Review: CAMILLE'S RAINBOW at Milwaukee Opera Theatre

It was another colorful and dazzling trip across the rainbow this year for the immersive Camille’s Rainbow, a musical journey that celebrates color, sound, touch, and play. The production features music by Thomas Cabaniss and Saskia Lane, with lyrics by Zoë Palmer, and was specifically developed for babies and young children and their caregivers. Given the intended audience, every aspect of Camille’s Rainbow is thoughtfully curated from its setting to the textures, sounds, colors, and movements that fill its space.             

Milwaukee Opera Theatre’s (MOT) own production was as intentional in design, fostering a gentle atmosphere with a cozy cream-colored corner outfitted with warm string lights just outside of the performance space for children and their adult sidekicks to explore, relax and acclimate to the experience, while also serving as a quieter respite for those littles who may need a break during the show. The thoughtfulness extended to the feel of the floors, the soft rugs placed throughout the space, and the calmness and friendliness of the MOT staff, volunteers, and performers, who opened the show with a soft inviting song as families settled around a big white rug around the floor to begin their adventure. Artistic Director Jill Anna Ponasik also took part in the warm welcome, gently guiding attendees into the curated space, whether they happened to be on foot, crawling, or carried in the arms of a loved one.  

Visually unique, Camille’s Rainbow opens with a neutral landscape that gets slowly filled in with light (James Padovano) via projections (Dan Scully) of vibrant hues of red, blue, and yellow, as Camille (Julianne Perkins) finds the colors in her world again. As the colors “Roo” (Katelyn Rutter), “Boo” (Danielle Gedemer), and “Yo” (Austin Bare) playfully reveal themselves, the space comes alive with swirls of the primary colors first, and then the secondary shades of green, orange, and violet.

Meant to be an experience for and with children, the songs utilized an accessible pitch range that encouraged interaction and sing-a-along to its newest humans. Weaving between song, music, light, and dance, there is also some American Sign Language as an accessible tool, and a bit of improv, as children are encouraged to roam around and respond to the gentle stimuli, prompting the artists to stay present with their movements, while gracefully (and impressively) avoiding stepping on a little’s fingers. 

Beautifully anchoring the rhythm and flow of the journey, as well as providing its singular  instrumentation, was Erin Brooker-Miller on harp. The live music is at once delightful and enchanting (during the performance I had the honor of witnessing a small child discover the magical sound of the harp for the first time, as he turned slowly, eyes wide and sparkled, mouth agape) and extremely helpful in setting the tone of each color and cueing different moods: building curiosity, exciting adventure, unbridled joy…