In his memoir, Brian Castner comes right out and tells you he’s crazy. Castner was the leader of a bomb disposal team in Iraq, a gory, dangerous job. But he never considered what life would be like when he got home. So to try to figure out who that crazy person was, he started writing. His 2012 book is the basis for an opera that’s being performed in Salt Lake City. Thursday, Castner and others join us to talk about the costs of war, and how you make art out of an experience like that.
Guests:
- Brian Castner is a non-fiction writer, former Explosives Ordnance Disposal officer, and a veteran of the Iraq war. His book is called The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows [Independent booksellers|Amazon|Audible]
- Stephanie Fleischmann is a playwright and librettist. She wrote the libretto for the opera The Long Walk.
- Jeremy Howard Beck is a composer. He wrote the music for The Long Walk.
Thursday night at 6:30, Brian Castner will present a reading at Weller Book Works at Trolley Square in Salt Lake City. [More info]
On Friday, March 31st and Saturday, April 1st, Utah Opera presents the western premiere of The Long Walk. That's at 7:30 p.m. both nights at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. It's under the direction of David Schweizer, conducted by Steven Osgood, featuring Daniel Belcher as Brian and Megan Marino as Jessie. The play was originally commissioned by American Lyric Theatre
- Get tickets here
- Learn more about the opera The Long Walk through Utah Opera's online learning
- Listen to "Jessie's Aria," performed here by Heather Johnson for American Lyric Theater
