May 24, 2004
The OTHER gold ring of power
You wouldn't think that a documentary about the stage crew of a Wagnerian opera would be all that interesting... or funny. But Sing Faster: The Stagehands' Ring Cycle does more than show how the fog is made. It shows you what happens when the boiler breaks and the fog isn't made. Or what to do when a Rhinemaiden is buried in carbon dioxide-laced fog and then has to sing.
And if you ever wanted to know who dates the lovely singers and ballerinas you see onstage, it's the goofy tech guys who crack jokes with them backstage before curtain. One tech relates, "Keith is presently enganged to a ballerina. A bunch of guys are dating ballerinas. Turbo used to date a ballerina, Billy Friedman is trying to start dating a Rhinemaiden. He sent her flowers last night."
These guys sit in Martin Crane-esque recliners playing poker until the scene change warning bell sounds. They lift weights, play chess, read, crochet (the women, at least), watch basketball and joke about how hot this year's crop of Rhinemaidens are. Then there is 90 seconds, (and only 90 seconds -- the music doesn't stop in this opera), of frenzied and potentially hazardous activity. Then back to the straight flush.