Say It Ain't So, Joe is a chamber opera in two acts by Curtis K. Hughes inspired by text drawn from the public record of the 2008 United States vice-presidential debate where vice presidential candidate Joe Biden is addressed by Sarah Palin in a similar manner as the famous quote referring to Shoeless Joe Jackson. Commissioned and produced by Guerilla Opera, Say It Ain't So, Joe premiered in Boston on September 19, 2009, at the Boston Conservatory Zack Box Theater.
Premiere Cast RoleVoice typePremiere cast, September 19, 2009Sarah Palin 1sopranoJennifer Ashe Sarah Palin 2 / Diane SawyersopranoAliana de la GuardiaGwen Ifill / Hillary Clinton / Interviewermezzo-sopranoAmanda KeilJoe Biden / Joe the PlumberbaritoneBrian Church
Instrumentalists Kent O’Doherty, saxophones Rane Moore, clarinets Javier Caballero, cello Mike Williams, percussion.
Production staff Nathan Troup, director Julia Noulin-Merat, scenic designer Corey Rancourt, lighting designer Rudolf Rojahn, production manager Brendan P. Buckley, stage manager Anthony Scibilia, production cameraman.
Composer's view "When watching the US Vice Presidential debate in 2008, I was struck by the extraordinary musical contrasts between the voices of Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, as well as the convergence of two such fascinating life stories, both containing tragic, heroic, and comic elements. The audience for my opera Say it ain't so, Joe will experience a surreal and fractured vision of that remarkable encounter, as well as brief glimpses of other contemporaneous events and political figures, with some fantastical digressions." – Curtis K. HughesQuoted on the official web site of Guerilla Opera
Synopsis Act 1 Prelude
Scene One: January 2009: The Palin Residence. Wasilla, Alaska
Interlude
Scene Two: October 2, 2008: United States vice-presidential debate, 2008, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
Scene Three: August 28, 2008
Interlude
Scene Four: October 2, 2008
Scene Five: October 2008: Good Morning America television interview
Scene Six: October 2, 2008
Act 2 Prelude
Scene One: Late 2008: Television Interview
Scene Two: October 2, 2008
Interlude
Scene Three: Late October 2008: Republican campaign rally
Scene Four: October 2, 2008
Scene Five: in illo tempore
Scene Six: October 2, 2008
References
Powers, Keith, "An opera about Sarah Palin? You betcha!", Boston Herald, September 15, 2009 Weininger, David, "In this opera production, the pitch is political", Boston Globe, September 18, 2009 The Sarah Palin Blog