“When I think of home, I think of…” So sang Dorothy Gale in the musical The Wiz. The reality is each of us has our own definition of what home is, what makes a home and where to call home. By extension, we also give the same consideration to whom we allow in our home and whom we call family (be it blood relatives or extended family.) These are amongst the ideas explored in Geoff Sobelle’s Home which begins performances March 4th at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica.
The show begins with an empty stage. Very quickly a home gets built and the lives of the many people who come and go and experience all of life’s major (and not-so-major) events occupy that home over the course of the show.
It is a conceptual piece that earned rave reviews when it was performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2017. And each and every review said the less you know the better. So here ends any further details about Home except for one: the audience plays a character in the show with some members being brought on stage.
In addition to the narrative as structured by Sobelle, there are also original songs written and performed by Elvis Perkins. (You have to figure his parents must have loved Sun Records.)
In addition to Sobelle and Perkins, the cast includes Ching Valdes-Aran, Sophie Bortolussi, Jennifer Kidwell, Arlo Petty and Justin Rose. Home is directed by Lee Sunday Evans.
One of the lead producers on this project is, to no surprise to anyone who knows her work, Beth Morrison. For those familiar with her aesthetic, that should give you some idea of what to expect.
Home has a running time of 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. The show will be performed at The Broad Stage through March 8th.
For tickets go here.
Photo of the company of Home by Jacques-Jean Tiziou (Courtesy of The Broad Stage)