George Brant

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George Brant is an American playwright. Born in Park Ridge, Illinois, he is the author of several award-winning plays, most notably Grounded. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

Brant completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University and received his Masters in Fine Arts in Writing from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America. [3]

His most successful play to date is Grounded, which played at London's Gate Theatre and went on to be directed by Julie Taymor in an off-Broadway production at The Public Theater, which starred Anne Hathaway. [4] Grounded won the National New Play Network's 2012 Smith Prize and a Fringe First award at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. [4] [5]

In October of 2023, an operatic adaptation of Grounded opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. [6] [7] The Kennedy Center's publicity summarizes the opera as "Jess is a hot shot F-16 fighter pilot, an elite warrior trained for the sky. When an unexpected pregnancy grounds her, she’s reassigned to the “chair force” to control drones in Afghanistan from the comfort of a trailer in Las Vegas. Mezzo-soprano Emily D'Angelo stars as a pilot and mother shaken into a downward spiral as her separation between career and home crumbles. What price is inflicted upon the operator of a lone drone in a blue sky?" The libretto is based on Brant's stage play with music by Jeanine Tesori.

Into the Breeches, Brant's 2018 play, is based on the true story of a playhouse in Cleveland that continued performing during World War Two by having female actors play all the male roles. In reviewing North Coast Rep's 2022 production, the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote "Into the Breeches may be about the can-do spirit of some aspiring thespians 80 years ago, but it’s really a love letter to the boundary-breaking magic of theater and the universality of Shakespeare’s writing." [8]

Plays

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Grounded is an English-language opera in two acts with music by Jeanine Tesori and libretto by George Brant. The libretto is adapted from Brant's play of the same name. The opera features a pilot, Jess, and shows her struggle to adapt to drone warfare. The opera premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2023 to mixed reviews. Emily D'Angelo was praised for her role as the lead character, and Tesori's score was generally well received. The way in which the opera dealt with the theme of drone warfare was generally criticized in by reviewers, who suggested it did not have a clear anti-war theme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily D'Angelo</span> Canadian opera mezzo-soprano (born 1994)

Emily D'Angelo is a Canadian mezzo-soprano. Since making her debut at 16, D'Angelo's most notable role to date has been playing the lead in the 2023 opera Grounded.

Grounded is a 2013 play by George Brant. The play was written as a solo performance with a single character, but has also been staged with two actors. Grounded tells the story of a female US Air Force pilot who is grounded when she becomes pregnant. Her duties are altered from flying F-16 jets to piloting drones remotely, causing her psychological distress. The play was adapted into an opera of the same name, which was first performed in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Napoleon, Davi (2013-09-01). "Darkness Meets Light in George Brant's Plays". American Theatre. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Made in Cleveland: Playwright George Brant joins Anne Hathaway and lauded director Julie Taymor for a high-flying off-Broadway 'Grounded'". 26 April 2015. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  3. ↑ "George Brant". Playwrights' Center. Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  4. 1 2 Lee, Felicia R. (2014-01-23). "George Brant's Play 'Grounded' Brings Him to New York". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2016-09-16.
  5. ↑ Soloski, Alexis (27 April 2015). "Grounded review – Anne Hathaway goes full throttle in one-woman show". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Grounded | Kennedy Center". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  7. ↑ Salazar, Francisco (2023-03-12). "Emily d'Angelo, Isabel Leonard & Justin Austin Lead Washington National Opera's 2023-24 Season". OperaWire. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Review: North Coast Rep's 'Into the Breeches' a love letter to theater and Shakespeare". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2022-10-24. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  9. ↑ "En Tierra (Grounded)". 20 July 2018.
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