Baltimore Rock Opera Society Gearing Up For Artscape Revelry

In the back lot of Station North’s The Bell Foundry building, amid splashes of graffiti, the chariot—actually a much-repaired, much-decorated car with a stage on its roof—awaited its glittered wings.

Meanwhile, in one of the front rooms, the cast of RATS!—a 25-minute rock opera about, you guessed it, rats—rehearsed so convincingly last Wednesday that the dog of one of the Baltimore Rock Opera Society members barked at them ferociously. And in the costume shop, rows of spangled and bedazzled costumes were lined up, ready to be used next weekend.

All this was in preparation for the group’s performances at Artscape, known by one heck of a title— the Baltimore Rock Opera Society's BROcean City, featuring The Rock Opera 6-Pack. And, as you might expect from this rollicking, sassy group, they’re going all out, taking particular pleasure in the event’s water theme.

"Come party with the zaniest, spring break mutants from under the sea at their larger-than-life, beach party freak show!" declares the Facebook page for the BROS—which, by the way, what an acronym.

The 6-Pack consists of six—how appropriate—25-minute rock operas, with plot lines that range from a dark, Western folktale where outlaws swap criminal stories to a human computer that becomes a trusted mathematician in the Apollo program. These operas were featured earlier this year at the Creative Alliance.

Also promised at Artscape are air guitar battles on top of the car, otherwise known as the Bröthership, with a Mer-partygod known as Typhoonicus, a sideshow stage with puppet acts, bands, and cabaret, as well as a game area.

All this will occur in the parking lot across from the Charles Theater. We can only assume the lot will be transformed into a crazed, shimmering, under-the-sea world, and we can't wait to see what results.