Courtesy of Opal AndrewsEditor’s Pick: “Violet: A Musical Pilgrimage”
Dates and Times: April 21, 22, 27 and 29 at 8 p.m. and April 23 and 30 at 2 p.m.
Location: A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre
For Tickets: Tickets can be purchased at the Edison Theatre Box Office.
The Performing Arts Department began its 2006-2007 season with a “trip” back to the year 1968, transforming the Edison stage into the streets of New York, complete with sit-ins, be-ins, free love and Vietnam protests.
This weekend, the Performing Arts Department (PAD) will end its season with a very different story of the same era with their presentation of “Violet: A Musical Pilgrimage.”
The story is set in 1964 in the Deep South and follows a physically scarred young woman as she travels to Oklahoma in search of a televangelist and her own salvation. Like most pilgrimages, the actual journey is more important than its destination.
As the characters travel through the South, the music reflects their journey and features a variety of styles, including bluegrass, country, blues and rock.
Along the way, Violet also becomes the traveling companion of two soldiers, the self-assured Monty and the African-American sergeant Flick who serves to illuminate the social and racial tensions of the time.
The show, however, still resonates with many of the issues that affect today’s society. “This show reflects a lot of what is going on in the world today,” explained Musical Director Lisa Campbell.
“It confronts issues of interracial relationships, coping with difficulties and discovering in the end that that’s okay.”
In the end, Monty also tells Violet that Vietnam ‘barely even counts as a war,’ and I think that is also reflective of our situation right now as well.”