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Chapter 2 CrashRed Route - An intersection in Boyle Heights
Lucha and Jamson exchange information in the aftermath of their accident.
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Chapter 4 Lucha's Quinceañera SongRed Route - Mariachi Plaza, Boyle Heights
Lucha remembers the day she left her childhood behind.
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Chapter 6 Jameson PortraitYellow Route - The 2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown Los Angeles
Jameson contemplates the multifaceted nature of his personality.
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Chapter 7 The ReunionYellow Route - A Rehearsal Studio in the Arts District
Lucha and Jameson connect at Lucha's performance of Orpheus and Eurydice.
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Chapter 8 First KissRed Route - Hollenbeck Park, East Los Angeles
Romance blooms on Lucha and Jameson's first date.
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Chapter 9 Angel's PointGreen Route - Angel's Point, Elysian Park
Lucha and Jameson share a passionate physical experience.
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Chapter 11 The Floating NebulaGreen Route - The Corn Fields, Los Angeles State Historic Park, Chinatown
The metaphysical peak in Lucha and Jameson's love.
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Chapter 12 WeddingYellow Route - City Hall, Downtown Los Angeles
On their wedding day, Lucha gives Jameson a fateful gift.
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Chapter 14 The Phone Call, Part 1Red Route - Traversing between the Arts District and Boyle Heights
Lucha receives a mysterious phone call from a voice she seems to recognize.
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Chapter 17 Orlando's FairwellRed Route - Evergreen Cemetery
Before leaving Los Angeles, Orlando pays his last respects to his wife.
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Chapter 18 Interlude (Car Wash)Green Route - AirStream Trailer, Elysian Park
Reflect on the impact of a location's geography on a person's psyche.
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Chapter 24 The Red NotebookRed Route - Utter darkness
In a state of darkness, Lucha is haunted by Jameson's red notebook.
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Chapter 25 The Other WomanYellow Route - The Bradbury Building, Downtown Los Angeles
Still submerged in darkness, Lucha dreams of Jameson's infidelity.
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Chapter 26 HadesGreen Route - Bowtie Parcel, Los Angeles River
Lucha descends to the underworld in search of Jameson.
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Chapter 28 Lucha and Orlando in LoveYellow Route - Historic Core, Downtown Los Angeles
After years apart, Lucha and Orlando reunite in Los Angeles.
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Chapter 33 Farewell From the Roof TopsRed Route - Rooftops, Toy Factory Lofts, Biscuit Lofts, Ito Building Tower, Arts District
Lucha makes peace with Jameson's disappearance.
The Phone Call, Part 1
Music by Marc Lowenstein
Text by Mandy Kahn
Special Thanks to Lewis Pesacov
Director’s Notes:
“This was one of the central chapters of Hopscotch, and in its unusual form, became a stand-in for the entire project. We get in the car with Lucha, played by Maria Elena Altany. She picks up a blue rotary phone and hears a very mysterious voice; she can’t quite tell what the voice is even trying to say. Then she hears the line,
“A thousand streets lead into one great road, and no gate blocks your way.”
“She doesn’t know what this could mean or how the person on the other end could know so much about her. On this side of the phone call, the scene is very emotional and turbulent, since it brings back all the suffering from the loss of her family – coinciding with a drive through the neighborhood of her childhood.
Long Drives
There is enough road in Los Angeles to pave an eight lane highway all the way to New York City
Soprano Maria Elena Altany speaks about how singing in Hopscotch and for The Industry is different than performing in other operas.
Photograph by Angie Smith for The New Yorker
“Mandy, Marc and I went back and forth several times on what the mysterious riddle would be that would accompany Lucha for the rest of her life. The line about the thousand streets ended up leaping off the page to me when I was reading K.T. Berger’s book Zen Driving; Berger used a quote from the Zen Buddhist monk Mumon which read: ‘The great path has no gates, thousands of roads enter it. When one passes through this gateless gate he walks freely between heaven and earth.’ I instantly knew that would be the basis for the mysterious riddle at the core of this scene and this entire work.
“I was originally hoping that Maria Elena and Suzanna Guzmán in Chapter 35 would sing this piece live to each other in two different cars on two different routes (this chapter was on the Red Route; Suzanna’s chapter was on the Green Route). We even did a technical test to see how that would work with the time delay.
“Although the streaming was amazing, the coordination was (unsurprisingly) a bit of a disaster, especially for a scene that was as tightly written as Marc had in mind. So they each sang instead to a pre-recorded track of the other voice, mixed as if that second voice were far away in the distance. The broadcast at the Central Hub offered a perfect synthesis of their voices in real time.”