“Grace,” with music by Kirsten Childs and libretto by Charlayne Woodard, is performed dynamically by Ancrea Frierson, who sings title character role. It is a tale of a successful writer who discovers that she is going blind and must struggle to triumph over this adversity.

As Grace, Frierson has a powerful voice and a sparkling personality, as she looks back on her life, referencing her mother and her strong father, and her feelings as a writer. A collection of canes are present as symbols, a sturdy cane epitomizing the strength of her father, and others stand-ins for the blindness that awaits her.

The performer is moving as she hears her fate from her doctor, “Wet Macular Degeneration! Wet Macular Degeneration! Wet Macular Degeneration!!!” ...“Tempus fugit. Too soon. It is all happening too soon...I’ve run out of time. I took ‘Cane Class’ as suggested.”

The music by Childs comes in the style of a strong force in synch with the passion of the libretto and the dynamic quality of Frierson’s persona as Grace. Under the direction of Shirley Jo Finney, the piece succeeds in providing a perspective on a lifetime up to the point where a writer must cope with the inevitable that has descended upon her.

“The Other Room,” the second offering on the program, deals with an even more tragic subject—AIDS and the death of an artist’s friend. The loss is off-stage but woven passionately into solo lament by actress-singer Phoebe Strole.

Strole portrays Lena, a painter, who works at her easel and sings and talks about her friendship and political activism. The libretto is by Mark Campbell, the music by Marisa Michelson.

In the beginning Strole is hard to hear against the loud competitive piano, but she rises to the occasion at key moments when the balance is better and her voice shines through. Strole has a winsome personality in capturing the theme of the piece, directed by Ethan Heard.

As Lena paints and gazes at what she has done, the repeated reference to the color green becomes symbolic, and the work ends with a projected gradual splash of her art in the background. In the interim “The Other Room” builds poetically and musically to express Lena’s range of thoughts and emotions to the ultimate telephone revelation that her friend Steve has died with the dignity he wanted. There is a tearful breakdown by Lena, until she composes herself and returns to her painting.