Whhhhy? Whhhhy? Whhhhy? When you saw the news footage of Nancy Kerrigan screaming her ass off after getting clubbed in the knee, did you think to yourself, Jesus, her agonizing screams would make a kick ass opera? Well, Tufts University music student Abigail Al-Doory apparently did; her show Tonya & Nancy: the Opera opened last night in Cambridge, MA.
The performance recreates events surrounding the 1994 incident in which Tonya Hardings goons attacked top figure skater Kerrigan. They attempted to secure Hardings victory by bumping Kerrigan out of Olympic competition. While the actual story of Tonya vs. Nancy is unsavory, Al-Doory takes a whimsical view of the feud.
Al-Doory takes the well-known rivalry between the skaters and recasts it as one in which they both struggle to overcome personal troubles and public perception. We, as a society, allowed this to happen to two young girls. They're building up their entire lives for this moment. And who are they after that?" Al-Doory said. "It can't help being absurd and funny because of the situation. But it's serious.
Kerrigan plans on skipping the performance.
"I lived it," the skater said. "What do I need to watch it for?"
Thats a bummer, because shes going to be missing quite a bit.
Margaret Hunter (Nancy) and Kristen Sergeant (Tonya) open with dueling news conferences before the action flashes back to the knee-whacking and follows them through the Olympic skateoff to their futures.
The opera is a brutal expose on Harding's home life, showing her as a victim of maternal and spousal abuse. You see her breakdown, perhaps contrived, as she warbles, "The lace is broke!" But you also see her face contort into real fear when her duet with husband Jeff Gillooly twists into a wife-beating tango.
Kerrigan also comes away tarnished. But every "Why me?" has an answer of "Why her?"
Nancy sings, "My mom is legally blind." Tonya: "My mom is legally nuts."
Alyk
Boston, MA
February 2005
MAY 02, 2006 08:16 PM