Sep 20—23, 2012
Paris Commune
The Civilians / From France
A new musical event.
In 1871, working-class Parisians took to the streets and overthrew the French government, declaring their city autonomous and launching an effort to radically reinvent society. The Civilians brings these explosive events to life in this new musical play. Using found texts and original songs from this extraordinary period, Paris Commune tells the story of Europe’s first socialist revolution, bringing alive the idealism, elation and eventual tragic downfall of this uprising. Boston audiences have the special opportunity to see this world premiere by The Civilians, who were part of ArtsEmerson’s first and second seasons with You Better Sit Down: Tales From My Parents’ Divorce and In The Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards, before it heads to New York.
Info
Venue
Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage
559 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
“Giddily sociological.”
— New York Magazine
“The Civilians have carved out their own aesthetic niche.”
— The New York Times
“Everyone alchemizes real-life interviews into smart stage evenings, but this scrappy collective has the most fun doing it. (The shows are usually musicals, for one thing.) They’re equally comfortable parsing nineteenth-century France (Paris Commune) and the here and now.”
— New York Magazine