The Tin Angel Opera, written to a libretto by Paul Pines and based on his widely acclaimed novel of the same name, with music by award-winning composer Daniel Asia, is set in the edgy world of a NYC downtown Bowery jazz club, where a unique cast of characters play out their dramatic story as a call for redemption.

The inspiration behind the story is The Tin Palace, the real-life New York City’s jazz mecca of the 70s, founded by Paul Pines in 1973.​​

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La Mama has an intense charm to it and the director, Chloe, wanted us to emphasize the space in the design to make it as immersive as possible for a venue on the Bowery so close to the bar the opera was based on. As a designer I spent lots of time in the design process looking at how to incorporate our orchestra as the band of this jazz bar. The final design incorporated multiple levels, a central bar, and a cross-like pathway structure hearkening to the themes of death in the play with the ghosts and the figure of Christ.