Rootabaga Country ran at Seattle Opera’s Tagney Hall from March 8th-17th. The production was directed by Kyleigh Archer with music direction by Gemma Balinbin. Costume, hair and makeup design were by Tony Oteromarrero. It was a charming rendition and lots of fun to revisit this work. Production photos below are by Sunny Martini. Since I had packed for the trip at 3:30 a.m. in New York, while it was still dark out, I arrived in Seattle to find two mismatched shoes in my suitcase. Naturally, this could only be solved by the gracious costume staff, and it provided an excellent excuse for a backstage tour of their incredible resources. Also running during our opening weekend was X: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MALCOLM X, which I finally caught in person at the beautiful McCaw Hall for the first time.

I wasn’t in town long enough to appreciate all the sights, but among the various works of outdoor art below (as well as a meatball sandwich disguised as a giant corndog), I saw the first Carl Sandburg poem I ever read etched in stone, which I took as a good omen. But hey, poetry nerds, can you spot the crucial error?!

Anyway, thanks to all at Seattle Opera for their hard work and hospitality (especially Dennis Robinson, Jr., Director of Programs & Partnerships) and I hope my first trip there was not my last! And, update: the revised orchestration is complete and available here now!