Canard, Canard, Goose?
"The Civilians leave New York City to pursue a story about a Hollywood movie and a lost flock of carelessly imprinted geese resulting in an eclectic show about disorientation, misplaced empathy and coming home."
I love The Civilians' debut show from start to finish. This song sung by French geese who are professional actors (yes, really) shows The Civilians' joie de vivre.
Gone Missing
"The show is a collection of very personal accounts of things lost and found, creating a unique tapestry of the ways in which we deal with and relate to loss in our lives."
I've seen Gone Missing at least a dozen times with various casts and in various venues, and it always moves me. It's very hard to pick a highlight from the show. I recommend checking out the whole cast album. Here's a couple things to give a taste of the show. First, some of the "finders" of things that have gone missing speak.
Second, probably my favorite Civilians' song, "Hide & Seek". Get a tissue.
(I Am) Nobody's Lunch
"The Civilians [ask] the thorny question — how do we know what we know when everyone in power seems to be lying? Is it possible to know what's really going on in the world when information is manipulated to serve particular interests? Does anyone really care?"
Sadly, this show seems even more relevant than it was when it debut eleven years ago. I couldn't figure out how to embed anything from this show, so click here to hear the showstopper "Song Of Progressive Disenchantment".
You Better Sit Down: Tales From My Parents' Divorce
"Crafted from interviews the cast conducted with their own parents, TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE is a heartbreaking and hilarious account of the parents' marriages and their subsequent divorces. These delicate parent-child conversations have yielded unique insights into falling in love, falling out of love, and rebuilding a life after the complex experience of dividing a family."
It was fascinating to see actors I know personally get so, well, personal on stage.
In The Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards
"...Tells the story of Brooklyn's largest development project in history. The play examines the conflicts that erupted in the case of Atlantic Yards through to their current resolution in an attempt to discover how the fate of the city is decided in present-day New York and what can be learned from this ongoing saga of politics, money, and the places we call home."
The Civilians have an amazing ability to find the heart--meaning both the core and the emotional center--of any topic.
The Great Immensity
"THE GREAT IMMENSITY is a highly theatrical look into one of the most vital questions of our time: how can we change ourselves and our society in time to solve the enormous environmental challenges that confront us?"
The Civilians courted political controversy when the took on climate change.
Pretty Filthy
"Inspired by a tradition of classic musicals about show business, PRETTY FILTHY is the untold showbiz musical, based on interviews with adult entertainers.".
Pretty Filthy was still in development when I moved from NYC and left The Civilians board, but I got a chance to see a few workshop productions, and it is great. It continues the great Civilians' tradition of showing the letting the humanity of the subjects shine by letting the speak and sing in their own words.
I'd like to end with shout outs to the shows I didn't include clips--mostly because of my lack of my own lack of technical capabilities.
--The Ladies, ostensibly about the wives of dictators, turns out to really be about The Civilians, and by extension ourselves, instead.
--In addition to being a great show, This Beautiful City is extra special to me because I got to travel out to Colorado Springs and visit The Civilians as they were workshopping it. I even got meet some of their interviewees.
--I've seen almost as many versions of Paris Commune as I have Gone Missing. I thought the first one was great, but it just kept getting better.
--In a funny way, Mr. Burns: A Post Electric Play circles back to many of the themes and ideas of Canard, Canard, Goose? with The Civilians again playing themselves and exploring the power and limits of theater.
All of my memories of The Civilians are bittersweet since the tragic death of Michael Friedman. Michael wrote nearly all the songs for Civilians shows (including all those included here). That would have been more than enough, but he also conducted much of the research for the shows and was a passionate member of the board of directors. He will be sorely missed by the company and the whole theater world.
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