiet Night at Home" and play her cello instead.
At the rave, Peter dances with Jason and Ivy with Matt ("Rolling"). Peter tries to kiss Jason, who leads him outside. They argue over their secret relationship: Peter wants them to come out and make their relationship known but Jason refuses because he's afraid to be condemned and lose everything he has. Eventually, Peter and Jason kiss ("Best Kept Secret"); however, Matt has seen everything.
The next morning, the students gather for "Confession." Matt and Peter nearly spill their respective secrets to the priest, Matt about seeing the kiss and Peter about being gay. At the rehearsal, Sister Chantelle realizes she has her work cut out for her. Nadia jokes about Ivy's promiscuity, leading to the latter to consider the impression she has on the other students ("Portrait of a Girl").
Matt's little get-together becomes a huge party, due to Nadia's hand in the planning ("Birthday, Bitch!"). Peter accidentally eats pot brownies and begins flirting with Jason. A drunk Ivy does the same and is chosen over Peter to save face, leading Peter to storm off. Matt leaves as well when Ivy ignores his advances. Ivy asks Jason to kiss her as a birthday gift, and he reluctantly agrees ("One Kiss").
Matt leaves the party to sit alone with a bottle of wine, express his frustration while Peter's nearby doing the same with respect to Jason. They discover the one another, drink and comfort each other ("Are You There?"). At one point, a drunk and high Peter whispers to Matt the true nature of his relationship with Jason. Matt takes his leave and heads to bed while Peter has a vision of a Sister Chantelle-like Virgin Mary and two angels. She tells him that he needs to come out to his mother ("911! Emergency!").
At rehearsal, Romeo and Tybalt's fight scene becomes real as Matt abandons the script and tackles Jason to the ground, calling him a faggot. They are separated by an angry Sister Chantelle ("Reputation Stain'd"). Peter tells Jason about his vision and asks him to come home with him for Spring Break so he can come out. Jason panics, afraid of what his dad might do if he ever found out, and breaks up with Peter ("Ever After").
Later, Nadia sings a song she wrote about "Spring." Peter leaves for Spring Break without a word to Jason, and Ivy shows up at Jason's dorm to apologize for her actions at her party. Jason tells her "it was cute," so Ivy goes in for more. Peter and Matt pine, respectively, for Jason and Ivy, Nadia wishes to be noticed, and Jason sleeps with Ivy, hoping that this is the right thing to do ("One").
Like the first act, the second opens in the chapel, which is decorated elaborately for Peter and Jason's wedding ("Wedding Bells") but then the wedding turns into Jason and Ivy's - this is Peter's dream. Later, class ranks are posted, and Jason has achieved the valedictorian spot, once again besting Matt ("In the Hallway").
Ivy tells Jason that for the first time, she has fallen in love even though she's been with other boys before ("Touch My Soul"). Jason realizes he's still in love with Peter and breaks off things with Ivy, which devastates her.
Peter calls his mother, Claire, to come out but she evades the point ("See Me"). She hangs up, shaken and knowing what Peter wanted to say. Eventually her love for him is stronger than her religion and she introspectively accepts him ("Warning").
With two weeks to go before the show, Ivy misses rehearsal again, claiming to be sick. Sister Chantelle asks Ivy's inept understudy, Diane, to be Juliet. As Diane stumbles and forgets her lines, Peter takes over and for a moment, all is well as Peter dances with Jason ("Pilgrim's Hands") and then Ivy shows up at the last minute. Sister Chantelle cancels rehearsal and Peter leaves. Ivy pulls Jason aside and tells him that she has something she needs to tell Jason, and he agrees to talk before the student-led rehearsal later. After the other students leave, Peter returns to pick up his things and Sister Chantelle tells Peter that she knows what's bothering him and that he is just as God wishes him to be ("God Don't Make No Trash").
Nadia returns to her dorm room and argues with Ivy about missing rehearsal. She assumes it's because Jason broke up with her, but Ivy reveals that she's pregnant ("All Grown Up"). Ivy finds Jason practicing his valedictory address in the auditorium, and reveals that she is pregnant and she still loves him. Matt comes in and reveals to Ivy that the reason why Jason can't love her because he's already in love with Peter. At that point, Peter and Nadia arrive. Peter, Jason and Matt exchange heated words, and Peter admits he told Matt, and is not sorry for it. The rest of the cast, who were waiting for rehearsal to begin, are revealed to have been waiting in the auditorium, having heard everything ("Promise"). Everyone leaves, leaving Peter and Jason alone. Jason begs Peter for help; Peter says he tried and also leaves. Jason, distraught, reflects on his relationship with Peter, and how even through his fear he knows that it is the only thing that will comfort him ("Once Upon a Time"). Jason, having nowhere else to go, goes to the priest to ask if God still loves him and can forgive him. The priest ultimately says that Jason will only be fine if he denies his natural feelings ("Cross").
During rehearsal, Lucas passes out the drug orders and tells Jason that they're still cool. Jason tells Peter that he talked to the priest about their relationship to show Peter that he still cared ("Two Households"). Jason asks Peter to run away with him, but Peter refuses to run and thus tells him it's over, as he's had his fill of hiding and running away. Jason, thinking that means he's lost Peter for good, takes a lethal dose of GHB. As the school play begins, Jason again pulls Peter aside telling him that he has always loved him since they first met; Peter tells him he loves him too and if they part it's not goodbye. The lovers kiss ("Bare").
During the show, Jason becomes increasingly disoriented. During the "Queen Mab" speech, he loses his place and begins to hallucinate. During the masked ball scene he collapses, reaching for Peter, and Peter holds him as he dies. ("A Glooming Peace"). Peter goes to Confession, intending to confront the priest about Jason's last visit. Peter accuses the priest of failing to show Jason empathy, and when the priest merely apologizes for Peter's loss, Peter ironically forgives the priest ("Absolution").
At graduation, Peter, Matt, Ivy, and Nadia wonder whether or not they could have prevented Jason's death and consider the role they played in it. The graduates all move forward into a world that will yield more questions than answers ("No Voice").
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† Replaced with "Love, Dad" in the 2004 Off-Broadway production.
The following cast lists represent the original Los Angeles and NYC, the 2007 recording, the Original Canadian Cast (2009), Sydney (2010) cast, Rochester, NY cast (2010), the Lansing cast (2011), the Putnam, CT cast (2011), and the Detroit cast (2011)
| Role | New York | Los Angeles | Album[4] | Canada | Sydney | Rochester | Lansing | Putnam | Detroit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason McConnell | John Hill | John Griffin | James Snyder | Graham Parkhurst | Zachary Smith | Parker Moore | Michal Kolaczkowski | Paul Lietz | Jeff Bobick | |
| Peter Simmonds | Michael Arden | John Torres | Matt Doyle | Wade Muir | Seann Moore | John Alati | Christopher Robinson | Jeremy Geragotelis | Steven Ross | |
| Ivy Robinson | Jenna Leigh Green | Jenna Leigh Green | Jenna Leigh Green | Alison O'Neill | Jenni Little | Casey O'Connor | Erika Moul | Meagan Hayes | Enxhi Merpeza | |
| Nadia McConnell | Natalie Joy Johnson | Keili Lefkovitz | Keili Lefkovitz | Claire Rouleau | Elyse Atkins | Taryn Elisabeth Snyder | Krista Delong | Seana Hendrickson | Joanna Tuzzo | |
| Matt Lloyd | Aaron Lohr | Wallace Smith | Christopher Johnson | David Sazant | Jordan Angelides | Brad Balandis | Eric Miller | Paul Lucenti | Alex Pedica | |
| Sister Chantelle | Romelda Benjamin | Stephanie Andersen | Stephanie Andersen | Nichola Lawrence | Sarah Hamad | Cassandra Giovinne | Amanda Hubbard | Beth Silvia | Shondra Tipler | |
| Priest | Jim Price | Mark Edgar Stevens | Jim Price | Jeremy LaPalme | Chris Bamford | Vincenzo Caterasano | Graham Lundeen | Shane Kegler | David Woitulewicz | |
| Tanya Garrett | Sasha Allen | Charity Hill | Judith Hill | Antonette Rudder | Holly Summers-Clarke | Jackie Rahmlow | Brittany Nicol | Hannah Smith | Aliya Lewis | |
| Diane Lee | Kay Trinidad | Jennie Kwan | Kara Maguire | Amanda Milligan (Understudy Ivy) | Monique Salle | Lauren Donoghue | Neva Keuroglian | Ashley Bressette | Sarah Oravetz | |
| Claire Simmonds | Kaitlin Hopkins | Maura Knowles (Understudy) | Kaitlin Hopkins | Renee Stein | Monique Donath | Taylor Burkey | April Townsend (Choreographer) | Dale Magnuson | Ttari Hellmer | |
| Lucas Carter | Adam Fleming | Philip Dean Lightstone | Jason Ryterband | Travis Paul | Andrew Wang | Christopher David Mauro | Ricky Hernandez | Alan Kariuki | Michael Stoyanoff | |
| Alan | Isaac Calpito | -- | Joel Echols | Alex Dvorak (Peter Alternate) | Gareth Isaac | Sean Ryan | Michael Cleland | Adam Greczkowski | Keith Zachow | |
| Zack/Jake | Mike Cannon | Reed Prescott | Nils Montan | Nicholas Fedele (Understudy Jason, Lucas) | Jared Jekyll | Jeff Mills | Ayo Obayan | Eric Congdon | Nic Weinberg | |
| Kyra | Kearran Giovani | -- | Carmel Echols | Louisa Zhu | Amy Toledano | Lauren Parrow | Claudia Dibbs | Anne Fowler | Marie Martinez | |
| Rory | Lindsay Scott | -- | Anna Rose | Sarah Thorpe (Understudy Nadia, Tanya) | Emma Cooperthwaite | Shireen Matloubieh | Maggie Martin (Assistant Choreographer) | Liz Swan | Nathian Napier | |
| Lucian | -- | -- | Lucian Piane | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Stacey/Rose | -- | Sierra Rein (Understudy Nadia) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Chad/Rick | -- | Jason Henkel (Understudy Peter) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Travis/Tommy | -- | Matt Huhn | -- | -- | Mike Kalaf -- | -- | Jacob Cooper (Male understudy) | -- | -- | |
| Brittany/Sarah | -- | Tassa Hampton | -- | -- | Isabella Wong Leung -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Mark/Mary | -- | Joe Pinzon | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Sam | -- | Natalie Avital | -- | -- | Ashley Adkins | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Ensemble/Understudy | -- | Richard Hellstern | -- | David Alves (Alan Alternate, Understudy Peter) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Ensemble/Understudy | -- | -- | -- | Cory Strong (Understudy Matt, Priest, Zach) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Ensemble/Understudy | -- | -- | -- | Emma Van Buskirk (Understudy Diane, Rory) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| Ensemble/Understudy | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |