The Hang (HERE Arts Center)
In Socrates’ final hours, his acolytes gather. We expect wisdom. We are rewarded. In a Taylor Mac show we expect colorful bawdy glamor. That is present in abundance. We are told that “we’re in it for The Hang“. Along the way Plato will record the histories (or interpret them depending on your view). The result is yet another thoroughly unique theatrical experience rooted in a downtown sensibility with massive creativity and big themes.
This jazzy operatic musical takes place in a period where “momentum is on the side of the tyrants”. Nothing on stage is a heavy handed didactic exercise in pontification. That would not be entertaining enough. This world screams flamboyance and Grecian opulence with a healthy dose of sex appeal and innuendo. After all, set up of one of the numbers requires the performer to “sell your party trick in your best Noel Coward”.
Though the proceedings are non-linear and dreamlike, Plato dutifully observes and records the goings on. We’ve all learned he is the reason Socrates’ teaching still exists today. At this version of a last supper, there is a mourning for the death sentence to follow. Before that, however, there is pageantry galore.
When you arrive at the theater space, everything is painted and decorated including the floors and the seats. You are not simply watching The Hang, you are hanging. This is not an audience participation piece per se. The parallels to current events are drawn for you to absorb as you see fit. “Beware the new age guru” is a toss away line with depth of meaning depending on your own personal “state of the union” awareness. Most of the material shies away from direct assault but Mitch McConnell is awarded a lyrical slap or two.
Days after sitting through a performance, this musical remains somewhat indescribable in the best way. Is there a song sung on a toilet? Yes. Do the musicians take center stage and blow us away with single instrument musicality which firmly underscores the themes and moods of this show? Yes. Will fans of Machine Dazzle’s costumes and set design be thrilled with the exuberantly bold and nuanced Hellenic touches here? Most definitely.
Taylor Mac wrote the book and lyrics for this philosophical show. He firmly holds a mirror to today as “everyone’s trying to be a gadfly now.” With the perspective of history, we can understand the lasting contributions of Socrates and not the people who condemned him to death. Regarding that particular court of judgment: “not a single one destined for icon status”.
The creative elements all work together to form a show which harkens back to a subversive downtown art piece from yesteryear. Given Taylor Mac’s enormous success including as a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, the budget is far from threadbare. The effect is a sensational combination of handmade and polished. The costume details demand to be stared at and are truly dazzling (apologies for the hideous pun).
Performances are top notch across the board. In her stage debut, jazz vocalist Kat Edmonson and also Synead Cidney Nichols stood out amongst a cast of major talents. If you were planning a party, this group would be a hang for the ages.
Scattered throughout this show is running commentary meant to provoke, inspire and, gently, outrage. Socrates is burdened by “old accusations”, a device in full force in much of today’s backward looking America. “They’re easily taught and tied into knots” is the line which skewers the gullible from any era. I personally find the complexity and clarity of the Taylor Mac worldview to be supremely entertaining while being emotionally and intellectually challenging. I, therefore, must be an acolyte. If only I could succinctly answer a question posed in this show: “what do you mean by virtue”?
The Hang is running at the HERE Arts Center through February 20, 2022.
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