If you haven’t already bought your tickets to the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia’s Symphonic Magic Concert (tonight, 7 pm, at the George Washington Masonic Memorial Theater in Alexandria, Virginia) you will want to jump right on it.  SONOVA’s Music Director and Conductor, Jeffrey Dokken, has been instrumental in bringing A Roadkill  Opera to life and reviving interest in the music of Ferdinando Paer.

In anticipation of this event, a GoPro video of a January 2016 world premiere performance of A Roadkill Opera has been uploaded onto the Roadkill Opera YouTube channel. The video provides the first opportunity for those who were not able to attend the sold-out shows in January to see what the fuss is all about. That show featured numerous personnel associated with SONOVA, including four who are also on the studio recording: Jeffrey Dokken, Martine Micozzi, Michael Thompson, and Val Rauch.

To celebrate the January 2016 world premiere performances, Groundhog Day 2016 saw the publication of both the black-&-white and deluxe color versions of  A Roadkill Opera: the underground opera sensation.  This slim volume with lyrics in large print make it easy to follow along with the 59 minute studio recording (in English) of A Roadkill Opera released on July 4, 2013, on Amazon.com and subsequently on  CD Baby, AmazonMP3, and iTunes.

A Roadkill Opera is now available worldwide on nearly all platforms. This comic opera with music in the style of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is recommended for fans of PDQ Bach, Tom Lehrer, Weird Al Yankovic, and The Rutles–but only if you like classical music with infectious hooks.

A Roadkill Opera tells the story of the hour before the lights go up on opening night for a comedy improv troupe in 1988 Jackson Hole, Wyoming: the Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company.  During that hour, they find out their showroom at the Silver Dollar Bar is being torn down. This original story and English libretto by Stephan Alexander Parker is set to music from Leonora by Ferdinando Paer, Beethoven’s direct competitor.   59 minutes (in English).

Lucky audience members at the sold out January 2016 shows of A Roadkill Opera received free copies of the draft version of the black-&-white libretto so they could easily follow the lyrics of this hilarious new opera. The February 2, 2016, publications incorporate photos from the fully staged shows.

There are two versions available on Amazon today:

A Roadkill Opera: the underground opera sensation: World Premiere Performances Black & White Edition with a suggested retail price of $9.00, and

A Roadkill Opera: the underground opera sensation: World Premiere Performances Deluxe Color Edition with a suggested retail price of $25.25.

Worldwide distribution channels will come on line in the next several weeks. Quantity discounts are available now by contacting the author.

As it says on the back cover:

“Good luck at the GRAMMYs. How could you not win with a name like that?” Ann Patchett, author of award winning, New York Times bestselling Bel Canto

“…a very, very, cool thing…exceptionally well done…” Paul Barrosse, writer/performer, Mee-Ow Show, Practical Theatre Company, and Saturday Night Live

“Songs like ‘Impress Them,’ ‘Cod Piece Dining,’ ‘Jello,’ and [Gonna buy my old granddad a] ‘Geo’ pair offbeat humor with beautiful vocals and music.” Pam Schipper, Gaithersburg Town Courier

“an inspired, imaginative work, technically worthy of the highest praise…The orchestration is faultless and complements the vocal parts beautifully.”  Peter Maag writes about Paer’s Leonora

A Roadkill Opera is available at iTunes, Apple Music, Amazon,  CD Baby, and other online platforms worldwide. Better yet, A Roadkill Opera is available locally at Lashof Violins in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and at Gifts of the Earth and the Valley Bookstore in Jackson, Wyoming.

Watch for announcements of more live productions!

It was sold out houses for the Saturday performances of A Roadkill Opera on January 9, 2016, at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint in Washington DC. The houses were pretty good as well on the previous night of this limited run of the hilarious new opera about the hour before the first professional gig for a sketch comedy troupe in 1980s Wyoming.

“Since the action takes place backstage the hour before the lights go up on the first show for these rude mechanicals, director Jeffrey Dokken decided to bring the audience backstage. That authenticity put the audience right in the thick of the action” said librettist Stephan Alexander Parker. “We were able to use the theatre lab as intended, and worked out the framing for the story. This show is ready for a larger venue,” he added.

A Roadkill Opera is a mashup of a classic backstage screwball comedy and classic opera. Parker provided the story and script; Ferdinando Paer, a direct competitor of Beethoven, provided the music,  which is essentially the overture and first act of Paer’s 1804 opera Leonora. “It is not a documentary; the fact is, though, the Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company had an 8-week run in the showroom at the Silver Dollar Bar of the Wort Hotel in Jackson, Wyoming, in the summer of ’88. The names have not been changed,” said Parker. “Everyone was agreeable to being portrayed in this new opera. Also, they signed releases in 1988. There is comedy in truth.”

Photos by DJ Choupin & Stephan Alexander Parker

The world premiere of A Roadkill Opera goes up on Friday, January 8, 2016, in a very limited run–just 4 shows over 2 days in Washington DC’s Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint. This hilarious mashup of music from Ferdinando Paer’s 1804 Leonora with a backstage comedy set in 1988 Jackson Hole, Wyoming, is a hoot. Two shows a night, at 6:30 and 8:30 pm. 59 minutes, in English. 8 piece orchestra and 5 opera singers–fun for the whole family!

Tickets are going fast–get yours today at roadkilloperadc.bpt.me.

Parker & Dokken spoke about the road from Artomatic 2012 to the February 2015 GRAMMYs at the opening night for Artomatic 2015 at 6 pm on Friday, October 30. They were listed as Librettist. They played the 2013 studio album and previewed the January 8-9, 2016, Washington DC premiere of fully staged performances of A Roadkill Opera.

There were some interesting characters in attendance. Artomatic is well-known for transforming empty spaces into vibrant arts communities that create unique and exciting events for tens of thousands of visitors – all FREE.  Anyone can show art at Artomatic – it is non-juried and art is selected on a first-come, first serve basis.  It is simply a great way to discover new art!

Every night of the event, thousands of people visit Artomatic to discover new art, grab a drink, listen to music, go on dates, and mingle with the creative community. No matter what kind of creative events you like, you’ll find something to like at Artomatic.

Information on A Roadkill Opera‘s backstory and performance editions of the published score and parts are on display in Parker’s exhibit at Artomatic 2015 through December 12. Parker’s exhibit is across from Stage 2 and around the corner from Bar 2.

As of noon on October 31, 2015, you can go to Brown Paper Tickets to buy for the January 8-9, 2016, tickets for A Roadkill Opera – world premiere performances. Shows are at 630 and 830 pm each night at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint.

The studio recording of A Roadkill Opera was released on July 4, 2013, on Amazon.com and subsequently on  CD Baby, AmazonMP3, and iTunes. It is now available worldwide on nearly all platforms. This comic opera with music in the style of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is recommended for fans of PDQ Bach, Tom Lehrer, and The Rutles–but only if you like classical music with infectious hooks.

The chamber orchestra for the January 2016 premiere performances of A Roadkill Opera returns four players from previous incarnations. Martine Micozzi, flautist, is the key link who introduced librettist Stephan Alexander Parker to conductor/music director Jeffrey Sean Dokken.  Like Martine, trumpeter/flugehornist Michael Thompson performed in the Artomatic 2012 workshop and on the 2013 studio recording. Val Rauch will return on viola, which she played on the 2013 studio recording of A Roadkill Opera.

As of noon on October 31, 2015, you can go to Brown Paper Tickets to buy for the January 8-9, 2016, tickets for A Roadkill Opera – world premiere performances. Shows are at 630 and 830 pm each night at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint.

You can see the complete conductor’s score and parts through December 12, 2015, at Artomatic 2015 in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Michael Thompson – Trumpet – is Associate Conductor and Principal Trumpet of the Symphony Orchestra of Northern Virginia. He attended Grammy Award-winning South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon where he was a member of the Wind Ensemble, Full Orchestra, and Jazz Band and the recipient of the John Philip Sousa and Louis Armstrong awards. Michael studied trumpet performance and music at the University of Oregon and was the trumpet section leader of the Oregon Symphonic Band and all Oregon Athletic Bands and the musical director of the Green Garter Band. Michael was a member of the original orchestra for A Roadkill Opera and has also played in productions of Les Misérables, Into the Woods, and The Music Man. Besides the original recording of A Roadkill Opera, Michael has recorded with the Oregon Marching Band, Green Garter Band, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salem, OR and can be also be found on numerous live recordings and in the introduction to EA Sport’s NCAA March Madness 2004.

Martine Micozzi -Flute- originally hails from Los Angeles where she started her foray into music while in elementary school. While not a music major and pursuing music as a hobby, she enjoyed performing with the Solar Winds Woodwind quintet in L.A. and has performed internationally at venues including the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Hollywood Bowl, Meyerhoff Hall, the Strathmore Center, and La Madeleine in Paris. Martine participated in the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Corwin Master Class and Ransom Wilson’s Master Class in Italy. While in Paris, she founded, managed, and performed as Principal flutist of the orchestra of the Paris Choral Society. Upon her return to the U.S., she has participated in summer academies and performed with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Martine presently performs with and serves on the Board of Directors for the Symphony Orchestra of Arlington, Virginia.

Is Sam Calagione the newest fan of A Roadkill Opera? Only time will tell. He seemed pretty stoked when he met with librettist Stephan Alexander Parker in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Production meetings begin in earnest in October for the first fully staged shows of A Roadkill Opera on January 8-9, 2016, at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint in Washington, DC. Returning from the Artomatic 2012 workshop and 2013 commercially released studio recording are Maestro Jeffrey Dokken, soprano Laura Wehrmeyer as Holly, and baritone David Timpane as Stephan. They are joined by 2015 Helen Hayes Best Actor Winner, Musical, Alan Naylor as Eddie,  Alex Miletich IV as Dave, and soprano Shaina Martinez as Debby.

Tickets go on sale in late October. Additional information on the cast is available elsewhere on this site.

It almost didn’t happen. I am very fond of my Ray Bans. And no, the image above is not reversed.

After a long week of meetings in Berkeley, I headed into San Francisco to do some urban hiking. My first stop was the top floor at Nordstrom. As I was heading out, though, I saw  PARKER in giant letters and thought I’d grab a quick photo. Since my musical collaborator Ferdinando Paer shares a subset of my last name, I thought perhaps I could figure out a clever visual homage to him.

Once I got closer to the letters, though, I realized I had stumbled onto a Warby Parker “Pop-In” shop within the San Francisco Nordstroms. It took awhile for this to register: I knew Warby Parker as a SoHo shop that was recommended to me by A Roadkill Opera‘s New York business representative, Ryah Naomi. On her recommendation, I had tried their frames about a year ago at home (they mail them to you). I liked the frames they had mailed me, but they couldn’t handle my prescription–then.

My fondness for Ray Bans extends back to my days as a whitewater rafting guide for Mad River Boat Trips in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Over four seasons of guiding (under the river name “Killer”) I made roughly a thousand trips down the Grand Canyon of the Snake River. That translates to about 10,000 passengers. If you were in Jackson between 1985 and 1992, you might have been on one of my boats. I was guiding on the day of the Harmonic Convergence.  But I digress…

While guiding for Mad River, I would sometimes run into a boatman for Barker Ewing, our arch rival. Ed Bachtel would tell funny stories, sing, and play his harmonica. When Ed and I both enrolled in improv classes at Tommy’s On The Square, we hit it off. First, we started the only open mic night in town, which ran for years at Spirits of the West. I like to think of the Dornan’s Hootenanny as carrying on the tradition. Then, Ed talked the bar manager at the Silver Dollar Bar into giving us their nightclub space 3 nights a week for the summer of 1988. That was the year of the Yellowstone fires. Roadkill Live!!! played 8 weeks at the Silver Dollar Bar in the Wort Hotel.

What does that have to do with shades? Well, I was getting to that. In the fall of ’88, Ed’s roommates had organized a private kayaking trip down the Grand Canyon–that is, the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River–and Ed was to guide one of the support rafts.  At the last minute, one of the other support raft guides couldn’t go, and I was invited to spend 21 days rafting on the Grand Canyon. I will never forget it–it was mostly during “oars only” season, so after a few days we never heard a motor. Also, I managed to get knocked off of my boat for portions of Crystal and Lava, the only two Class 10 rapids on the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. Both times I was wearing my prescription Ray Ban polarized sunglasses, even as I was being swept under a ledge by the current and having to crawl while upside down under water to get out. My Croakies kept my Ray Bans in place. My Ray Bans did not come unhinged. [Insert your own joke here]

As comfortable and strong as they are, though, it is time for a change. Warby Parker, your glasses have my name on them. And your San Francisco staff rocks!

See fully staged performances of A Roadkill Opera in Washington DC in January 2016. Tickets go on sale in October 2015.

There is music everywhere in the Wyoming/Idaho/Montana greater Yellowstone area, as DJ Choupin and I found on a two-week swing through the area over the Independence Day holiday.

While not a music act, the venue certainly is: DJ got a chance to chat with Longmire author Craig Johnston and the star of the series Robert Taylor at the Silver Dollar Bar in the Wort Hotel in Jackson. They couldn’t have been kinder or more gracious. We are excited about seeing the 4th season (and re-watching the first 3 seasons) of Longmire on Netflix!

We had swung by the party at the Silver Dollar Bar after attending the Hootenanny at Dornan’s in Moose, Wyoming. DJ had worked at Dornan’s for several years; the Roadkill Live!!! comedy review played at the Wort’s Greenback Lounge (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar) for 8 weeks in summer of 1988.

At the Hootenanny, we had particularly enjoyed performances by John Sidle and John Byrne Cooke, so I was delighted to catch up with them for a chat at the Silver Dollar Bar.  Sidle and Cooke are mainstays of the Stagecoach Band that plays in Wilson, Wyoming, every Sunday, as well as at the Hootenanny in Moose, Wyoming. Back in the day, I had designed the lighting for an Actors Coop production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum that Sidle had starred in as Pseudolus. Turns out Cooke has also appeared in Forum as Senex.  But I digress….

It was a musical couple of weeks.  In addition to two trips to the Hootenanny, DJ and I enjoyed seeing the Dirt Farmers at their Three Forks, Montana performance; the Lake String Quartet (twice!) at the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone; and two performances under the aegis of the Grand Teton Music Festival. With the latter, I am trying to talk up the possibility of a performance of A Roadkill Opera in the very spot the story takes place, the newly reconverted to performance space in the Silver Dollar Bar. The opening week of the GTMF also saw our ad in the Jackson Hole News & Guide promoting the availability of the studio recording at the Valley Bookstore and at Gifts of the Earth.

This week is the anniversary of the 1988 opening night for the original eight week run of Roadkill Live!!! at the Wort Hotel’s Greenback Lounge (enter through the Silver Dollar Bar). The opening night is recounted in five part harmony in A Roadkill Opera; the key plot point is that, during the hour before the first professional gig for the “rude mechanicals” putting on the show, they learn that their showroom is being torn down. The musical number Torn Down recites the names of local favorites that had played (or would have played) the showroom such as Loose Ties, Shelley and Kelly, Susan Carlman, Beth McIntosh, Deadly Earnest, Johnny Gimble, Sawmill Creek, and others.

In real life, the management of the Wort Hotel has, effective 2015, removed the hotel rooms and offices and gift shop that had displaced the 1988 nightclub, and replaced them with an expanded showroom as part of the Silver Dollar Bar. Hurray! Was the protest of the 1988 teardown expressed in Paer & Parker’s A Roadkill Opera responsible for this remarkable reversal of fortune? History will decide…

In honor of the Roadkill Live!!! anniversary and in celebration of the reestablishment of a first rate, full size performance venue at the Silver Dollar Bar at the Wort Hotel, A Roadkill Opera is providing promotional messages during the opening week of the Grand Teton Music Festival to let people know of the local availability of this fast, funny, melodic concoction full of true-ish Jackson Hole history. A Roadkill Opera–music from 1804 by Ferdinando Paer–action set in 1988 Jackson Hole–a new opera in just 59 minutes (in English).

Laura Wehrmeyer sings the role of Holly (Danner, that is), a radio news reporter who aspires to be a disc jockey.

David Timpane sings the role of Stephan, a whitewater rafting guide whose river name at Mad River in 1988 was “Killer.”

Peter Maag writes about Paer’s Leonora

“an inspired, imaginative work, technically worthy of the highest praise…The orchestration is faultless and complements the vocal parts beautifully.”

Pam Schipper wrote in the Gaithersburg Town Courier

“Songs like ‘Impress Them,’ ‘Cod Piece Dining.’ ‘Jello,’ and [Gonna buy my old granddad a] ‘Geo’ pair offbeat humor with beautiful vocals and music.”

A Roadkill Opera tells the story of the hour before the lights go up on opening night for a comedy improv troupe in 1988 Jackson Hole–the Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company.  During that hour, they find out their showroom at the Silver Dollar Bar is being torn down.

If you like it, tell your friends. If you don’t like it, you can kind of keep that to yourself.

Available on iTunes, at Gifts of the Earth & the Valley Bookstore

Fully staged performances Washington, DC, January 8-9, 2016

roadkillopera.com   roadkillopera@icloud.com  240-277-6640

Additional promotional items will be announced as artists are signed for the fully staged performances in Washington, DC on January 8-9, 2016.

As we look forward to the January 8-9, 2016, Washington DC premiere of fully staged performances of A Roadkill Opera, we look back at the “stand and sing” workshop at Artomatic 2012 and the many people who made it happen. Video of the 2012 workshop concert is now available at http://youtu.be/g0K6Il7m1W4.

A Roadkill Opera was workshopped at Artomatic 2012 on June 9 in Crystal City, Virginia, under the baton of Maestro Jeffrey Dokken. It went so well that a 2013 studio recording made in Montgomery County, Maryland, was released on July 4, 2013, and the Roadkill Opera creative team was invited to attend the Grammys in 2015 (we sat across the aisle from Weird Al. He won Best Comedy Album for Mandatory Fun. But I digress…)

The first fully staged performances will be on January 8 & 9, 2016, at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint, 916 G Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20001. Special thanks to the late Jaylee Mead for her generous support of the Mead Theatre Lab. Tickets will go on sale in October 2015.

If you plan to attend a performance of A Roadkill Opera, you might want to come dressed as Harrison Ford–you’ll be glad you did!

Music from 1804 by Ferdinando Paer. Action set in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 1988. A new opera (in English) in just 59 minutes. The story: the hour before opening night for the first professional gig for the “rude mechanicals” in the comedy improv troupe Roadkill On A Stick Frozen Foods Theatre Company. Glorious music from one of Beethoven’s direct competitors (Paer’s Leonora from 1804, from which the music for A Roadkill Opera was transcribed, told the same story as Beethoven’s Fidelio from 1805…but that’s another story…)

The sheet music for A Roadkill Opera is available through your local bookstore and online retailers such as Amazon and Barnes&Noble. For special pricing on performance packages, ask for A Roadkill Opera DIY from Stephan Alexander Parker at roadkillopera@icloud.com.

Credits for the Artomatic 2012 workshop concert of A Roadkill Opera:
Jeffrey Dokken, Music Director & Conductor

Laura Wehrmeyer as Holly
Andrew Webster as Eddie
George Spelvin as Marvin
David Timpane as Stephan
Krista Monique McClellan as Debby
John Dellaporta as Dave

Martin Micozzi, Flute
Jeannine Altavilla, Clarinet
Sarah Robinson, Bassoon
Michael Thompson, Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Frank Peracchia, Violin I
Holly Petty, Violin II
Kendall Isadore, Violin III
Kathy Augustine, Cello
Allan Decipulo, Piano (rehearsal)

Camera: Ben Ganz
Production Assistants: Jason Ganz, Nina Parker Ganz
Audio: Angelo Avellana
Audio Supervisor: Mary Diaz
Lighting: George Spelvin

Scrim Crew: Cyndi Moran, Eric Scholl, Nathaniel Scholl, Rosalyn Scholl

Retail Merchandising: DJ Choupin

Roadkill logo: Eric Scholl

Music from 1804 by Ferdinando Paer

New English Libretto by Stephan Alexander Parker

If you see roadkill, think opera.
roadkillopera.com

Special thanks to Artomatic

Please note: A Roadkill Opera was workshopped at Artomatic 2012 on June 9 with 8 musicians and 5 opera singers. It sounds pretty good for the first ever workshop. For the 2013 studio recording, we added a second cello for the killer solo that is missing from the workshop performance. And timpani for three numbers.

It was a whirlwind weekend in Nashville: visits to old haunts and meeting friends old and new.

Taking the geographic route rather than chronological order, we start in west Nashville and head toward downtown.  First stop: Bluebird Cafe.  The restaurant/bar/listening parlor is closed at this hour, but there is, nonetheless, a steady procession of fans stopping by.

One of the skills I had picked up working for Opryland USA On The Road In Branson, Missouri, was repairing microphone cables.  Later, Amy Kurland, the owner of The Bluebird Cafe, would occasionally hired me to fix microphone cables and demagnetize the tape heads on her place’s cassette deck. Later still, when I was doing standup comedy, Amy was kind enough to let me perform a set at the Bluebird. I bombed–Chicago standup was not what folks came to the Bluebird for in the mid-1980s (or now, I suppose).

Proceeding east on Hillsboro Road, the next stop is the relatively new Parnassus Books.  It is Independent Bookstore Day, and, as luck would have it, the co-owners are there.  One of them is Ann Patchett, the award winning, New York Times bestselling author of Bel Canto, who has a few kind words for A Roadkill Opera.

I am thrilled that Ann is willing to let me quote her: “Good luck at the Grammys. How could you not win with a name like that?” I tell Ann that A Roadkill Opera will have its premiere in Washington DC on January 8-9, 2016.  Ann tells me that Bel Canto will have its premiere as an opera on December 7, 2015, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Proceeding further east on Hillsboro Road, another Nashville institution is reached: Pancake Pantry. While waiting in line to have breakfast with my brother Dave and his family, I make a new friend, the Los Angeles based television writer Stefani Novik (Cybill, Caroline in the City, Nub TV).

The easternmost stop on this tour: University School of Nashville, founded as Peabody Demonstration School in 1915. There the past, present, and future merged. The present: Vince Durnan, Director of USN, congratulated me outside his office as I gave away 100 CDs of A Roadkill Opera in celebration of the school’s centennial.

The future: after hearing him lead a terrific concert, I catch up with instrumental music teacher Joe Getsi in the band room, where he received a set of performing materials aka A Roadkill Opera DIY.

And the past: one of the distinguished alumni speaking at the centennial celebration was Amy Kurland, now a philanthropist. Congratulations, University School of Nashville/Peabody Demonstration School!

While in Nashville, Parker let people know about his upcoming appearance at the Gaithersburg Book Festival on Saturday, May 16, 2015, and the premiere performances of A Roadkill Opera scheduled for January 8-9, 2016, at the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint in Washington, DC.