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Cyber-Musical no web of lies Note: The information on this website is presented for
educational purposes and This document was provided by Resist and Refuse is the first free musical in cyberspace, on the World Wide Web at www.theaterweek.com. Described as "A ‘documusical’ about an epidemic of lies", by composer Tom Steele and New York Native editor-in-chief Charles Ortleb, it draws attention to the work of two journalists, Hillary Johnson, and Neenyah Ostrom the Native’s investigative reporter who has written hundreds of articles on AIDS and the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Says lyricist Ortleb, "These are songs about fraud and silence and include mothers singing about their dying sons, people singing about the government lies, and lovers singing about lost lovers." The production follows the story of Nathan Gate, publisher of a small newspaper, who discovers that much of what the public is being told about AIDS is untrue. Using music and biting lyrics, the story unveils details of "AIDS-gate" – the concealment of potentially life-saving information about AIDS and CFS by government, the scientific community and the media. In the future, Web listeners – the RealAudio software for listening to the musical any time in real time can be downloaded free of charge – will be able to participate in the growth of the production and will be able to choose which characters to follow. Additional Web links, e.g. to the forth-coming Continuum Web site, will enable users to explore science and news on both AIDS and CFS, with chat rooms for discussion. Says Ortleb, "The music industry may be unnerved in that there are some free songs, but this is an issue that the entertainment industry needs to get involved in." |