“I was looking at the ceiling and I saw the sky.”

These words were uttered by someone who experienced the massive 1994 Northridge earthquake that rocked the entirety of the Los Angeles County region—and they’ve become the inspiration for, and title of John Adams and June Jordan’s famed opera/musical theatre hybrid.

Adams himself describes the opera as a “polyphonic love story in the style of a Shakespeare comedy,” where the cast of twenty-something Angelenos—a reformed gang leader, a minister, a cop—go through the struggles and beauties of life a la The Threepenny Opera. Just add some idiosyncrasies particular to Ceiling/Sky: blues, gospel, funk, and pop. Yes, all rolled into a single opera.

It premiered in 1995 in Berkeley, moving onto productions in New York, Montreal, Paris [pictured], Hamburg and Edinburgh, eventually having a recording of its music and songs released in 1998.

But despite its basis within and surrounding LA, Ceiling/Sky has never been performed in SoCal until now, with the Long Beach Opera (LBO) performing the genre-defying production thanks to the LA County Arts Commission’s Zev Yaroslavsky Signature Series.

Given her passing in 2002, Jordan never saw her libretto work for Ceiling/Sky see the light of a single LA stage.

“It’s surprising that Ceiling/Sky has never been done in LA,” said LBO Artistic Director Andreas Mitisek. “We’re righting a wrong with this performance. I love the idea of exploring something different… The LBO motto has always been ‘expect the unexpected.’ For Adams to have liberated himself, to have been able to dive into all these different genres, is impressive. June Jordan was an amazing poet. This piece speaks to the time and takes us back.”

LBO’s performance of Ceiling/Sky will premiere August 23 at the Ford Theatres, located at 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood. It plays for one night only. Tickets range from $60 to $125. For more information and tickets, click here.

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