ON CALL: COVID-19 Opera to Stream Free on Thanksgiving For Healthcare Workers

To show gratitude to health care workers and their families this Thanksgiving, Working In Concert will stream the Bellissima Cast production of On Call for free.

On Call is a virtual production staged with the look of a Zoom meeting. It captures the inherent stress and fears facing health care workers and the public in the time of a viral crisis, yet rallies with a positive sense of looking forward.

On Call tells the story of six global frontline health care workers from Chicago, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, Lombardy, New York City, and a Syrian refugee camp near Beirut who, through a series of Zoom calls, learn that kindness and compassion can be as important to survival as vaccines and ventilators.

On Call was created by librettist Christine Steyer, of Oak Park, IL, composer David Shenton of Queens, NY, and director Carl Ratner of Kalamazoo, MI. Characters and stories in the production were drawn from 200 articles about situations facing global health care workers fighting COVID-19 around the world.

Starring: Gwendolyn Brown, Emanuel Christian Caraman, Jeong Eun Joo, Russell Hoke, Carl Ratner, Christine Steyer & David Shenton, piano.

Called "compelling" and "theater of the moment" by the National Opera Association, has also been recognized by ABC News and other media.

Important Links: -ABC News -Full Opera Cast & Playbill

"On Call" is being distributed free to help support health care workers. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Chicago Local 73 is promoting the opera to its 40,000 members and affiliated unions. Other unions and professional organizations are welcome to contact Christine Steyer to do the same.

View the opera at: workinginconcert.org/covidopera. On Call is 1 hour in length, performed in English with English subtitles. It is appropriate for ages 8+.

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