Mellissa Hughes (BRITNEY)
Ted Hearne (JUSTIN)
James Moore (Guitar)
Trevor Gureckis (Keyboard)
David Skidmore (Drums)
Jacob Cooper (Composer/Laptop)
J.J. Lind (Direction)
Yuka Igarashi (Words)
In the time since she first burst onto the pop music scene, Britney Spears has become a celebrity icon of almost mythic proportions, the shocking tabloid tales of her personal dramas often commanding more attention than her music. Timberbrit, an opera by composer Jacob Cooper, gives Britney the extra push she needs to enter the fictional realm, imagining a final twist in her saga: her latest downswing has propelled her to her final hours, and her erstwhile lover Justin Timberlake, prompted by her imminent demise, rushes to her side to express his undying love and attempts to win her back. The slow and weighty music of Timberbrit starkly contrasts with the breezy feel of the pop tune—the songs are sometimes beautiful, sometimes haunting, and always a bit deranged. The show is of our time but completely novel; it is about our world but totally unfamiliar.
Timberbrit premiered in semi-staged form at The Tank [www.thetanknyc.org] in New York in March, 2008. The same production followed at Yale University in April, and excerpts were performed in concert version at the East River Music Project Festival (New York) in August. Plans are currently being made for a fully staged production.
[Please Note: Timberbrit is purely fictional. It uses the names of celebrity figures for purposes of satire and social commentary. The characters and events portrayed in this work should in no way be construed as factual.]
Video documentation of a performance piece by my friend Nate Kassel who rode around on his bike slapping high-fives to people who were trying to hail taxi cabs in NYC. Enjoy!
