Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens

Infobox Musical
name= Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens


caption=
music= Janet Hood
lyrics= Bill Russell
book= Bill Russell
basis= Inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology"
productions= 1989 Ohio Theatre, NYC
1990 Off-off Broadway
1993 West End
2001 New York City Concert
awards=

"Elegies For Angels, Punks and Raging Queens" is a song cycle with music by Janet Hood and lyrics and additional text by Bill Russell. The work features songs and monologues inspired by the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt and Edgar Lee Masters' "Spoon River Anthology". Each of the monologues is written from the perspective of characters who've died from AIDS and the songs represent the feelings of friends and family members dealing with the loss.

The piece was developed in the late 1980s and was originally titled "The Quilt." It was produced first at the Ohio Theatre in Soho in NYC in 1989, where the new title was adopted, and then again Off-off-Broadway in Manhattan's East Village in February 1990. In 1992, it was produced at the King's Head Theatre in London, where it played for several months. In June 1993, the production was transferred to the Criterion Theatre in London's West End, where it played until July of the same year. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/61395.html information about the show at Playbill.com] ]

"Elegies" was again performed in New York City on April 2 2001 in the Haft Theatre at the Fashion Institute of Technology as a benefit for the Momentum AIDS Project. The cast for that performance included numerous well known performers including Alice Ripley, Emily Skinner, Brian d'Arcy James,Christopher Durang, Mario Cantone, Joe Piscopo and Norm Lewis. [ [http://www.talkinbroadway.com/rialto/past/2001/3_29_01.html Information on the genesis of the show] ] The concert was recorded, and the soundtrack was released by Fynsworth Alley in 2001.

In addition to the New York and London productions of the piece, there have been professional productions in Australia, Germany and Israel, among other countries. [ [http://aislesay.com/FTR-RUSSELL.html information about international productions] ]

Songs From The Show

1. Angels, Punks And Raging Queens
2. I'm Holding On To You
3. And The Rain Keeps Falling Down
4. I Don't Do That Anymore
5. I Don't Know How To Help You
6. Celebrate
7. Heroes All Around
8. Spend It While You Can
9. My Brother Lived In San Francisco
10. Learning To Let Go

References

ee also

* [http://billrussell.net/shows/elegies-for-angels-punks-and-raging-queens "Elegies" on Bill Russell's Website]
* [http://www.nodanw.com/shows_e/elegy_angels.htm Synopsis at the NODA Guide to Musical Theatre]
* [http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/2681 Production information at Samuel French Inc., the author's representatives]
* [http://aislesay.com/FTR-RUSSELL.html Interview with the playwright Bill Russell]