A Bernie Sanders Musical Takes the Revolution From Park Slope to Burlington
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2017
Excerpt:
Performed by a cast of eight, Marom's musical is Christmas themed. Bernie Sanders is Jewish, but that doesn't matter. "Like Santa, Bernie is kind of the ultimate giver. No one gets left behind. No matter your means or background, you get a visit from him. Only his gifts are the exact opposite of Santa's consumerism-fest," says Marom. Her spectacle is also postapocalyptic and takes place in the year 2132: Global warming has washed away the eastern coast of the United States, and the characters have gathered for their holiday on the new shore — in Cleveland.
Christmas is obsolete in 2132; instead the characters assemble to celebrate NotMeUs, a festival fixated on Sanders, who has returned to Earth in the form of Sanders Claus. Elders gather the children around to recount the legend of this winter celebration — the story of how our country fell into ruin after failing to heed Bernie's warnings, but after adopting his policies returned to prosperity — and to sing carols about the decline of corporate greed.
The musical seems to suggest the world we might have had today, if only things hadn't gone so wrong. It's a world where posterity does, in fact, thank us for the things we've done. A world where single-payer healthcare is common sense. Where windmills and turbines and big solar panels are lawn decorations. It's also a world that looks an awful lot like Burlington, Vermont.
http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/a-bernie-sanders-musical-takes-the-revolution-from-park-slope-to-burlington-9517972
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