The Riverside Symphony Strikes The Right Chord (Planet Connections 2010)
by Stephen Tortora-Lee on June 16, 2010
The Riverside Symphony (written by Michael Niederman and directed by Hondo Weiss-Richmond) is truly a symphony of perspectives. It opens with Cassandra (Arlene Chico-Lugo), a young high school student speaking to us and to her park as she reminisces about the playground with hippopotami set into the cement. She cries out to the world wondering how any one can stand it – “always preparing for the future that will never get here”.
We switch perspective then to the bum lying on the park bench, Pigeon (Michael Gnat). From him we hear bits of poetry, bits of dissonance, bits of brilliance, blending in with weariness, and a rage at the world for no longer living up to the promise of what might have been.
