Full of allegory and action-adventure twists and turns of story, “Ramayana,” the ancient Hindu epic poem, is a cultural and religious touchstone in India and much of South Asia. But despite its ubiquity in certain parts of the world, the title is likely to draw blank stares in the United States.
“It’s a mixture of `The Odyssey’ and the Bible, and also `Lord of the Rings’ meets `Star Wars’ meets `Romeo and Juliet,'” says David Kersnar, a founder of Lookingglass Theatre and the co-creator and director of “Sita Ram,” the new musical stage adaptation based the original Hindu story.
The show is a four-way collaboration between Lookingglass, the Chicago Children’s Choir, Chicago-based Natya Dance Theatre and the Grammy-nominated composer and musician Jai Uttal, who wrote the score and many of the lyrics. The pop-world musical opens Saturday for a sold-out three-week run.
“The days of children standing on risers singing are over,” says the choir’s artistic director, Josephine Lee. “This is something that our children could relate to. This isn’t like, `Oh, aren’t those kids cute?’ They are extremely sophisticated, as opposed to what you see on `American Idol.’ Here they really have a chance to emote in a way they could not in just a straight choral piece.”
In fact, this is the second time Lookingglass and the Children’s Choir have joined forces. They previously partnered on a 2000 production of “Brundibar,” the children’s opera that young Jewish concentration camp victims were forced to perform before being sent to the gas chamber. Soon after, the Choir commissioned Kersnar to create a new opera, and he has been working on the project–funded by a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts–since 2002.
Kersnar, who is not Indian, says he “looked all over the globe for a story to base the opera on, and I dropped in on a part of `Ramayana’ during my Internet research and it was so vast and dramatic and moving, it pushed all the other stories I was considering to the side.”
Complex and long–24,000 verses in all–the story was first written in Sanskrit around 300 B.C., and it has been a challenge to boil its intricacies down into a two-hour musical with 45 performers on stage. Kersnar was forced to eliminate many plot elements in an effort to streamline the narrative, yet retain the story’s essence.
In “Sita Ram,” Prince Rama–the human incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, the preserver of the universe–joins forces with the monkey warrior, Hanuman. The story is ultimately about human values and “how we should be behaving towards one another,” Kersnar says.
Interpreting another culture’s myths, stories and religious beliefs is always tricky business. Natya Dance’s Krithika Rajagopalan, who was born in India and raised in the U.S., says initially she was wary: “OK, I’m the authentic Indian person here; I’m going to have to keep a keen eye on this.”
After working with Kersnar and Lee, her sentiments changed.
“I’m not saying there weren’t times that I said, `No way, you can’t do that. Red flag! Red flag!’ But I don’t feel uncomfortable about David [adapting the story] at all,” she says. “There aren’t a lot of Westerners I would say that about. I love the fact that he did a lot of research. Being Hindu, I trust him with a Hindu text. This isn’t like when Madonna put henna on her hands and co-opted and commercialized Indian culture.
“And you know,” she adds, “a lot of Indian people don’t even have an understanding of `Ramayana.'”
Six days after 2004’s tsunami, Kersnar traveled to India with Rajagopalan for more research. They stayed with her grandparents. “My grandfather introduced us to two or three [Hindu] priests, and it was a chance for David to basically ask for permission [as a Westerner] to do this,” Rajagopalan says. “I wanted him to understand how sacred this is.” Rajagopalan’s grandmother also helped to obtain a number of the production’s costumes.
Rajagopalan’s choreography, a traditional form of Indian dance with codified movements and hand gestures, has been incorporated into almost every scene. Six dancers portray not only the emotions of a scene, but become physical incarnations of the environment–representing a garden, a forest or a palace. Rajagopalan has been working on choreography for the choir as well, showing the 13- to 18-year-olds “how to get jiggy with it.”
That seems to be a major theme in the piece. A lively energy comes through in the music and lyrics. An advance copy of the cast album–CDs will be on sale during the run of the show–revealed a score of interlocking rhythms and harmonies that is a unique and indelible mix of genres. Uttal is known for a world music style that blends both Eastern and Western attributes, and has created a melodic through-line that is somewhere on the musical spectrum between “The Lion King” and “Rent,” with some additional Afro-Caribbean and hip-hop influences.
“Our worlds are meshing,” Rajagopalan says. Lee puts it another way for the choir: “It’s got it all, and that’s what we represent. We get bored with one style.”
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The story of `Ramayana’
Long passed down as an oral tradition, “Ramayana” was first written in Sanskrit sometime around 300 B.C. It was translated into Hindi about 400 years ago and continues to play a significant role in Indian culture. The title translates as “The Journey of Rama” and the story follows the path of Prince Rama–the human incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu–who comes down to Earth to help the gods eradicate evil from the world. The play “Sita Ram” picks up the narrative at the part where Rama is banished to the forest with his love Sita and his brother Lakshmana.
Sita is kidnapped by the 10-headed demon, Ravana, and Rama enlists the help of the monkey warrior Hanuman to win her back. (Ravana, it turns out, wasn’t always so bad. “He used to be a good guy,” says director David Kersnar. “But he was given the gift of invincibility from the gods, and the power corrupted him.”)
Kersnar says he stumbled upon an entire Ramayana cottage industry of artists and theologians. Because the story reinforces the value of strong family relationships and fosters a sense of duty, loyalty, tolerance and virtue, parents use the story as a teaching tool. “Ramayana” is offered in storybook and comic-book forms, and there are coloring books and video games as well.
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WHEN: Through April 2
WHERE: Lookingglass Theatre in the Water Tower Water Works, 821 N. Michigan Ave.
TICKETS: $20-$58 SOLD OUT; contact www.lookingglasstheatre.org
IF YOU GO
Lookingglass is on the northern end of the Magnificent Mile and is well served by public transportation.
BY TRAIN: Take the CTA Red Line to Chicago Avenue and walk a few blocks east.
BY BUS: From the north and south, take any of the Michigan Avenue lines, including Route No. 151 Sheridan, Route No. 3 King Drive Express, and 147 Outer Drive Express. From the east and west, take Route No. 66 Chicago.
BY CAR: The theater is on the corner of Michigan and Chicago Avenues and validates at the self-park garage across the street for $10 during showtimes.
OTHER SHOWS
The regular run of “Sita Ram” is sold out. But tickets are still available at press time for a Natya Dance Theatre Special Benefit Performance 2 p.m. March 19; tickets are $75-$125. The dance company also plans a demonstration show April 5 at Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State St.; contact 312-212-1240 for both events.
To see the Chicago Children’s Choir, the next performance will be an evening of Mozart at the FLATFILE art gallery; 6 p.m. April 21 at 217 N. Carpenter St.; $75, contact 312-849-8300 ext. 234. Or catch the Spring Gala Concert at 7:30 p.m. May 13 at the Art Institute, 111 S. Michigan Avenue; contact 312-849-8300 ext. 360.
THE PLAYERS
Lookingglass Theatre Company: A focus primarily on new and original works; founded by Northwestern University alumni (www.lookingglasstheatre.org).
The Chicago Children’s Choir: The multicultural choral organization for 8- to 18-year-olds celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Artistic director Josephine Lee estimates about half of its members pursue music professionally (www.ccchoir.org).
Natya Dance Theatre: Founded by artistic director and Indian native Hema Rajagopalan (mother of Krithika), Natya specializes in Bharata Natyam, a classical style from Southern Indian based on precise hand gestures, vivid facial expressions and traditional costumes (www.natya.com).
Jai Uttal: The musician creates soundscapes that draw from Eastern and Western cultures, with a 2002 Grammy-nominated album “Mondo Rama” (www.jaiuttal.com).
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