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*Brian Church as Joe Biden and Jennifer Ashe as Sarah Palin from the September 2009 production of* Say It Ain't So, Joe with stage direction by Nathan Troup and scenic design by Julia Noulin-Merat. Photo by Karen Snyder.

Boston, MA (9/3/2024) — Guerilla Opera and the Mosesian Center for the Arts present Say It Ain’t So, Joe, a light tragedy by Curtis K. Hughes, an electrifying musical experience that explores the public personas of Sarah Palin and Joe Biden through the lens of the public broadcast of the 2008 Vice Presidential debate. This special staged concert performance plays for one night only, and takes place on Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 7:30 PM on the Main Stage Theater of the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, MA.

Say It Ain’t So, Joe was written for Guerilla Opera and premiered by the Boston-based ensemble in September 2009 on the stage of the Zack Box at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. The late Larry Phillips of The Boston Musical Intelligencer urged audiences to “run, don’t walk” to see the new opera with “great music” upon its premiere. If you’re hoping for a Sarah Palin SNL sketch, first consider that Guerilla Opera is known for challenging expectations and turning things on their head. This unique, progressive opera transforms the actual words exchanged between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden from the public record of the unforgettable 2008 Vice Presidential debate into a riveting musical journey.

“The opera isn’t about Palin and Biden as real individuals so much as it is about their public identities as constructed in the imagination of American citizens. The depiction of the debate is an evocation of the subjective experience of watching the debate, in which a viewer’s attention sometimes wanders, perhaps certain ideas and utterances stand out while others recede, and time itself doesn’t necessarily progress in a straightforward manner.” Curtis K. Hughes, composer

Founded in 2007, the Guerillas have unearthed this gem from the early years of their unique repertoire to explore the riveting work by Hughes anew, amidst another presidential election more than 15 years later.

“We’ve revived our earliest works three times before, but this fourth time feels especially meaningful. Joe Biden, one of our opera’s main characters, has been pushed out of the current presidential race, but also he has been campaigning for that long! ‘What has really changed?’ is a question we’re very interested in exploring. I think our audiences’ post-concert conversations will be very interesting.” Aliana de la Guardia, Executive Director of Guerilla Opera

Guerilla Opera revives this performance with the original cast from the 2009 premiere and from the studio album released in 2012: Jennifer Ashe as Sarah Palin 1, Aliana de la Guardia as Sarah Palin 2/Diane Sawyer, Amanda Keil as Hillary Clinton/Gwen Ifill, and Brian Church as Joe Biden/Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher, and with percussionist Mike Williams, saxophonist Philipp Stäudlin, cellist Stephen Marotto, and clarinetist Amy Advocat making up the 4-piece instrumental ensemble. This is no ordinary concert, featuring lighting design by Keithlyn Parkman (Guerilla Opera’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage) and video projection design by Tláloc López-Watermann (Guerilla Opera’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, Gallo, No Exit, and Heart of a Dog) to enhance the experience of this thought-provoking and entertaining exploration of American politics.

Secure your tickets now for a night of music, drama, and a unique look at American politics. Ticket prices range from $15 to $55, with a VIP option available for $75.00, which includes a pre-show private reception and the exclusive opportunity to meet the composer and artists. Tickets can be purchased from the Mosesian Center for the Arts Box Office online at mosesianarts.org/shows, in person or by phone at 617-923-0100, Monday-Friday from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM. Don't miss this extraordinary fusion of music and history and music!

Guerilla Opera’s 2024-25 season of radical new operas is supported in part through the generosity and support of The Barr Foundation Creative Vitality Grant program, Mass Humanities Staffing the Humanities grant program, Boston Cultural Council, Mass Cultural Council, and New Music USA Operational Development grant program.

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ABOUT GUERILLA OPERA

Guerilla Opera is a BIPOC and feminist organization, Boston's only experimental chamber opera ensemble, and one of only a few in the world with a mission to exclusively present new works of opera theater. Founded in 2007, the ensemble has accumulated a repertoire of over 40 new works by 30 composers. One of Boston’s most exciting companies, they have garnered a national reputation for innovative contemporary opera and daring performances with Opera News raving that “Guerilla Opera redefines the opera experience.”

The works commissioned by this artist-led ensemble are custom-tailored to their artists, who confront, examine, and question traditional conceptions of what is “operatic” by championing cutting-edge music and immersing audiences in profound experiences. Their vision is to bring new music to new audiences through a unique body of work that ferociously confronts the status quo, eschews antiquated and stereotypical traditions of the art form of opera, and examines stories by and for the people of today through contemporary lenses. They model creative authenticity and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (IDEA) in order to inspire and influence emerging generations of artists and creators. (guerillaopera.org)

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

The music of Curtis K. Hughes (b. 1974) is characterized by its rhythmic restlessness, its harmonic adventurousness and its often volatile mix of diverse stylistic elements and political subtexts. It has been described as "fiery" in the New York Times, "well crafted" in the Phoenix, and "colorfully scored" in the Boston Globe. A professor of composition at the Boston Conservatory from 2008-2020, Curtis was a student of composers Lee Hyla and Evan Ziporyn, and is a graduate of Oberlin College and Conservatory, and of the New England Conservatory (NEC), which honored him in 2010 with its Outstanding Alumni Award.

Curtis's most recent endeavors have included new works for Hinge Quartet,RAHA Duo, Tony Arnold & Jacob Greenberg, New Gallery Concert Series, Transient Canvas and Guerilla Opera, who also premiered Say it Ain't So, Joe, his 2009 opera about the 2008 Vice Presidential Debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden (now available on Cauchemar Records).

Curtis's music has been performed across the US and internationally, from Los Angeles to Berlin, from Vermont's Yellow Barn to Bulgaria's Here/Now New Music Festival. He was a 2005 fellow at Tanglewood, and has served as composer-in-residence for Collage New Music and the Radius Ensemble. Recordings of his music for the Albany, GM, New Focus, and Cauchemar labels are available at all major online music retailers.