Organization

Conductor

Josh Foy

Stage director

Josh Shaw

Sierra Hammond

Costume designer

Lisa Tatum

Lighting designer

Bo Tindell

Singer

Jayme Alilaw

The Mother

Orson Van Gay II

The Athlete

Michael Washington

The Thug

Geoffrey Peterson

The Scholar

Audrey Yoder

The Lover

Pacific Opera Project

I Can't Breathe

Los Angeles

United States

El Portal Theater

I CAN'T BREATHE
MUSIC BY LESLIE BURRS
LIBRETTO BY BRANDON J. GIBSON

CONTENT WARNING: This opera features scenes with sensitive
subject matter including racism, abuse, gun violence, police
brutality, and murder. Many scenes will include loud sounds that
are meant to simulate gunfire. These elements may be upsetting
for some audience members.

SYNOPSIS
I Can’t Breathe tells the story of five individuals whose lives are forever changed by fatal encounters with the police. The opera is inspired by real events and is told in a series of monodramas.

The Athlete, a high school basketball player, is walking down the street while on the phone with his mother, giving her a play by play of the winning basketball game he played that night. He stops by the convenience store he visits regularly to buy some candy and peach iced teas. After leaving
the store, he is stopped and questioned by a police officer. The officer assumes that he has stolen the items he carries and asks to see a receipt.  In trying to reach into his pocket to show the officer his receipt, the officer assumes he is reaching for a gun, and shoots and kills the Athlete.

The Scholar is moving his last box of belongings into his brand new apartment. It was a challenge, and his new neighbor doesn’t seem to be happy about his presence, but he knows how hard he worked for this. He reflects back on his life, being raised by two Black parents who instilled
good grades, hard work, and respect for elders in his upbringing, even at the expense of looking cool and tough to his peers. After dedicating his life to his education, he is finally starting a new job as a chemical engineer. With that came the funds to get his very own apartment. Just as he starts to relax and unpack, police officers forcefully enter his new apartment and shoot and kill him, after receiving a call from one of the building residents who assumed The Scholar was a robber when she saw him carrying boxes in the elevator.

The Mother is a widowed, single mother to two children, including her son named David. She met and married their father young, and soon after he was killed by police during a routine traffic stop. The Mother has big dreams for her son to be successful and respected, however, at the end of her story, she receives a phone call that David has also been killed by police at a routine traffic stop.

The Thug is a gay man in his early 30’s. As a child, his mother was an addict who struggled with depression after his parent’s divorce. His traumatic household saw severe drug and alcohol abuse, theft, and violence, and after spending some time in juvenile prison, they lost touch. Today The Thug is happy, living with his partner of many years. To make a living, he sells items, snacks, and jewelry outside a flower shop. When two police officers approach him and ask if he has a business license and permit, the interaction escalates, and the officers knock down The Thug’s shop items and throw him to the ground. One officer puts his knee on the back of The Thug’s neck, trying to arrest him. He suffocates and dies.

The Lover reflects on an incident where her boyfriend was killed by a police officer in front of her and her child. She laments about how she, a white woman, must explain to her daughter why this senseless act of racism occurred. She knows that this incident would have never happened to her, being a white woman. She looks at the engagement ring that was retrieved from her boyfriend’s body, knowing now that he was planning to propose to her on this trip. She knows the anxiety and trauma she and her daughter will forever carry and wonders, “is it worse to be the killer, the killed, or me?”

The five characters come together in a final scene and ask the question...

JAYME ALILAW |The Mother
ORSON VAN GAY |The Athlete
MICHAEL WASHINGTON | The Thug
GEOFFREY PETERSON | The Scholar
AUDREY YODER | The Lover

VIOLIN | Mishkar Nunez, Xenia Deviatkina-Loh
VIOLA | Sharon Ray
CELLO | Benton Preciado
FLUTE | Eve Banuelos
CLARINET | Virginia Figueiredo, Ken Fisher
OBOE | Phil Popham
BASSOON | Summer Arano

JOSH SHAW | Co-Director
SIERRA HAMMOND | Co-Director
JOSH FOY | Music Director
LISA TATUM | Costume Designer
CAMILLE JASENSKY | Production Manager
MAGDA TRAVIS| Stage Manager
BO TINDELL | Lighting Designer
ISABELLA WYLDER-GARCIA | Supertitles Operator

Livestream by the POPeracast Team
Jennifer Miller Hammel | Host
David Hobbs | Audio Engineer and Director
Robert Webb | Producer
Matthew Ian Welch, Phil Pritchard, and Tammy Mora | Camera Operators

I Can't Breathe Burrs

Public

Approved

The original opera "I Can't Breathe" will have its world premier at the Beck Cultural Center on Thursday at 7:30 pm.More stories, here: https://www.wbir.com/...

In May of 2022, POP will present “I Can’t Breathe” at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood. Written by Brandon J. Gibson and Leslie Burrs, “I Can't Breathe” was inspired in the wake of repeated instances of fatal police brutality perpetrated against African Americans. The show tells the stories of six individuals from different walks of life, each forever changed by innocent interactions with law enforcement gone wrong. 
​
This opera was conceived and commissioned by Kathryn Frady & Marble City Opera. Pacific Opera Project is a co-commissioner along with Opera Columbus, and Cleveland Opera Theater.

English

I Can't Breathe by Burrs, From (2022/2022), Directed by Josh Shaw, Sierra Hammond,, Conductor Josh Foy, El Portal Theater, Los Angeles, United States

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Program, About & Synopsis

Videos

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Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues