The Bubble
MUSIC BY
Jennifer Jolley
LIBRETTO BY
Kendall A
FIRST PERFORMANCE
May 29–June 6, 2013 at the Art Academy of Cincinnati as part of the 2013 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, Cincinnati, OH by the North American New Music Workshop, Tyler Catlen, conductor. Original stage production by Kendall A.
ROLES
The Ditz: non-singing/speaking dancer
The Dean/Mortgage Broker: tenor
The Banker: tenor
The Landlord/Realtor: baritone
The Financier: baritone
DURATION
20 minutes
PROGRAM NOTE
THE BUBBLE is about the build-up of the U.S. housing market before its devastating collapse. In it, a college co-ed called simply "The Ditz" literally stumbles into the purchase of a house with nothing more than her student loan money. The four supporting roles (The Dean/Mortgage Broker, The Banker, The Landlord/Realtor, The Financier) represent various parts of the easy lending establishment that created the bubble, and become a sort of bankershop quartet as The Ditz gets put through their paces. The comedy is ribald (a metaphor for the base, unthinking greed of the times) and meant to be reminiscent of Vaudeville or silent film era slapstick.