No More
From Eat the Document
Kelley Rourke, words
John Glover, music
©2021
A butterfly beats her wings
A storm gathers on a far-off shore
A mild-mannered man in a white lab coat
Manipulates a spore
They say we’ve never been so productive
They say weapons can deter a war
They say prosperity trickles down
But a lone voice cries, no more.
And the voice becomes a chorus
And the song becomes a roar
No more. No more. No more.
When money’s a form of speech
It’s easy to silence the poor
It’s easy to let it all slip past
Till a lone voice cries, no more
And the voice becomes a chorus
And the song becomes a roar
No more. No more. No more.
BOBBY
You are no longer Mary from the suburbs.
You are Freya from the edge.
MARY
Will you call me Mary, at least, when we are home in bed?
BOBBY
Only Freya. And you have to call me Marco. Never Bobby.
If you want to change your life, first you change your name.
MARY
A nom de guerre? Isn’t that sort of ridiculous?
BOBBY
All cultures have naming ceremonies.
It’s how you become an adult.
You choose, you decide who you are.
MARY
But I didn’t choose that name. You did.
Acres of orchards are barren
Bodies are covered with sores
And nobody can remember
A time we weren’t at war
HENRY
The canisters ride four across
I can see through the hatch in the bottom of the plane
the spray of white aerosol trailing behind.
We are buzzing rice paddies and villages.
We are aiming for total saturation.
The canisters ride four across
I can see through the hatch in the bottom of the plane
the spray of white aerosol trailing behind.
We are buzzing rice paddies and villages.
We are aiming for total saturation.
No more….
All tracks recorded at Merkin Concert Hall (Kaufman Music Center) on May 12, 2021 by the following artists:
CAST
Justine Aronson as Mary/Caroline
Amy Justman as Louise
Paul Pinto as Nash
Tim Russell as Bobby/Jason
Jonathan Woody as Henry
BAND
Mila Henry, music director and piano
Abi Fayette, violin I
Rachel Shapiro, violin II
Jessica Meyer, viola
Andrew Yee, cello
Shayna Dunkelman, drums
Liz Faure, guitar
SOUND
Mike Gurfield, producer
Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Music Center:
Ken Feldman, engineer
Creative Team
John Glover, composer
Described as “an unabashedly expressive composer,” (New Yorker) John Glover has received commissions from organizations including Houston Grand Opera, On Site Opera, New York Youth Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and American Conservatory Theater. His work has been presented in venues ranging from Rockwood Music Hall to Carnegie Hall, The Invisible Dog to Rothko Chapel.
Kelley Rourke, librettist
Kelley Rourke is a librettist, translator and dramaturg. Her work has been commissioned and performed by the Metropolitan Opera, English National Opera, Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Carnegie Hall, Met LiveArts, and Houston Grand Opera, among others. Kelley is resident dramaturg for The Glimmerglass Festival and Artistic Advisor for Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative.
Kristin Marting, director
Kristin Marting is a director of hybrid work based in NYC. Over the last 25 years, she has constructed 29 stage works, including 9 original hybrid works, 6 opera-theatre and music-theatre works, 9 reimaginings of novels and short stories and 5 classic plays. Kristin has directed 19 works at HERE and also premiered works at BAM, 3LD, Ohio Theatre, and Soho Rep. Kristin is Founding Artistic Director of HERE and Co-Founding Director of Prototype Festival.
Mila Henry, music director
Mila Henry is a conductor, pianist and music director, as well as Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based company The American Opera Project (AOP). Hailed “a stalwart contributor to the contemporary opera scene” (Opera Ithaca), she provides musical dramaturgy to AOP works in development and serves as Head of Music for their renowned Composers & the Voice training program for composers and librettists. Outside of AOP, Mila maintains an active and versatile career, leading works spanning rock musicals to folk operas to reimagined classics.
Contact
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eat the document © 2025
Photos: “G.I.’s Against the War” (top) and “Don’t Cry: Resist,” (footer) by Bev Grant.
Eat the Document has been developed with support from The American Opera Project, New York State Council on the Arts.