In the summer of 1918, the war and the Spanish flu have thrown the world into chaos. One hot July day, a tent rises at the crossroads, and a young boy calls out to the town through a megaphone. “Two days of joy in The Tent of Stars!” Music and laughter ring out into the night. But while you are dazzled by the illusions and transfixed by the singing and dancing, another kind of magic is transforming the cast itself.
For we are more than it appears, and though we stand before you, we were never here. We are but shadows. The Tent of Stars has been our home for longer than most human recollection. It was named for the unpainted spots in the canvas ceiling, where sunlight can illuminate them. But nothing provides an explanation as to why they shine at night as well.
We of the Astrolabe Theater Company believe in the magic of chaos. We break rules, we break down perceptions, and we plant seeds in our wake.
Now, we have pitched our tent at your crossroads, but the only devils are your own. Society is changing, and the world as we have known it is dying. Each one of us must decide which path forward is the one we need.
The astrolabe has always been a tool of navigation, the shadow that points to the light, but unless you understand the purpose of the shadow, you may never find your way out of darkness.
We have traveled for centuries. We have one goal. It’s modest. It’s simple.
Change the world. That’s the point of theater, after all.
Come in...
You were sent here for a reason...
The production centers on the backstage world of a mystical traveling vaudeville show. There’s Mark Twain sand dancing with Tom and Huck to the music of a banjo orchestra in “If Ever The Twain You Should Meet.”. A black female magician dealing with racial prejudice in 1918 wins over hate with the show-stopping “Clever Me,” singing and dancing while performing stage illusions. A brass band appears in the audience and marches onstage to a comedic song, “Sousa is so USA.” There’s a sing-along, a popcorn pitch, classic vaudeville comedy, and a Ziegfeld’s follies star, hiding away after the failure of her marriage, singing a tearful onstage duet with the son who is trying to save her. And there, woven through it all, is a lost and traumatized young transgender boy who is only hoping to find acceptance and a family who will love him for who he really is. It is both intimate and spectacle, heartbreak and farce.
There is also a shadow in the tent.
Some say it is the shadow of our regrets.
In reality, it is the shape of hope left by a boy who knew the magic of belief and the truth behind chaos.
Trust Chaos.
It's a musical, after all...
“One day, for all to know, our legacy will simply be the shape of the life we leave behind, for eternity…
