BEYOND THE FRAME:
Manet and the Women
“Thank you for including me. It was a beautiful piece, elegantly done. I was glad to be there and left richer than when I arrived.”
—John Patrick Shanley
“We loved being a part of your first showing of a terrific piece. I was moved and educated and admire Kristen’s talents.”
—Amy Irving
Hi, I’m Kristen Lee Sergeant – I’m a singer-songwriter based in NYC, and I’ve been captivated by the art of Édouard Manet ever since finding myself at the Getty Museum in 2019, where there was a stunning exhibition of his late work. I’ve been enthralled ever since.
I’ve created a one woman musical show that tells the real and imagined stories of the models and muses in Manet’s paintings. Here you’ll find a few demos with paired paintings, that initially served as an informal audio guide to the Met’s Manet/Degas exhibit in ’23 (which helped me greatly in writing the second half of the show.)
A couple of quotes from illustrious attendees at the first reading we did in June of ’24:
If you are here because you’d like to help bring this to life, I’d love to hear from you.
SONG: Nana
Paint a face that moves in the glass
Curl the hair pout the lip fringe the lash
It’s a portrait that someone’s buying
Say that’s not art — you’d be lying.
SONG: A Woman Alone
A woman alone’s a performer
A woman alone is on view
A woman alone must be waiting for you…
SONG: Ennui
Some applause, glasses clinking
Some old lecher winking
All damn night in this bright garish gleam…
SONG: A Plum
Life’s not still
Paint it quickly for it will move on…
SONG: Suzon
What do you see, Suzon?
Please follow and contact me for more information on the show and its progress.