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The Drumf  and      the Rhinegold

AN OPERATIC APOCALYPSE

...Striking music. Kovler draws as readily from Sondheim as from Wagner, but melds those two its own.

          he show was produced in NYC and Boston during the week preceding the historic 2016 US Presidential Election, in collaboration with a ragtag band of top tier NYC musicians from the International Contemporary Ensemble (spearheaded by Claire Chase) director Doug Fitch  (New York Phil) and designer/illustrator Peter Savieri (The Muppets). All proceeds from the production were donated to moveon.org.

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'Drumf’ originated at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, in collaboration with lyricist Tasha Gordon Solmon, and was further developed during a residency at Pioneer Works. 

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            15-minute immersive parody of Wagner’s 15-hour Ring Cycle, ‘The Drumf ’ tells the story of the Rhinemaidens’ return to the human realm for one last fight against an evil overlord.

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Having stolen the magical Rhinegold, which grants world domination to its owner, the sinister Drumf is now poised to become leader of the free world. The gold’s guardians, Rhinemaidens Ivana, Marla and Melania, race against time to reclaim their gold from his grubby clutches. Can they succeed in wrestling their gold before it’s too late?

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The exceedingly short operetta was the centerpiece of an immersive installation offering audiences a window into the decadence and absurdity of Trump’s world against the backdrop of a 7,000 sq.ft. condemned space in a Manhattan tower. Told entirely from the perspectives of Ivana, Marla and Melania, the story doesn’t allow Drumf a word in edgewise. The farce culminated with a not-to-be-missed Drumf take-down in a water pool. 

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Cast

Team

Music by Matti Kovler, 

Book by Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Matti Kovler and Gil Varod Lyrics by Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Matti Kovler, Gil Varod, Matthew Shifrin and Toby Lightman

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