Bøger af Lee Breuer

“I’ve been in a lot of shows in my life, and I've thought a lot of ‘em were pretty good, but this is a masterpiece.” –Morgan Freeman“An ancient drama explodes into a hand-clapping, soul-stirring gospel musical.” –Chicago Tribune“One of the most marvelous shows the decade… Colonus is a triumph of reconciliation, bringing together black and white, pagan and Christian, ancient and modern in a sunburst of joy that seems to touch the secret heart of civilization itself.” -Jack Kroll, NewsweekWriting at the end of his own long life, in Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles depicted his doomed hero’s final hours; at the moment of his death the aged Oedipus is free at last. Envisioning this rarely performed meditation on mortality as a rousing service in a black church, Lee Breuer has created a remarkable text based on Robert Fitzgerald’s splendid translation. Rearranging, simplifying, cutting here and enhancing there, Breuer has above all honored the spirit and the poetry of Sophocles's lovely work, giving it a new life in this time and place.Inspired by the joyous faith at the heart of African-American Christianity, Breuer and composer Bob Telson have turned a momentary wish of Sophocles’ chorus into a central desire of Oedipus himself. “I wish the wind would lift me,” he sings, “so I could look with the eyes of the angels.” The fundamental action of The Gospel of Colonus is to “lift him up” – at the hour of Oedipus’ death to celebrate his life, to journey through grief to triumphal resurrection. “Man,” says lead actor Morgan Freeman, “this is what theatre is all about.”Lee Breuer is a founding member of the acclaimed avant-garde company Mabou Mines. He has written and directed many groundbreaking works for theatre including a trilogy of “Animations,” A Prelude to Death in Venice and Haji. Sister Suzie Cinema, a cinema collection of his poems and performances, was previously published by TCG.Bob Telson’s recent projects include collaborating with Breuer on The Warrior Ant and composing the score for the film Bagdad Café.

In an astonishing blend of cultural idioms, Lee Breuer merges the driving rhythms of rock music, the imagery of hotels and drive-ins, and the language of the street with the lyricism of dreams, of memory, of fairy-tale fantasy. The result is what he terms “performance poetry” – intensely personal works that have evolved from narrative poems into highly original works for the stage. Here, collected for the first time, are Breuer’s poems into highly original works for the stage. Here, collected for the first time, are Breuer’s poems and their performance scripts, with details of their stagings under his direction.The title work of the volume, Sister Suzie Cinema, is a “doo-wop opera” inspired by the author’s coming of age amidst the pop culture of the ‘50s. Other works include Haji, a multimedia, one-character collage charting a woman’s personal pilgrimage; Red Beads, a Halloween fairy tale turned nightmare; Lies!, a jive satire of sex and money; A Prelude to Death in Venice, the saga of a street-smart puppet named John whose life is always a pay-phone call away; and The Warrior Ant, Breuer’s latest, the Latin/reggae mythical journey of a modern day “every ant.” Critical acclaim for the performance works in this volume –Haji“A haunting poetic monologue.” – Stephen Holden, The New York TimesSister Suzie Cinema“A fantasy about fantasies – about the way movies, music and other cultural artifacts shape what we feel.” – Jon Pareles, The New York TimesA Prelude to Death in Venice“A stunning theatre piece.” – New StatesmanThe Warrior Ant“[Breuer’s] astonishing marriages of disparate elements produce great joy.” – Michael Feingold, The Village VoiceLee Breuer is a founding member of the acclaimed avant-garde company Mabou Mines and the creator of the internationally renowned Gospel at Colonus. He has long been considered one of our most gifted theatrical innovators.