Elmer Gantry
ELMER GANTRY
by Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein
Nashville Opera 2007, Montclair State University 2008
Director John Hoomes
Costumes Camille Assaf
Sets Takeshi Kata
Lights Robert Wierzel
A new American Opera based on the novel by Sinclair Lewis, the piece follows Elmer, an ambitious and charismatic, if not scrupulous, college football player turned preacher, in his quest to conquer the souls of his midwestern brethren, and the hearts of two women as opposite in character as flesh is to spirit.
The costumes were faithful to pre-teen silhouettes, balancing between the modest, conservative daywear of rural churchgoers, and the dazzling pageantry of Sharon Falconer's Grand Tabernacle. The palette, which remained subtlly marbled through the beginning of the piece, exploded into vibrant colors for the final grand opening and tragic ending.