PSU Opera outstanding in unusual story of legendary stagecoach driver

 Photo credit rpoppinophotography.com 

Stagecoach drivers who worked in the Wild West were highly respected for their skill in handling horses, terrible roads, dust, and bandits. They were also known for their toughness, fending off robbers, and consumption of alcohol after a day’s labor. One of the most famous stagecoach drivers of California’s Gold Rush era was Charley Parkhurst. But after Parkhurst’s death in 1879, it was discovered that legendary driver was actually a woman. The discovery made quite the sensation in the press, and in more recent years, Parkhurst has been the subject of television, books, and even a chamber opera entitled “Good Country.”

Written in 2019 by composer Ken Allegretti with text by Cecelia Raker, “Good Country” received an outstanding performance by PSU Opera (December 4) to a sold-out audience at the Studio Theater in Lincoln Hall. Directed by Rebecca Herman, “Good Country” takes place in a bar where the pregnant Barmaid (Saori DeBruyn) and Husband (John Gladen) struggle to make ends meet. Jealous of his wife’s ability to run the business, the Husband accuses her of flirting with customers and stuffs his pockets with money out of the till. Soon afterwards, two stagecoach passengers, the Lady (Sarah DeYoung) and the Doctor (Andrew Walton), burst into the bar and tell of the exploits of Parkhurst (Oliver Schulenberg), re-enacting a holdup in which Parkhurst shoots the infamous bandit, Sugarfoot. After Parkhurst enters, much celebrating and drinking ensues, with the exception of the ill-tempered Husband. Parkhurst attempts to sleep off the booze but is hassled by the Husband and through a scuffle is exposed to be wearing a corset. The Husband threatens Parkhurst for being “unnatural.” Mayhem breaks out, and the Barmaid shoots the Husband, killing him, but she also loses her baby. Parkhurst remedies the situation by switching guns with the Barmaid and promises to cover for her when the authorities arrive.

 Photo credit rpoppinophotography.com

Schulenburg embraced the role of Parkhurst with conviction. DeBruyn's spellbinding soprano superbly evoked the conflicted and frustrated Barmaid, who just wanted to open a pie shop. Gladen growled and stalked about convincingly as the detestable Husband. DeYoung created a lithe and impressionable Lady, and Walton deftly conveyed the snake-oil Doctor.

It was fun to hear expressions like ripsnortin’, balderdash, and cattywampus. Parkhurst, who used the spittoon, even referred to a stiff drink as coffin varnish. That would have made Mark Twain proud.

The charade-like scene that evoked how Parkhurst took care of Sugarfoot was terrific, but (with kudos to directions from J. C. Meyer-Crosby) the fight-scene involving Parkhurst, the Barmaid, and the Husband was even better and not easy to pull off in a small space that evoked a typical Western bar (designed and lit by Kayla Scrivner) with just a few chairs and tables and wanted posters on the wall.

Another cool thing about “Good Country” was that the character of Parkhurst was not just filled with tabaco-spittin’ bravado. Parkhurst could not forget the face of Sugarfoot, and there was the backstory of why Parkhurst went out West in the first place. Those sorts of problems would drive most people to a libation or two or three or more.

From his seat at the far left-side of the of the front row, music director Chuck Dillard expertly conducted the show, including a chamber ensemble that consisted of pianist Rosana Hurtado Klaus, violinists Shion Yamakawa and Jing Kappes, violist Keely McMurray, cellist Jonah Thomas, and clarinetist Cristal Lopez. All of the singers and the instrumentalists wore traditional garb designed by Maia Denzler.

The music had a lot of dissonance, and the strings executed many passages that featured glissandos in the upper register. The singers not only found the right notes (even though often it seemed that there were no leading tones from the instrumentalists), but they also outstandingly delivered a tricky quintet and also a challenging quartet that proclaimed hopefully that the United States is a good country and that “In one hundred years, things will be better.”

Postscript: It should be noted that Saori DeBruyn, née Erickson, starred in PSU Opera's production of "Suor Angelica" in 2017. After graduating from PSU, she went to the New England Conservatory of Music for her Masters. Her voice and her acting are as spectacular as ever. Wow!

Photo credit rpoppinophotography.com