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Amanda Palmer and Emma Feinberg in "With The Needle that Sings in her Heart"-by beth hommell
When Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls returned to her hometown from a triumphant solo tour, she felt a need to "return to her roots," as they say, and from those humble beginnings helped spawn the creation of one of the heaviest high school theater productions ever to grace a small town stage.
Palmer, who spent her years at Lexington High School as a weirdo, theater geek, must have seemed like the most kick ass motivational speaker off all time as she presented 20 high school students with an ambitious plan to turn the seminal album "In the Aeroplane Over The Sea" by Neutral Milk Hotel into a play that would explore the depths of pain, suffering, death, creativity, imagination and the artistic process. But through the pure passion of the group, Palmer's unending quest for artistic virtue and a mad scientist/evil genius drama director, filled the auditorium to capacity for four nights and five shows last week.
Using "In The Aeroplane" as a jumping off point, Palmer and the Lexington students dove in head first, pulling NMH lead singer Jeff Mangum's obsession with Anne Frank and the brutality of the holocaust to the forefront, and delving into the artistic process as a means of redemption, and sometimes, the only tool we, as human beings have against pain and suffering. Heavy stuff for a high school musical, but the purity of purpose and the clear caliber of the drama team made this production shine.
As Anne, Emma Feinberg, with her big, glassy eyes and hauntingly expressive face, played the role of a lifetime at the tender age of 16. Alex Parrish walked the line between showman and starving artist as the MC and singer of many of the NMH songs scattered strategically throughout the show. An exceptional cast of actors including Rebecca Reibstein as Anne's sister Margot and Kate Henoch and Eliza Strauss as silent screen vixens and concentration camp prisoners were equally impressive in the two hour plus show.
The scenes shifted from the bleak background of the holocaust, where Anne and her fellow prisoners toiled under gates with the inscription "Work Will Set You Free," to fantastic displays of pure fantasy. The transitions were abrupt, but never awkward, shocking, but never campy. The delicate balance between real horror and make believe, the concept of escapism through art, and the tragedy of history all melded to the backdrop of "In The Aeroplane," itself an album full of fear and fantasy.
Palmer, in her role as the ringmaster, stepped from the background rarely, and played a silent but powerful part. Anyone familiar with Palmer, in her work with the Dolls or solo, knows she is not the strong silent type, but for this show the drama spoke for itself. Much like her character in the show, Palmer's role in the creation of the piece was to facilitate discussion, present ideas, and provide the soundtrack. Sheltered behind a shadowbox in center stage, Palmer led the 5 piece band, emerging only as a cipher, delivering doom, dread, and drama with little more than a steady stare and a well timed gait.
Theater is the breeding ground of great performance art, and high school productions are often the seeds of great leaps of art to come, but under the direction of Steven Bogart, and with allies like Palmer and a rotating cast of exceptional students, a project of this proportion was destined to be a stunner. It was an ambitious and risky endeavor, but in recognizing that all great art comes with great risk, the show tapped into exactly what it was driving at; art as salvation. I think everyone lucky enough to attend can say they left the theater feeling saved.
The final performance of "With The Needle That Sings in Her Heart," Starring Amanda Palmer and the Lexington High School Drama Department can be seen online at www.partyontheinternet.com/
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