After the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, composer Ron Ramin and theater producer Portia Kamons felt called to create something that could “soothe America’s collective grief.”
But as Kamons began interviewing young Americans, what she heard went beyond concerns with gun violence — the 17 teens whose words form the framework of the piece talked about climate change, mental health care, LGBTQ+ safety and racial equality, and they did so with a level of astute insight about the world they’re inheriting (and a dark humor) that surprised her and Ramin.
Activist Jamie Bernstein (daughter of Leonard) leads the young narrators who will speak the interviewees’ words verbatim, and Orlando Philharmonic music director Eric Jacobsen conducts. Kamons says, “This is not a piece about gun violence. It’s a celebration of how to be a citizen.”
Will the performance be valedictory or jubilant? At press time — Monday, Nov. 4 — we simply couldn’t predict.
6:40 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, drphillipscenter.org, free, RSVP required.
Steinmetz Hall, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
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This article appears in Nov 6-12, 2024.
