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"Thomas Paine in Violence must be witnessed. The art that Pinto has created with, Joan La Barbara, the Manchorus, the brilliant instrumentalists and creative team is thrilling and rare and must be experienced live for a full sense of its depth of ingenuity."
-Schmopera

"Hyper-high notes: The Week's Best Classical Music Moments: Impressive... expressive... affecting"
-New York Times

"Into a world that is starved for new thinking in opera comes the return of Paul Pinto... supported by the supreme talents of Joan La Barbara, Eddie Rodriguez, Christian Luu, Andrew Mayer, Philip White, Rick Burkhardt... if you've seen Hamilton, you ain't seen nothing."
-Brooklyn Rail

"One of those experiences that I tell other people about when they ask, 'what was one of the most affecting performances you've seen in the last few years?' "
-I Care If You Listen

"cutting-edge... there are so many rich resonances and tangents"
-Steve Smith, The National Sawdust Log, Q&A with Paul Pinto

"BEST BET.... The high-octane production is reminiscent of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, except perhaps Thomas Paine in Violence is more stark and earnest (both in style and content). It's not a grim show; in fact, the spirit of Thom Paine gets a lot of laughter. But the show doesn't get laughter from silliness; indeed, it's a thoughtful piece that entertains before making a lasting, more serious impression."
-Ran Xia, Theatre is Easy

"an enormous amount of fun... with the subtlest of verbal dexterity, the text is morphed into something entirely new and made all the more immediate and profound. What starts out seeming like an amusing vocal exercise slowly becomes a heartbreaking and arresting modern translation of Paine's revolutionary words."
-Nick Anderson, Culturebot

"Saw it... Loved it! A 75-minute theatrical fever dream that kinda feels like Hamilton on acid... Energizing, funny, and a truly tremendous work of art that you'll be thinking about it for a long time afterwards."
-YesBroadway

November Expert Pick
-David Cote, What Should We Do


THOMAS PAINE IN VIOLENCE is a high-energy electroacoustic psychedelic opera-sermon created by Paul Pinto [thingNY, Varispeed, Great Comet] set in a radio station in the afterlife of the Founding Father and international activist. Legendary vocalist Joan La Barbara portrays Paine struggling to broadcast a message of economic justice amidst a whirlwind of lightning-quick singing, autotuned shock-jockery, gadgets, voices, instruments, and sonic chaos.
Presented by and at HERE as part of their 25th Season commissioning and producing hybrid theatre work, in association with thingNY, Thomas Paine in Violence's premiere production ran November 6-18, 2017.
Starring: Joan La Barbara, Christian Luu, Andrew Mayer, Pat Muchmore, Paul Pinto, Eddie Rodriguez Jr., Mélanie Genin, Andrew Livingston, Erin Rogers, Kathryn Sloat, and Jeffrey Young

Directed by Rick Burkhardt
Lighting by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Scenic design by Carolyn Mraz
Sound design by Philip White
Choreography by Chloe Treat
Sound engineer: Gus Callahan
Production stylist: Aliza Simons
Stage manager: Alex B. West


Photo credits: Benjamin Heller

Rick Burkhardt

Rick Burkhardt

Gus Callahan

Gus Callahan

Melanie Genin

Mélanie Genin

Joan La Barbara

Joan La Barbara

Andrew Livingston

Andrew Livingston

Christian Luu

Christian Luu

Andrew Mayer

Andrew Mayer

Carolyn Mraz

Carolyn Mraz

Pat Muchmore

Pat Muchmore

Paul Pinto

Paul Pinto

Eddie Rodriguez Jr

Eddie Rodriguez Jr.

Erin Rogers

Erin Rogers

Aliza Simons

Aliza Simons

Kate Sloat

Kathryn Sloat

Chloe Treat

Chloe Treat

Alex B. West

Alex B. West

Philip White

Philip White

Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew

Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew

Jeffrey Young

Jeffrey Young

Henry 'f*ckin'Fonda

and Henry Fonda


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