Tank-aret (rhymes with cabaret) is a new monthly series at the Tank. Each show features new works by artists with the intention to lift up the voices of “women, queer and trans artists, artists of color, differently abled artists and anyone else who has some cabaret magic to make but is usually not given the space to take risks and bite off more they can chew.” My first dip into the Tank-aret is a new musical in development called Patriarchy!
The description of this show piqued my interest. The four women justices of the Supreme Court are “erudite, well read and punk as fuck.” Apparently an asteroid is barreling straight towards Earth. All of the male members of the Court have jumped on a space plane to escape danger. The ladies have been left behind and they are not happy campers. “Time for oral arguments, jerks!”
EllaRose Chary (one of the curators of this series) conceived this piece with Rachel Flynn (book) and Melissa Lusk (co-songwriter). Our three current justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are joined with Sandra Day O’Connor in this briefing designed to save the world from mass extinction.
At the beginning of this staged reading, the creators inform that this was the first performance of this work-in-development. The idea is inspired. The ladies are pissed. The songs are without question heavily influenced by the punk rock aesthetic. I was instantly reminded of the awesomely titled book “Notorious RBG.” Sherri Edelen’s protrayal showed what potential this material has as to really be “a raging feminist nightmare.”
“No one is going to need judgments after the apocalypse, at least for an appeal’s court, ” the ladies agree. How to save the Earth then? A trial is conducted. Even the asteroid gets legal representation. The premise is fun; the anger out in the open. Songs have titles like “We Push Back.”
The punk rock ditties were enjoyable. If Alexander Hamilton can rap, why can’t these women raise some anarchistic hell? If this piece develops further, more songs will be needed to break up the longer dialogue sections. Additional character development would help as well. Sotomayor’s knife sharpening was funny the first time but she, like most of the justices, could use a few more edges.
There’s a great idea here and I hope the creative team plays around with the possibilities. How about RBG starting the show in a hospital bed? She’s watching the news. The asteroid is hours away from annihilating the planet. The male justices have abandoned the world they were sworn to protect. She rips off her monitoring devices and jumps up into an angry punk tune. Patriarchy! is a very clever idea. Sharpen the arguments and I’ll pay to see it again.