I went this year. Not going to lie, after all the hype for weeks that Blue Monday was being performed at this One Acts, I made every effort to come watch and watch I did. The whole thing was spectacular.
Sydney was so gosh darn cute in the first skit and she was the perfect person to play that part. She's inherently so bubbly and the adorable awkwardness and the stuttering and excitement was so so tangible and so her, and so incredible. Thank goodness they had a few minutes of silence in the dark between each act (as well as a 10 minute intermission) because each skit hit me with a flood of emotions. A-Train Plays gave me this warm fuzzy feeling, The Subtext of Texting filled me with all the teenage angst anyone could ever dare to wish for, Scripted sent a chill up my spine, especially when Elaine (Erica) shrieked. Post-Its brought tears to my eyes, Surprise made me laugh, and then gasp, and Blue Monday was just...Blue Monday.
Scott will always be Scott (take it however it's supposed to mean), but his musical talent is undeniable. All-State Choir, attendee at Merit School of Music, has already written several things, of which titles like "Atlantis" have been floating around the music hall. Blue Monday has not only been uttered from Scott's mouth, but others and these two words have been echoing off the walls of the music hallway for weeks. Haunting snippets of the songs in this operetta have been floating around as well, since Scott has casted some of the finest artists from our school to act in Blue Monday. Finley on the piano (with Youngseo as his page turner); Spencer as the trumpeter who lends not only his acting, but also his incredible voice and amazing trumpet-playing; Aubrey with her dramatic gestures; Noah with his smooth, warm voice; Mia with her breathtakingly light soprano voice; Sneha, Nicole, Darby, and Cache who are the incredible backup singers (some also play the roles of minor characters in the play) that support the whole ensemble.
First time I saw an opera was at age 12. Thankfully it was sung in English so I could understand it and that it was only half an hour long because all I remember from the experience was being amazed during the first 10 minutes that the performers had the ability to carry on conversation through only singing, and that for the last 20 minutes, I writhed in agony, wanting the performers to say one word, just one single word, without singing it. That single word never happened.
Blue Monday left a larger impression on me than that play, The Last Leaf by James Niblock. I guess, after knowing Scott, I could smirk at some of the clever snips he threw in musically, and because I knew the performers (which makes me pretty biased), I loved Blue Monday even more than a person outside of our community would. But at the same time, I think it's one of the first few works of his that has been premiered and to write a whole operetta, music, script, parts, staging and all, that's quite the feat.
I don't know if Blue Monday could be considered an official opera and one that could "satisfy" this bucket list item, but when it comes to this, I'm not one for officiality and so this counts. It was a stellar performance regardless of what it can be classified as.
The most notable aspects of tonight was that the majority of the performers in all the "one acts" were non-seniors and that the studio theatre was absolutely packed. I'm talking, all the seats filled, with folding chairs brought in to seat more people kind of packed. And the applause after each skit and after each scene of Blue Monday was the kind that just fills up a space but also creates a feeling of largeness. It was an incredible night, well-spent. I suppose one regret of high school is that I didn't do enough. I know I regret not seeing Into the Woods my freshman year and Twelve Angry Jurors this year. I regret all the One Acts I never went to and any of the other theatre productions that I've missed because I've missed out on things quite wonderful.
the program
opening 10 seconds of Blue Monday
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