BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) – The Gowanus Canal has been called many things, like a “huge symphonic stink” or the biggest cesspool in the world.
Rarely has it been considered the stage for an original musical about the canal.
But that all changed this weekend with the opening of The Fish Queen of the Gowanus Canal.
The producer called it irreverent, zany, and poignant.
It’s a 70-original musical staged on several barges on one of the country's most toxic bodies of water. Some audience members are in canoes, others on a nearby pier.
“It’s telling the story of the Gowanus Canal, which is a really important one to tell,” Brad Vogel, producer of the musical, told PIX11 News. “ And the fact that musical about the problems with pollution actually gets produced on the canal,” he added.
The mythological Fish Queen is supposed to be both mysterious and magical, a combination of all the marine life created by the raw sewage of the Gowanus.
Eight characters play the Fish Queen over the polluted canal’s 400-year history.
“It’s sort of a meditation on community,” Wes Braver, The Fish Queen composer, told PIX11 News. “How to organize and fight back against the processes that are bigger than we are,” he added.
The 1.8-mile Gowanus Canal was named a superfund site in 2010.
It’s cleaner than it used to be, but it still has a long way to go, according to the book's author, Gowanus, who appears in the musical.
“Even with the prescribed cleanup, there will still be raw sewage and toxic waste until the end of earth itself,” Joseph Alexiou, the author of Gowanus, told PIX11 News.
Audience members seemed to love the show.
“It’s so Brooklyn,” Sara Enright, who was wearing a huge tuna head, told PIX11 News.
Another audience member, Varun Bandi, added: “It showcases the creativity and energy of the people of Brooklyn. They’re highlighting issues that are important, but in a funny way,” he added.
These two performances sold out this weekend. Tickets were sold to cover costs and support the work of Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club.
English (US) ·