Blanche is a theatrical song cycle, set in a dusty sitting room in the far corner of a 93-year-old woman's mind - Onalea Gilbertson's grandmother. Its poignant songs reflect the indomitable spirit that helped her survive the Great Depression, World War II and tragic lost love.

Onalea, performing on piano and accompanied by cello, violin and guitar, intermingles original songs with audio from her grandmother, creating a musical meditation on memory.

Blanche was named one of New York City's Best Shows of 2011 in the Huffington Post, alongside theatrical giants like The Book of Mormon, War Horse and Sleep No More.

Onalea's exciting history with the High Performance Rodeo includes a seven-year stint with the One Yellow Rabbit Performing Ensemble, and such performances as Only Love Knows Love, an intimate salon of theatre songs, and Two Bit Oper-eh?-shun, an original oratorio about homelessness that appeared Off-Broadway this past summer at the New York Musical Theatre Festival under the new title, Requiem for A Lost Girl. We're thrilled to partner with Lunchbox Theatre to bring this stunning work to the festival.

By Onalea Gilbertson
Music by Onalea Gilbertson, Morag Northey and Jonathan Lewis