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About Ceiling/Sky:
"I Was Looking At the Ceiling And Then I Saw the Sky" was called a "song-play" rather than an opera by the creators. It was directed by Peter Sellars, who directed both of Adams' two previous operas.
Cast of Characters |
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David, a black Baptist minister
Leila, a Black graduate student working as a family planning counselor in an abortion clinic Consuela, an undocumented immigrant mother of two, from El Salvador Mike, a White cop who is also a community activist |
Dewain, a Black reformed gang leader
Tiffany, a White TV crime-as-news reporter Rick, a Vietnamese-American Legal Aid defense attorney |
Synopsis |
In mid-1990's Los Angeles, David, a preacher, sings about his many love affairs and his current girlfriend, Leila. Dewain is arrested by Mike, a homophobic cop, for stealing two bottles of beer while trying to reach his lover, Consuela, who is afraid that her son has been arrested by the INS. Tiffany videotapes the arrest; she wonders why Mike is not more receptive to her advances. Dewain resists arrest and Mike has him charged with a felony, meaning he could go to jail for 45 years under the "Three Strikes" law. At his trial, David, his lawyer, tries to explain his client's point of view. After questioning Tiffany, Rick begins to be attracted to her. David visits Dewain in jail, where Dewain tells him he's decided to go to law school. Leila wonders if David will ever settle down.
As Act II opens, Leila and David are making out on the couch in David's affice in his church when an earthquake hits. Leila is knocked unconscious. Mike visits Tiffany's house; she asks him why he hasn't been more forward, and he has a crisis of sexual identity; Rick suddenly appears, and she asks him out instead. Dewain, in his cell, recounts how the walls split open and he could see the outside, but, realizing that he was better off working inside the system, he did not escape. Consuela tells him she is going back to El Salvador to fight for political freedom; Dewain decides to stay in Los Angeles. Lying in David's arms, Leila begins to recover.
Performance History |
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World premiere production: Zellerbach Playhouse World premiere: 11 May 1995 Berkeley, California |
Serious Fun! festival Festival premiere: 1995 Lincoln Center, New York, NY Berkeley production |
Discography |
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