“The Shining” Is A Powerful New Work from The Atlanta Opera and Alliance Theatre

Why do we love him so much?!

The magic of Stephen King’s novels is that they grip the reader in irresistible plot lines and characters while exploring deeper aspects of human nature. For awhile, we are entertained on the edge of reality in his stories before riding a rollercoaster into other worlds of King’s own brand of “what if?” The Shining introduces a seemingly typical young family, but we discover quickly that the “hero” Jack Torrence is failing as a writer, a father, and a husband. His vulnerabilities grow to weaknesses and then reality shifts and he careens into madness.

The opera, written by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, sticks closely to the novel (as much as the Stanley Kubrick movie misrepresented it), so the complexities of the family relationships and the strength of Jack’s son Danny, and his psychic “shining” connection to others, makes this thriller even more suspenseful. Mother and wife Wendy Torrance is a smart, motivated warrior who fiercely protects her family in the face of threats. Originally commissioned and premiered by the Minnesota Opera in 2016, The Shining has been revised by the creators to use a colorful but smaller orchestra and remounted by San Francisco’s flagbearer of new works, Opera Parallèle, together with co-producers Portland Opera and Hawai’i Opera Theatre, with Director Brian Staufenbiel leading the new creative team. The West Coast premiere in June 2023 was greeted by thrilled audiences at sold-out performances.

Co-presented in Atlanta by The Atlanta Opera and the Alliance Theatre, anyone who loves The Shining has eleven performances split between two extraordinary casts to choose from at the Coca-Cola Stage at the Woodruff Arts Center from September 15 to October 1. Tickets start at $25 and are available at www.alliancetheatre.org/ production/2023-24/the-shining or by calling The Atlanta Opera ticket office at 404-881-8885.