Teddy Wolff | PARIS LA

Near the end of his recent T magazine essay on queer theater and the landmark plays of Mart Crowley (The Boys in the Band), Tony Kushner (Angels in America), Larry Kramer (The Normal Heart), Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy), and Paul Rudnick (Jeffrey), Jesse Green wrote:

“Among the new works I’ve actually seen, the only… piece that rises to the level of those I’ve beatified is Taylor Mac’s A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC… Miraculously, it combines Kushner’s vision, Kramer’s anger, Crowley’s cattiness, Fierstein’s warmth and Rudnick’s wit (plus a whole lot else) into one subversive astonishment…”*

Prepare to be astonished as Taylor brings his complete magnum opus to Los Angeles, starting this week. Each chapter in this CAP UCLA presentation in downtown L.A. comprises a 6-hour performance.

TAYLOR MAC—A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC

CHAPTER 1 (1776-1836), Thursday, March 15, at 6 pm.

CHAPTER II (1836-1896), Saturday, March 17, at 6 pm.

CHAPTER III (1896-1956), Thursday, March 22, at 6 pm.

CHAPTER IV (1956-2016), Saturday, March 24, at 6 pm.

THEATRE AT ACE HOTEL, 929 South Broadway, downtown Los Angeles.

cap.ucla.edu/taylor_mac

* Jesse Green, “A Brief History of Gay Theater, in Three Acts,” T, New York Times, March 4, 2018, 79:

nytimes.com/gay-theater-history

See: “A Time to Be Born: Taylor Mac in Conversation with Barlo Perry,” PARIS LA 15:

cap.ucla.edu/PARIS_LA_15_Taylor_Mac

Taylor Mac in Brooklyn, autumn 2016. Photographs by Teddy Wolff.

Barlo Perry: “What was the impetus behind A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC?

Taylor Mac: “It was [a 1986, San Francisco] AIDS walk. I had never seen an out homosexual before, and so many at the same time. I discovered queer history, queer agency, queer pride while the community was being torn apart because of the epidemic and institutionalized homophobia. To see that community building itself and surviving as it was weakening and disintegrating was an interesting dichotomy. And years later, I thought, I want to make a show that’s a metaphor, a representation of that.”*

This week Taylor Mac returns to San Francisco, where everything started.

TAYLOR MAC—A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC

CHAPTER I (1776–1836), Friday, September 15, at 5 pm.

CHAPTER II (1836–1896), Sunday, September 17, at 2 pm.

CHAPTER III (1896–1956), Friday, September 22, at 5 pm.

CHAPTER IV (1956–2016), Sunday, September 24, at 2 pm.

CURRAN THEATER, 445 Geary Street, San Francisco.

sfcurran.com/shows/taylor-mac/#calendar

* from “A Time to Be Born: Taylor Mac in Conversation with Barlo Perry,” PARIS LA 15 (Spring 2017): 78–85.

Taylor Mac, with musical director/pianist Matt Ray in top photo. Photographs by Teddy Wolff.

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