(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Blue Venice, a new live theater work by performance artist Heather Fisch and composer Jonathan Talbot, will premiere at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Friday, August 31, 2012, at 8 p.m. The production, variously likened to rock opera and neo-vaudeville features an eight-piece orchestra and choral ensemble and costumes by George Veale, head of the costume department at Simon’s Rock college.

Based on the psychological construct of the Seven Stages of Grief, the show takes the audience through all the stages, says Fisch.  The story follows a young man who embarks on a vision quest, and finds himself thrust into the delirious and shadowy world of Blue Venice – a fantastical realm ruled by the tyrannical Rat King and the icy blue Snow Queen. On a whimsical and nightmarish adventure, the young man encounters Cupid, Venus de Milo and other outlandish characters, including seven alluring maidens of fertility.

“Blue Venice is sexy,” says Fisch. “But, we’re not talking about run-of-the mill T&A here; this show pushes the envelope of expression.

“I like the realness in vaudeville,” says Fisch, “with its frayed edges. It pre-dates the plastic-y, airbrushed un-reality of today’s typical entertainment.”