Staff Picks No. 86
OO-GA-LA Reimagined (The Fred Holland and Ishmael Houston-Jones 1983 Duet Danced into the 21st Century) : Ishmael Houston-Jones, AJ Wilmore, Stephanie Hewett, and Kris Lee
Danspace, St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery
February 27th-March 1st 2025
"We are Black...We will wear heavy shoes...We will fuck with flow" If this sounds familiar, you probably already have tickets to this show. If not, a brief history: that is a snippet from a manifesto accompanying the original performance of Oo-Ga-La, a duet by Ishmael Houston-Jones and Fred Holland. The dance was a Black, punk intervention in the world of contact improvisation, a scene of mostly white people promoting ideas of softness, harmony, and a lots of vague Eastern philosophy. Ishmael is now passing this improv score down to three younger artists so they can fuck with it even further.
Staffer: Noa Rui-Piin Weiss
I’m Repeating Myself : Chad Kaydo, Carsen Joenk, Matthew Antoci, Alma Cuervo, Enette Fremont, Chad Kaydo, Frankie Placidi, & Jon Norman Schneider, The Omnivores, Rhonda (full creative team in the write-up!)
The Brick Theater
February 27th-March 15th 2025
Here are ten solid reasons to see this show:
10) I worked on this show with Chad until I left for Kansas, officially starting with the December Quick n Dirty 2023. So I personally care about it a lot.
9) Gay Stuff
8) Porn Stuff
7) Gilded Age Stuff
6) The way people talk, but good
5) Matthew Antoci
4) It's smart
3) It's funny
2) It has kept evolving in fascinating ways that are not all about making annoying sense
1) It will be a good time out, whether you are solo, with friends, with family, on a date, annoyed or drunk or sad.
Creative Team
Scenic Design: lucas a degirolamo
Costume Design: Kindall Almond
Lighting Design: Ebony Burton
Sound Design: Jordan Rose Bernstein
Associate Sound Designer: Lola Basiliere
Dramaturg: Christine Scarfuto
Production Stage Manager: Jared Six
Production Manager: Daniel Weissglass
Co-Producer: Theresa Buchheister
Associate Producer: Mark Toubman
Line Producer: Sarah Jones
Art: Rob Wilson
Produced by The Omnivores and RHONDA
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Live at TV Eye : River L. Ramirez, Hennessey, Tony Vaz, Emily Allan, Kat Imperial
TV Eye
Wednesday, March 5th 2025
NYC label Jubilee Gang is presenting a stacked bill and, while I have not verified this myself, the site claims that all of the artists are Scorpios. Even though I have never had great success in dating Scorpios, I love art by Scorpios. And as I get older, I realize it could be me and not the Scorpios that are not good at dating, which makes enjoying art so much easier! Regardless, go throw yourself into a pool of Scorpios at TV Eye.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
FIAT : Whitney Johnson, with Greg Fox
Roulette
Thursday, February 27th 2025
Brilliant Chicago-based composer/violist/vocalist Whitney Johnson (Matchess) has an active wandering omnivorous curiosity. For the last half dozen years, since at least 2020’s “Huizkol”, one of her research explorations is into a kind of psycho-acoustic architecture; she transforms spaces with sound, to directly affect our brains. Joined by local percussionist Greg Fox (Liturgy), in this four hour durational installation/performance Johnson envelopes us in multi-channel swirling waves to activate and calm. This show is part of Roulette’s annual Mixology Festival, there’s great stuff all weekend. Come through!
Staffer: Joshua Dumas
Meow Meow at Joe's Pub : Meow Meow
Joe’s Pub
March 4th-6th 2025
Listen, I hate a bar minimum and paying for overpriced food as much as the next comrade. However: Meow Meow is one of my favoritest performers and her knowledge of Weimarian songs, particularly female chanteuses, is encyclopedic. She smokes two cigarettes at once. She bosses you around. She crowd surfs. She's a diva like no other and I love her so much.
Staffer: Billy McEntee
no name : Cameron Stuart, Samantha Riott, Sunk Heaven, Stice Qualiatik, "Squis" vs "Sweet"
Rabbit Hole BK
Thursday, February 27th 2025
Back when I started going to see lots of bands in my Strand days, I realized I am never really transported by theater sets filled with unimportant, non-specific objects and writing shaped by endless notes towards it "making sense". However, I do love going to a music/art show where I have no idea what will happen and have no idea why the space looks like it does and I can absorb as much or as little as I want. I could also afford to go see bands, which helped shape my perspective as much as the experiences themselves, I figure. And, I learned about this because of Cameron Stuart being on the bill and now I know about all these other artists. I would be totally Rabbit-Holing on Thursday "if I was in Brooklyn", which has become my fucking catchphrase.
Staffer: Theresa Buchheister
Very Fine People : James Rutherford
LaMaMa
March 1st-2nd 2025
If you can't get enough of the news, check out this exhilerating (and terrifying) piece of docu-theater that brings to life the chaotic, farcical trial tied to the Unite the Right rally in North Carolina in 2017. Truth is stranger than fiction, and this script needn't change a word.
Staffer: Billy McEntee