THE LESS WE TALK
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ALEC DUFFY
“Pitch-perfect… clever, quietly enjoyable… this is a chance to watch an already impressive director as he modulates into a higher key.”
“An ever-shifting tableau of impressive choreography”
American folk songs are exploded and foreign languages are butchered as Hoi Polloi trains its sights on choral singing in America. A 25-person choir is at the center of The less we talk — an exploration of group singing that combines choral staples such as “Shenandoah” with the awkward moments between songs in which the members of the choir try desperately to prolong the harmony so easily won in song. Romances blossom and founder, territory is disputed, and a musical utopia is ardently sought in this radical re-imagining of how we, as Americans, come together and how we fall apart.
Written & Directed by Alec Duffy
Performers: Arthur Aulisi, Eliza Bent, Marty Brown, Lora Chio, Jordan Coughtry, Loren Fenton, David Frank, Evan Greene, Adia Morris, Masayasu Nakanishi, LeeAnet Noble, Sarah Petersiel, J Reese, Dan Renkin, Nikaury Rodriguez, Joseph Rosta, Annie Scott, Nisi Sturgis, Janice Tuchman, Mark Vazquez, Amy Laird Webb, Brenda Withers, Marshall York, Rasha Zamamiri
Costume design: Jessica Pabst
Scenic design: Mimi Lien
Lighting design: Miranda k Hardy
Music Director: Noah Aronson
Produced in 2009 in association with the Ontological-Hysteric Incubator at the Ontological Theater (NYC).
Photos by Ryan Jensen.