Ambitious Performance Gets A-Plus Review by Local Audience
Rick Langenberg
The community of Green Mountain Falls may have a slew of infrastructure problems, but when it comes to the fine arts, the small Ute Pass town shows no signs of backing down, even if it involves embracing a controversial new ballet.
A preliminary, debut performance of main portions of the ambitious “Brokeback Mountain” ballet played to a packed house recently at the Sally Bush Community Center in GMF.
Eventually, the world ballet premiere will be performed in New York City in early 2027. And based on preliminary responses by an enthusiastic GMF and Ute Pass audience, “Brokeback Mountain” may be headed for more theater acclaim.
The project, a joint venture between Green Box and the New York City nonprofit, Works & Process, gave locals a detailed glimpse into the ballet recreation of a story that was turned into a major blockbuster film 21 years ago, and one that commanded national attention and generated considerable amount of controversy. The movie was nominated as the best picture and received a slew of Oscar awards.
However, the new ballet is based more on the short story, written by Annie Proulx, who often examines the realities of modern—day life in the rugged West, according to choreographer Pontus Lidberg of Sweden.
During the Aug. 15 showing, Lidberg cautioned that the Brokeback Mountain ballet represents a distinct art form and warned against making comparisons with the movie or even the short story, published in 1997. “It is almost like a living painting,” said Lidberg, when describing the various ballet scenes.
The ballet does keep the same focus, showcased in the movie and short story, dealing with the complex relationship between two working-cowboys in Wyoming in the 1960s. According to a Green Box press release, “the production uses dance and music to capture the emotional restraint, rugged beauty, and tragic romance of two working-class men caught between desire and fear in the American West.”
Green Box served as the inaugural residency site for the work, providing the artists with concentrated time and space to begin shaping the production.
Following their time in Green Mountain Falls, the ballet will continue through two additional Works & Process residencies before its world premiere at the Guggenheim’s Peter B. Lewis Theater in New York City, January 13–15, 2027.
The ballet project has involved a lengthy ordeal that began with the musical score done by composer David Conte more than 20 years ago. It was only recently that final approvals were granted for the ballet to move forward with Conte’s composition.
“We are so glad to be part of this Brokeback Mountain ballet journey,” said Anna Faye, director of engagement and communications at Green Box. She admits this is probably the most ambition theatrical venture attempted by Green Box.
Through Green Box’s artistic residency program, GMF became the sole rehearsal site for the theater group to begin crafting the ballet, under the supervision of Lidberg.
The large crowd at the Sallie Bush Center greeted the world premiere rehearsal show with a thumbs-up sign and often pleaded for more scenes. The final ballet ending marked a definite change from the movie, culminating with an open-ended question regarding the tragic death of one of the main heroes in the story, Jack Twist. It also featured more symbolic visual touches, not used in the movie.
For the most part, the ballet and movie followed the same plot line.
Many audience-goers at the Aug. 15 show praised the mixture between the music and dancing and the way aspects of the story were handled.
Likewise, the cast and Lidberg gave the GMF community an A-plus grade, citing it as a prime place to practice their show and to reflect on their performances.
“This really gave us focus,” said Lidberg, in a later interview, following the Aug. 15 performance. “We were able to accomplish in three weeks in Green Mountain Falls what it would take us six weeks to do in New York City. We didn’t have to worry about commuting or traveling or any of the big city hassles.”
He said their forthcoming performances at the Peter B. Lewis Theater in New York represent the first time the Brokeback Mountain story has been turned into a ballet. The ballet group now will take a short break but then must conduct two more rehearsal stops before official stage time.
Lindberg concedes that their main challenge in doing the ballet deals with viewers’ memories of the movie. During their rehearsal performance on Aug. 15, the choreographer almost preferred not to discuss the movie in any way.
Staff members also expressed elation over their time in GMF and the inspiration it provided them in doing regular hikes and meditating and recreating in the mountains.
The Brokeback Mountain-GMF link should provide more hype for Green Box’s artistry residence program, which has greatly expanded over the last few years.
The program will feature another free performance this Saturday, with the retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh during a free show at the Sallie Bush Center. For more details, see related write-up in this week’s TMJ Mountain Almanac.
