Chewing the Scenery

(Chewing the Scenery) was an exhibition of existing props, sets and ephemera from the musical created in Berlin and Denmark over the previous years, as well as two newly commissioned works.

The first was a cardboard recreation of the facade of the Columbia County Museum in Kinderhook, housed in the former Masonic Lodge.  This museum is home to the Columbia County Historical Society, which has existed since 1916 to preserve, collect and interpret the history and heritage of Columbia County, New York.  Though today the Society takes a more holistic approach, it was founded amidst a rise in nationalism following World War I, during which xenophobic attitudes resulted in many people attempting to publicly cement their American lineage.

The second new work was a sculpture of an unsettling, waving Santa Claus loosely modeled on the actual Valatie Santa Claus Club statue which greets drivers along the main road year round. “First in the Nation”, the Valatie Santa Claus Club was founded in 1946 by World War II veterans who used their Army Separation pay to provide Christmas gifts to the poor children of the village.

“Chewing the scenery” is a saying which means “to act melodramatically or overact”.  The project was designed to sum up the physical manifestations of the musical to that point, allowing the visitor freedom to imagine what may have taken place.