Word: caste
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Cantata 2000 is a musical anthology that celebrates our existence at the turn of the millennium--even the angrier, sadder bits are imbued with the hope and energy of the cast. By the time the show's 35 songs and many monologues are over, the audience has seen how many disparate sources of inspiration can fit together in a remarkable and entertaining...
...slipping in and out of different characters. They adjust their voices, change their clothes and put on masks to convey the wide variety of personalities and places featured in the musical. All of this frantic shifting of attitude and environment makes the show's final number, in which the cast members face the audience as themselves and sing about finding a new song, all the more powerful. Its sweet, hopeful simplicity is an eloquent conclusion that suggest the humanity lying beneath all of the show's hectic modern concerns...
Also impressive are the "millennium monologues" in the show. Each cast member wrote an original monologue about the year 2000, and these pieces easily match the energy and passion of the rest of the show. Some take a humorous approach, discussing alien encounters or the possible effects of cloning Calvin Klein models. Others talk about starting anew when the millennium comes--and doing it right this time. Most of the monologues exhibit the good humor and underlying dignity that characterizes the entire production...
...also responsible for most of the show's choreography, which usually involves high-energy, free-spirited dance. But for many of the numbers, the movement on stage plays an integral part in communicating the writer's ideas to the audience. For example, the song "Information O.D." has the cast typing furiously away at computers as they try to remember important or trivial pieces of information that get lost in their hectic lives...
...show's scenic design is intentionally sparse, fitting its cabaret-style presentation, but what does exist is used to great effect. The main props are ten chairs, varying wildly in artistic design, that are "introduced" by the cast members in the show's humorous opening segment. The chairs are moved around the stage constantly and are integrated into almost every number, functioning as a stable counterpart to the show's quickly changing tone. The costumes also mimic the progress of the show, as each actor occasionally puts on additional layers and styles of clothing to fit the mood...