Though its music, and use of Mapplethorpe’s photographs and texts by Essex Hemphill and Patti Smith were impressive in their own rights, the performance Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) ultimately appeared cheap, forced, and self-congratulatory.
Performance
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A Strange Loop Stages the Double Consciousness of Being Black and Queer
Michael R. Jackson’s subversive sermon on the conflicted heart of a Black, queer man writing a musical about a Black, queer man details an artist’s fight against society’s expectations of what he should be.
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Anne Imhof’s Sex Creates Drama but Not Desire
Imhof’s performance Sex is dramatic, even melodramatic, yet its drama is not sensual; it removes bodily urges from the mix.
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A Chamber Choir Musical Takes Aim at Our Tech-Driven Loneliness
The show demonstrates that human connection isn’t dead in spite of the forest of technology that separates us from each other, and that we can have our limbic state reset through music.
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Dance Performances in Historic Churches Revive Spiritual Histories
The Grounds that Shout! project put Reggie Wilson in the role of curator as well as choreographer to present his own work alongside the dances of seven Philadelphia choreographers and companies who created the performances.
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This Year’s Ten Best German Plays
The work on display at Berlin’s Theatertreffen draws on film, novels, Brecht, and ancient Greek drama.
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A Factory that Processes Your Dandelion Wishes
The anonymous art collective simply known as the Art Department transformed a decommissioned building into “a secret wish-processing facility.”
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A Performance Festival by and for Disabled Artists
A glimpse into the impressive breadth and variety of performances and lived experiences of disability.
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In an Interactive Performance, a Filmmaker Dissects Her Abandoned Debut Feature
In My First Film, Zia Anger explores the humor, anger, and heartbreak she feels about her lost work, all live onstage.
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Reenacting the Wild Art Salons of Gay Camp Icon, Paul Swan
A new play, Paul Swan is Dead and Gone, imagines the life of the late dancer, artist, and Andy Warhol muse once known as “The Most Beautiful Man in the World.”
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The Beautiful and the Damned of Oklahoma!
A rebellious Broadway revival of the 1943 musical brings hatred into the heartland — a stunning indictment of America’s current woes.
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An Unforgettable Wagner Production Caps Off the Met Opera Season
Robert Lepage’s production design is unforgettable, and the giant machine that serves as its centerpiece is distinctive enough to seem like its own character.