A 24-Decade History of Popular Music

Taylor Mac’s glittering performance art concerts chart a (highly) subjective history of popular music and activism in America from the nation’s founding in 1776 to the present day. Created with a bevy of collaborators, including music director / arranger Matt Ray, co-director Niegel Smith, 2015 MacArthur Fellow Mimi Lien, lighting designer John Torres, and longtime fellow traveler and costume provocateur Machine Dazzle, this highly anticipated World Premiere will be the first time Taylor Mac performs the complete 24-decade history in its entirety. --- 2 Ways to See 240 Songs: Individual Act Concerts | Sep 15 – Oct 3 | All Begin at 7:30PM 24-Hour Marathon | Oct 8-9 | Noon – Noon --- About the Acts: ACT I: 1776-1806 | Thu Sep 15 Founding Father Drag, Women’s Lib, and Crazy Jane The American Revolution from the perspective of the Yankee Doodle Dandy and an epic battle between drinking songs and early Temperance songs. Starts with an orchestra of 24. ACT II: 1806-1836 | Sat Sep 17 Young Love, Blindfolds, and Murder Ballads Destined for Broadway, this romp through such chestnuts as “Old Oaken Bucket”, “An Apparition of a Dandy” and that #1 hit, “Poor Little Gypsy” is certain to be a surefire sensation, if not the greatest jukebox musical in the history of mankind. ACT III: 1836-1866 | Tue Sep 20 Puppets, Whitman, and Civil War Two men fall in love while escaping slavery; Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster go head to head for title of “Father of the American Song” culminating in the queerest Civil War Reenactment in history. ACT IV: 1866-1896 | Thu Sep 22 Circus, Mikado, and the Oklahoma Land Rush A dinner theater production of The Mikado set on Mars, plus the queerest land grab in history. ACT V: 1896-1926 | Sat Sep 24 Tenements, Trenches, and Speakeasies A Jewish tenement, a WWI trench reenactment and a dance-off between 12 ukulele playing Tiny Tims and 12 Charles Dickens Tiny Tims. ACT VI: 1926-1956 | Tue Sep 27 The Depression, Prison Fantasies, and the Atomic Bomb Oh the Depression, ain’t it great… Zoot Suit Riots, Japanese Internment Camps, and white people flee the cities. ACT VII: 1956-1986 | Fri Sep 30 | Sat Oct 1 A March, a Riot, and a Backroom Sex Party Bayard Rustin’s March on Washington leads to Queer riots; sexual deviance as revolution. Due to popular demand, Act VII will be performed twice. ACT VIII: 1986-2016 | Mon Oct 3 Direct Action, Radical Lesbians, and Originals A community builds itself under siege, radical lesbians avenge, and Taylor performs original songs for 2016. 24-Hour Marathon | Sat Oct 8 A highly anticipated event 5 years in the making: Taylor Mac performs all 24-decades from 1776 to the present day in 24-hours.-----