The Bach Choir of Pittsburgh will present “Monster: Frankenstein Re-Imagined,” an original pop-funk-R&B score compiled by artistic director Thomas W. Douglas and collaborator Jaron Crawford.
The show will take place April 23 and 24 at the Oaks Theater, 310 Allegheny River Blvd., Oakmont. The original 1931 “Frankenstein” film, directed by James Whale and starring Boris Karloff, will be shown silently as the Bach Choir performs the composed music as a soundtrack.
The music will reimagine Mary Shelley’s classic tale with a latticework of contemporary idioms, accompanied by a live band of keyboard, bass guitar and drums, guitar and saxophone.
“I got the idea about four years ago when I saw the musical ‘Hamilton’ for the first time and then later watched the movie,” Douglas said. “I thought, wouldn’t it be so cool do some sort of funk or R&B behind ‘Frankenstein’? And as I watched the monster move around, I thought this could really be a perfect marriage.”
Douglas partnered with Crawford to compose a score that captures the darkness of the film and its pathos while casting it into a modern musical setting.“When you see a list of what some of the songs will be, you will think, how could that possibly fit ‘Frankenstein’?” Douglas said, but he assures audience members that it will be like nothing they have heard or seen before.
The Bach Choir of Pittsburgh was founded in 1934 exclusively to perform the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, but the choir now focuses on all types of choral works, by composers from the Renaissance through the present. The choir’s mission is to present unique performances of interesting choral works in intriguing venues.
For more information, visit www.bachchoirpittsburgh.org.
