Windfall Theatre's season finale is one of the most unique studio theater experiences of Milwaukee's 2010-2011 season. Ricky Ian Gordon's Green Sneakers is an autobiographical opera for a single baritone and string quartet. Gordon's partner, Jeffrey Grossi, passed away in 1996. The chamber opera was an attempt to come to terms with the loss.
This production features Larry Birkett in the role of Ricky Ian Gordon. Birkett's voice strikes a powerfully dramatic tone in Windfall's intimate studio theater. He is accompanied by a string quartet (cello, viola and two violins) featuring musicians who have worked with Festival City Symphony and Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, among others.
A modern opera about one man and his grief, Green Sneakers resonates with its raw emotion. Birkett and the quartet find the emotional gravity of the composer's grief despite an imperfect space. This is not the precise tone of the Florentine Opera or Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra flowing through Uihlein Hall. The precision of the strings hits the walls at odd angles, occasionally falling out of harmony. But it adds to the rugged beauty of a man searching for meaning in the loss of love. This piece provides a sense of the individual that could speak to most anyone.
Windfall Theatre's production of Green Sneakers runs through May 21 at Village Church Arts (130 E. Juneau Ave.). To reserve tickets, call 414-332-3963.
