
The New Seven Deadly Sins
Each sin comes alive through the music by some of the most gifted living composers of opera and musical theater, each bringing their own unique style. Skylark's twist: pairing these powerhouse songs with bold, evocative choreography from director Nikki Swoboda and musical direction by Skylark's own James Barnett.
Soprano Bergen Baker brings vocal fire to each piece, while dancers Patrick Jeffrey and Sarah Potvin channel the passion and complexity of each "sin" through movement. This is not your usual song and dance--it's a visceral, genre-blending experience where opera and musical theater meet modern ance, and the results are thrilling.
Background
Envy, Pieter Breugel the Elder
From the poetry of Dante’s Divine Comedy to the bawdy engravings of Pieter Bruegel the Elder to Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins to the 1995 movie Se7en, the seven deadly sins have inspired creative artists for centuries. Their eternal fascination lies in the unchanging nature of humanity; we have all experienced the seductive pull of these less-than-noble impulses---even if we (usually!) don’t act on them.
The concept of deadly sins originated in classical Greece, infusing the popular culture through the centuries and evolving into the list we know today: wrath/anger, gluttony, pride/vanity, lust, sloth, envy, and greed. What makes these sins “deadly” is their capacity to lead people into further and worse misconduct, making them a kind of force multiplier of bad behavior.
Though humans’ susceptibility to the seven deadly sins endures, the ways in which they’re acted out change with the times. To put a modern spin on the concept, the Carnegie Hall Corporation in 2004 commissioned seven of the brightest lights in musical theater and opera to each compose a song based on one of the sins:
Wrath/Anger: “The Christian Thing to Do”, Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party, Hello Again)
Gluttony: “I Eat”, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Once on This Island, Seussical)
Pride/Vanity: “Blah, Blah, Me”, Jake Heggie (Three Decembers, Dead Man Walking, Moby Dick)
Lust: “Burning the Sauce”, Steve Marzullo (Songs from an Unmade Bed) and Mark Campbell (lyricist for As One, Silent Night, Edward Tulane, The Shining)
Sloth: “My Book”, Jeff Blumenkrantz (Urban Cowboy, Scaffolding)
Envy: “Can You Look Me in the Eyes?”, Ricky Ian Gordon (The Grapes of Wrath, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis)
Greed: “The Greedy Tadpole”, John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey (Radio Deluxe jazz radio program, Stephen Sondheim tributes, jazz, theater, and storytelling duo)
The legendary Audra MacDonald premiered this song cycle, which has never before been performed in Minnesota. In a unique twist, Skylark’s production will pair these powerful songs with interpretive dance, bringing each sin to life in a visceral way.
The New Seven Deadly Sins, August 7-10, 2025, Crane Theater, 2303 Kennedy St. NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413
Music Direction by James Barnett
Stage Direction/Choreography by Nikki Swoboda
Featuring Bergen Baker (soprano) and Sarah Potvin and Patrick Jeffrey (dancers)
Tickets at skylark.booktix.com