Word: caste
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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There are, of course, many variations and additions to this cast of characters, but just remember this: you'll find many of the same freaks living in your house, even if you get into Kirkland. And your first-year dormmates will remain just another distant memory of a chaotic first year...
Which doesn't mean that these songs cast their singer as a victim, either: they're less ferocious than fearful, but they're less fearful than poised. Timony's singing, mostly in a very high register, suggests that she's just maintaining enough composure to control where the songs go (and, for the song's sparely-drawn characters, where their/her lives/life will go). And, more than anything, these songs are well-and attentively built: there's no raw punk attack. Instead the emotional depth comes from the care that each sound, each note, has obviously received. The long, long melodies...
...world of fragile, superficial brilliance and frenetic epicureanism combined with the postured mannerisms and etiquette of decadent Parisian aristocracy. Lucy Deakins' simple set consists of two beige curtains through which the characters enter and just enough realistic furniture to convey a sense of luxury without presenting obstacles to the cast...
...chandelier of the dining room adds a serendipitous touch, though its potential brilliance is noticeably ignored in the lighting scheme. To the set Emily Baehr and Rosetta Lee add an eye-catching array of elegant gowns and tails for the cast, though leave your modern sensibilities about hairdos at the door--no woman's head is left untouched in the quest for historical accuracy...
Perhaps one reason for the dramatic effectiveness of the production is its use of an English translation of the libretto. The clear diction of the cast ensures that no word is lost, even in the larger ensembles. The translation itself lacks any particular spice, and at times seems to support the argument that there really just is more room for redundancy in languages we don't understand than in English...