Pittsburgh Opera presents The Last American Hammer
Pittsburgh, PA…
December 11, 2019
Chris Cox, Director of Marketing and Communications
Office: 412.281.0912 ext. 217
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Pittsburgh Opera presents Pittsburgh debut of heartfelt contemporary satire The Last American Hammer, Feb. 22 – March 1
Milcom Negley, a one-man militia, rages against the tyranny of federal overreach. He is hunkered down in a rural Toby Jug museum in a rust belt Ohio town where Tink Enraught, a mannered curatrix, offers him tea and cookies.
Milcom is a “Thirteenther” – a conspiracy theorist who believes an obscure, would-be Thirteenth amendment negates the authority of our government. He occupies the museum because it is the only place left in his failed town to receive federal funds – a grant for the upkeep of a rare 17th-century British pitcher known as “Sir Oswyn.”
Although Milcom expects to be swarmed by military drones, attention is paid only by Agent Reyes, a young rookie FBI field specialist. Milcom explains that the town’s only major source of employment – a hammer manufacturer – has gone under, leaving the residents lost. He is armed with “the Last American Hammer” to roll off the plant’s line and intends to hold a proxy trial against the US government using Toby jugs as physical stand-ins for a court.
The Last American Hammer will star current and former Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artists, and be performed in the intimate environs of Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, 2425 Liberty Avenue. Limited capacity.
The opera is sung in English with supertitles projected above the stage.
Single tickets for adults are $40; kids and teens ages 6-18 are half-price. For tickets call 412-456-6666, visit the Box Office at Theater Square, or go online at pittsburghopera.org/tickets or CulturalDistrict.org. Group discounts, including student discounts, are available.
Performance Dates/Times/Location/Length/Language
Where: Pittsburgh Opera Headquarters, 2425 Liberty Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222
When:
Sat., Feb. 22, 2020 * 8:00 PM
Tues., Feb. 25, 2020 * 7:00 PM
Fri., Feb. 28, 2020 * 7:30 PM
Sun., March 1, 2020 * 2:00 PM
Run Time: To be confirmed. Tentatively ~1 hour and 30 minutes with no intermission
Language: Sung in English with supertitles projected above the stage
These will be just the second set of perfromances of this opera. It premiered in Washington D.C.'s Atlas Performing Arts Center in September, 2018.
UrbanArias, which commissioned the piece, describes it as “a satirical but heartfelt examination of the fallout that occurs when the American Dream fails to materialize”, with “a bluegrass-infused score that brings American roots to the operatic stage.”
Tickets and Group Discounts
Single tickets for adults are $40; tickets for kids and teens ages 6-18 are half-price.
Pittsburgh Opera’s production is sponsored by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.
The Last American Hammer was commissioned by UrbanArias with very generous support from Dan and Gloria Logan; and an anonymous admirer of UrbanArias in memory of Deborah Brewer.
