Taylor Mac: A 24-decade History of Popular Music Taylor Mac: A 24-decade History of Popular Music

CURRAN AND
STANFORD LIVE PRESENT

TAYLOR MAC

A 24-DECADE HISTORY
OF POPULAR MUSIC

In association with Magic Theatre
and Pomegranate Arts

September 15-24

TAYLOR MAC

September 15-24

Genre

Performance Art Concert

Runtime

6 Hours

Genre

Performance Art Concert

Runtime

6 Hours


CURRAN AND STANFORD LIVE PRESENT

TAYLOR MAC’S A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC

IN ASSOCIATION WITH MAGIC THEATRE AND POMEGRANATE ARTS

Taylor Mac’s groundbreaking performance art concept A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC is “a must-see for anyone who wants to see a kinder, gentler society.” (Huffington Post)

A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC is Taylor Mac’s multi-year effort to chart a subjective history of the United States through is a unique mash-up of music, history, performance, and art that were popular throughout the country, and in its disparate communities, from 1776 to the present day.

“One of the great experiences of my life.” -The New York Times

Taylor Mac (who prefers the gender pronoun “judy”) is a New York-based theater artist, playwright, actor, singer-songwriter, cabaret performer, performance artist, director, and producer whose many talents combine in the spectacular A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC. Taylor recently won the 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Award for Drama inspired by American History and was a 2017 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama. A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC had the distinct honor of being included on an unprecedented three New York Times “Best of…” lists in 2016: Performance, Theater and Classical Music.

“Bringing the entire work to my second home of San Francisco allows the form of the creation to mirror the content of the work: a community building itself through the performance of all that history and music on our backs.” -Taylor Mac

The concert will be presented as four six-hour chapters, together making the first complete presentation since Taylor’s historic 24-hour marathon performance at Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s Warehouse last fall. Tickets can be purchased as single chapters, or audience members can purchase a four performance series - the pièce de résistance in it’s entirety, an experience that The New York Times’ Wesley Morris called “one of the great experiences of my life.”

The performances at the Curran are:

  • Chapter I (1776-1836) September 15: The American Revolution from the perspective of the yankee doodle dandy, the early women’s lib movement, an epic battle between drinking songs and early temperance songs, a dream sequence where the audience is blindfolded and the heteronormative narrative as colonization.

  • Chapter II (1836-1896) September 17: Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster go head to head for the title of Father of the American Song, culminating in the queerest Civil War Reenactment in history. Oh, and: a production of THE MIKADO set on Mars.

  • Chapter III (1896-1956) September 22: A Jewish tenement, a WWI trench, a speakeasy, a depression, a zoot suit riot all make the white people flee the cities.

  • Chapter IV (1956-the present) September 24: Bayard Rustin’s March on Washington leads to a queer riot, sexual deviance as revolution, radical lesbians, and a community building itself while under siege.

“I am thrilled to be welcoming the exceptional mastermind Taylor Mac back to the Curran, gracing our stage with the show in its entirety for the first time since that ever so magical evening in Brooklyn.” -Carole Shorenstein Hays

“The impetus for this piece began in San Francisco, when I participated in the first AIDS Walk in 1986,” said Taylor Mac. “It was there I discovered how communities can be built as a result of being torn apart. Years later I decided to create a work about this dichotomy. And to do it in song. Bringing the entire work to my second home of San Francisco, with so many of our New York company joining us in collaboration with so many local Bay Area artists is especially exciting; it allows the form of the creation to mirror the content of the work: a community building itself through the performance of all that history and music on our backs.”

This engagement marks a special partnership between the Curran and Stanford Live. Prior to the Curran presentation, Stanford will host Taylor Mac and other members of the creative team in an unprecedented creative residency on campus. As part of the University’s Arts Intensive Program, students will help prepare various elements of the production and then will have the opportunity to participate in both the San Francisco and Stanford performances, either on stage as “Dandy Minions” or as part of the backstage crew.

For groups of 10 or more, please contact Group Services.


A special three-hour abridged version of A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC will be presented at Stanford University’s Bing Concert Hall on September 27th at 7:30pm. For more information about this collaboration, visit live.stanford.edu/taylormac.

  Taylor Mac sings Amazing Grace through the streets of San Francisco

  • Photo by Teddy Wolff

  • Photo by Teddy Wolff

  • Photo by Teddy Wolff

  • Photo by Teddy Wolff

Event Calendar

Taylor Mac: A 24-decade History of Popular Music

September 15-24

A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC is Taylor Mac’s multi-year effort to chart a subjective history of the United States through is a unique mash-up of music, history, performance, and art that were popular throughout the country, and in its disparate communities, from 1776 to the present day.


TAYLOR MAC: A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC | FULL SERIES

1505520000 -

The concert will be presented as four six-hour CHAPTERS, together making the first complete presentation since Taylor's historic 24-hour marathon performance in New York City last fall.

Join Taylor for two chapters or more and save 5%!

Spend all 24 hours with Taylor and receive a bespoke treasure from costume designer Machine Dazzle!


TAYLOR MAC: A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC | CHAPTER I (1776-1836)

September 15

The American Revolution from the perspective of the yankee doodle dandy, the early women’s lib movement, an epic battle between drinking songs and early temperance songs, a dream sequence where the audience is blindfolded and the heteronormative narrative as colonization.


TAYLOR MAC: A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC | CHAPTER II (1836-1896)

September 17

Walt Whitman and Stephen Foster go head to head for the title of Father of the American Song, culminating in the queerest Civil War Reenactment in history. Oh, and: a production of The Mikado set on Mars.


TAYLOR MAC: A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC | CHAPTER III (1896-1956)

September 22

A Jewish tenement, a WWI trench, a speakeasy, a depression, a zoot suit riot all make the white people flee the cities.


TAYLOR MAC: A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC | CHAPTER IV (1956-PRESENT)

September 24

Bayard Rustin’s March on Washington leads to a queer riot, sexual deviance as revolution, radical lesbians, and a community building itself while under siege.