Events

Our Eighth Anniversary Fundraising Production

In Janurary 2007, The Crucible celebrated its 8th Anniversary with a sizzling synthesis of dance and fire: The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet—A Fire Ballet. In the dazzling tradition of The Crucible’s Fire Operas, this first-ever Fire Ballet was a theatrical spectacle that blended ballet, classical music, aerial performance, hip hop, fire, and the industrial arts into a compelling modernized rendition of Shakespeare’s tragic tale.

Like The Crucible’s Fire Operas, the Fire Ballet creatively brought together unlikely partners in a remarkable collaboration where the whole was much more than the sum of its parts. The legendary tale of star-crossed lovers was set to the passionate and powerful score of Sergei Prokofiev. The production’s musical director was Mark Jan Wlodarkiewicz. The Fire Ballet was designed and produced by Crucible Founder Michael Sturtz, and choreographed by Corinne Blum, who has been called one of the West Coast’s most exciting, young choreographers.

The Crucible’s first-ever Fire Ballet was unquestionably a tremendous success, garnering praise from the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune, Dance View Times, and the San Francisco Examiner; and selling out for every performance of its two-week run.

The Crucible would like to thank everyone who helped make possible our 8th Anniversary fundraiser, The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet—A Fire Ballet:

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors For Their Generous Contributions:
The Hellman Family
The Thornton Family
Ann Hatch & Paul Discoe
The Russell-Shapiro Family
The Cohen Family
Meyer Sound
Comcast
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Bay Cities Pyrotector
Applied IP
Four Vines Winery

Additional Thanks to the Following For Their Support:
reFRACTion
Clear Channel
Oakland Magazine
DTC Grip & Electric
Cresco Equipment Rentals
Mutual Aid Response Services (MARS)
ODC: Oberlin Dance Collective
The Bay Cafe, San Rafael
Andy

Lust. Gluttony. Greed. Sloth. Wrath. Envy. Pride.

Upon setting fire to the stage, Michael Sturtz, Founder and Executive Director of The Crucible, welcomed the audience to its 7th anniversary fundraising event — Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s The Seven Deadly Sins — in a unique fusion of Opera and Fire Arts. Designed and produced by Sturtz, this unique production was directed by Roy Rallo and featured artists from San Francisco Opera and The Oakland East Bay Symphony, conducted by Sara Jobin.   It is The Crucible’s second Fire Opera.

The Crucible’s vast industrial arts studio was transformed into a dreamscape of fire and passion as the lights dimmed. The 30-piece symphony began, and three lawn chairs became the Louisiana home of Anna and her family.

The first sin is Sloth. Anna leaves home and the stage comes alive with fire and light. Glowing hot cubes rain from above and sparks fly as hammers strike anvils. The sisters find themselves in a nightmarish scene, compelled to work while the family chorus (lounging in their chairs) exhorts them to keep their nose to the grindstone, singing, “Lazy bones are for the devil’s stock pot.”

Anna encounters Pride and learns about trading favors for money when she arrives in Memphis.