Tonight we began rehearsals for the final "play" of our season here for the school year. It is called The Persecution and Assassination of John-Paul Marat as performed by the inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the direction of the Marquis de Sade. It's more commonly titled Marat/Sade for obvious reasons. The long title alone goes ahead and reveals that it's a weird show. It's basically a play within a play about a murder that happens in an insane asylum at the time of the French Revolution. There is no end to the show; it's very abstract. Simply put, it's just plain weird. So why am I involved? Because some of the inmates are narrator type characters and sing exposition as recitative might be heard in opera. There are also a few basic songs that become themes for characters. The score is handwritten and out of order so it's a pain to work with but Dr. Albert is guiding us all through this crazy experience.
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