This Clement World
Accidental Nostalgia
USA/Europe
Text and Music by
Cynthia Hopkins
Design
Jim Findlay and Jeff Sugg
Directed by
DJ Mendel
Choreography
Jordana Che Toback
Costumes
Kristin Lapham and Tara Webb with help from Liz Bourgeois
Sound
Jim Dawson
Lighting Consultation Jason Boyd
Character Videos
DJ Mendel
Stage Management Susan Oetgen
Performed by
Cynthia Hopkins,
Jim Findlay,
Jeff Sugg
Featuring Gloria Deluxe Musicians: Kristin Mueller (drums); Josh Stark (bass); Philippa Thompson (violin, guitar, spoons); Karen Waltuch (viola) On Video: Cynthia Hopkins, John Hopkins, Scott Shepherd, Maria Ventura, and Gary Wilmes
Accidental Nostalgia was funded in part by the LEF Foundation of New England and the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation; and developed through residencies provided by AS220, MASS MoCA, the Perishable Theater, and St. Ann’s Warehouse.
“Whenever Henrietta gets too close to the truth of her
past abuse, she's allowed to revert to her academic exercise or offer an emotional response through song. It's a great dichotomy that director DJ Mendel takes full advantage of.“ - Time Out NY
“Accidental Nostalgia is the kind of theater that does for the stage what the Big Bang did for the universe.”
- Brooklyn Paper
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ACCIDENTAL NOSTALGIA (2005 Bessie Award for Creation)
Accidental Nostalgia is an operetta about the pros and cons of amnesia.
Act I: Cameron Seymour, a neurologist specializing in the memory function of the brain (and suffering herself from psychogenic – emotionally driven – amnesia that blots out much of her childhood) delivers a lecture about an autobiographical book she has just published called How to Change Your Mind: A Self-Help Manual for Psychogenic Amnesiacs – a book resulting from research Ms. Seymour conducted using herself as a case study.
Act II: Ms. Seymour acts out the portion of her book wherein she travels to her childhood home in Carlson, Georgia, unearthing disturbing information about her past, including the fact that she is wanted for the murder of her own father (even though it remains to be determined if he was murdered, committed suicide, or simply disappeared).
Act III: Ms. Seymour escapes the murder charge by fleeing to Morocco, where she assumes a new identity: that of Cameron Seymour, a minor pop star from the 70’s who mysteriously disappeared during her 1979 “farewell concert” and who may (or may not) be our neurologist narrator’s real mother. This convoluted tale of self-transformation is punctuated by songs, dance numbers, and interactions with odd characters who appear on a large video projection screen. Accidental Nostalgia weaves hilarious, outlandish, scientific, philosophical, tragic, and deeply personal elements into a hybrid tapestry of communication, triggering pathos, bewilderment and delight in equal measure.