Dr Faustus Lights the Lights

A little over a year ago now, a profound thing was accomplished by a relatively small group of people.  A few students from Brown University took the unfinished libretto from Gertrude Stein's Dr Faustus Lights the Lights, filled it with a modern electronic score, and placed the classic myth in a 360 degree theatrical super-spectacle.

A workshop for Kickstarter's Dr. Faustus Lights the
Lights. / VIA: kickstarter.com

Through a series of production workshops, the creators of the production decided to place the classic tale in the modern, urban age, making the themes all the more relevant as the characters struggle to find true connection in the height of the technological era.  Combining light shows with riveting song and dance, the production brings the classic out of antiquity and into present-day relevance.

The company of the modern re-imagination of Dr. Faustus Lights
the Lights. / VIA: BrownDailyHerald.com

Performed at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in downtown New York City, the production removes the traditional proscenium theatre venue and instead submerges the audience directly in the middle of a 360 degree set built in a small room, making the story and its themes all the more intimate.  The show implements a profound combination of lights, special effects, magic, music, costumes and scenery to delight, shock and inform the audience.  Truly a marvelous revitalization of the infamous tale.