Movies / Comics To Film News

Too Much Coffee Man Goes Operatic, Again

By The Editor
March 25, 2008 - 06:04

Too Much Coffee Man Opera: The Refill!

Tickets On Sale Now!

Too Much Coffee Man Opera: The Refill, the sequel to last years sold-out Too Much Coffee Man Opera, opens April 4th, 2008 at Brunish Hall in the Portland Center of Performing Arts and runs until April 20th. Admission is $20-$25 and tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com.

"Last year's performances sold out so fast, we really wanted to get the word out early so fans will have a chance to see this limited engagement," said Shannon Wheeler, the creator behind Too Much Coffee Man.

Not only will fans get a chance to see the sequel, but those who missed out on the original will have an opportunity to experience both shows as Wheeler and his crew have brought the first show back for an encore that run before all showing of the the sequel. The first and second shows will play back to back with a short intermission between.

For many comic fans the original Too Much Coffee Man Opera was their first exposure to opera. While many opera fans saw Too Much Coffee Man for the first time. All attendees were impressed by the humor... and the music.

"This isn't coffee-related-lyrics slipped into Wagnerian tunes. It's original music with a personal story line about identity, love, and rejection," said Stacey Murdock, who plays Too Much Coffee Man.

The Too Much Coffee Man Opera is the story of an idealistic hero, named Too Much Coffee Man, as he competes with rival Espresso Guy for the attention of a Barista. Unfornately, she has her own agenda, to be a super hero.

The second opera, entitled Too Much Coffee Man Opera: The Refill l, picks up two years later. The Barista has fulfilled her superhero dreamS and she's married a Martian. Unfortunately she's bored. She hopes caffeine will cure her ennui and calls Too Much Coffee Man for help. Antics ensue as Espresso Guy tries to win her back by pretending to be Too Much Coffee Man.

Shannon Wheeler created the comic book Too Much Coffee Man over a decade ago to parody the emerging coffee scene and to satirize the patrons (who would sit in coffee shops writing comics). Even though the comic book is humor based Wheeler and his co-creators took their opera project seriously.

Too Much Coffee Man Opera: The Refill re-unites the all star line up of creators who birthed the original This includes, Emmy award-winning Composer Daniel Crafts, award winning Canadian poet Damian Willcox, baritone Stacey Murdock performs as Too Much Coffee Man, tenor Matt Dolphin plays Espresso Guy and mezzo-soprano Jasmine Presson performs as the Barista with Meg Chamberlain producing.

Randy Rollison, a veteran of many stage productions throughout the U.S, including the world premiere of The Vagina Monologues, has taken the helm as director. He's determined to take this show up to the next level or, at least, do something really weird.

CAST AND CREW
Too Much Coffee Man.........Stacey Murdock
The Barista.............................Jasmine Presson
Espresso Guy.........................Matt Dolphin
The Martian...........................Daniel McLaughlin
Randy Rollison......................Director
Meg Chamberlain................Producer

ABOUT THE CREATORS
Shannon Wheeler
Wheeler draws a cartoon for the satirical newspaper the Onion. He also self-syndicates a weekly cartoon strip called How to Be Happy to alternative newspapers. Dark Horse Comics has published 5 collections of Too Much Coffee Man comics. Wheeler resides in Portland, Oregon with his two sons and a cat.

Daniel Steven Crafts
Crafts has written seven operas and 13 large orchestral works. His piece "The Song and the Slogan," written with opera star Jerry Hadley, won an Emmy in 2003. He has also won awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and ASCAP. Crafts lives in New Mexico.

Stacey Murdock
Murdock is a fixture in the Portland music scene and has performed throughout the northwest. He made his debut with Portland Opera in the role of Junius in the Rape of Lucretia, and was a member of the Portland Opera Works outreach program for the past three seasons. Stacey performed the role of the Count in Le Nozze Di Figaro and the Sqacristan in Taosca at the Da Capo Opera Theater in New York City in the Summer of 2005. He has also been a frequent performer in the Astoria Music Festival and Portland Summerfest. Murdock resides in Beaverton with his wife and three children.

Matt Dolphin
Dolphin is a singer, musician and co-founder of the Oregon Music Academy where he teaches guitar, piano, music theory and voice. Matt has received recognition and awards for his vocal work, including the Bishop Luers best male vocalist award and was nominated to the Showstoppers National soloist competition in Chicago. Dolphin has performed solos with the Oregon Lyric Opera, Chehalem Symphony, Portland Symphonic Choir, Lafayette Symphony, Redlands Symphony (CA), Indianapolis Arts Chorale, and has premiered new works by living composers.

Jasmine Presson
Presson is a mezzo-soprano, an actress and has directed off-off Broadway threatre. Presson recently performed as an apprentice artist with the Astoria Music Festival. Previous credits include performances of Rorem's one-act operas at Brooklyn College and the world premiere of Rain, by Korean composer Hae Kyoung Park, at the Kaye Playhouse. Before her artistic conversion to operatic performance, Jasmine spent half a decade acting and directing in New York City venues including WOW Café Theatre, Dixon Place and The Looking Glass Theatre. Presson holds a BA degree in Theatre Arts from Kalamazoo College.

Randy Rollison
Rollison is an actor, director and has served as artistic director of nonprofit arts organizations. During his two-decade career he has helped over 1,000 works of theatre and dance reach the stage, most notably the world premiere of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. His work as a producer resulted in numerous OBIE Awards for excellence in performance, design and production. Rollison served as Executive Artistic Director for the Cleveland Public Theatre, and he co-founded and served as producing artistic director of HOME for Contemporary Theatre and Art and the HERE Arts Center, both in New York City.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12