Taylor Mac’s ambitious A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is set to culminate at St. Ann’s Warehouse with an epic 24-hour-long performance starting on October 8, but those without the stamina, or caffeine tolerance to stay up for so long can take the sections in digestible three hour installments, the first of which opened Mac’s residency at the Brooklyn venue. For the first chapter comprising the years from 1776 to 1806, the dazzling entertainer told a story about a newborn country trying to find its place in the world. An America trying to detach itself from the British monarchy gracefully.
Truth was that the process was about everything but grace, as different thought currents began to take hold of the country in the hopes of becoming the ultimate compass of morality. The performer weaves a tale in which oppression is at the center of it all, as we see how women and minorities were instantly reduced to second class citizens in a country that prided itself on its love of freedom. During one of the most poignant moments in the show, we see a practically naked Mac (the costumes by Machine Dazzle each deserve an essay of their own) sing in character as a girl who others have determined is a floozy. As she sings a song of innocent seduction she is interrupted by a Temperance Choir, who arrive in formation spraying the audience with tiny water guns. Their steady stroll towards the stage is a hoot to watch, but also incredibly relevant when we think about how modern religious groups constantly unite to condemn the actions of others.
Taylor Mac is too clever an artist to deliver lessons in easy to swallow pills, each of the moments in which audience members are asked to participate and interact with their neighbors is marked by a sense of fear, combined with the unexpected excitement that comes with being told you don’t look good enough to be at the show, and are given new clothes to wear. At times, the show borders on the surreal, as we see an adult man playing a baby running completely naked, as two people from the audience try to catch him. If each performance is different, a Taylor Mac show thrives on the uniqueness of live entertainment, at this particular show, when it came time for an audience member to come sit next to Mac and sing a ballad, the volunteer was none other than Mandy Patinkin, who for once was able to let others do all the heavy work when sharing a stage with him.
Bravo to Taylor Mac for being so committed to a project that both pays homage to America, and also questions the wrong roads the establishment has taken to uphold its puritanical values. Bravo to Taylor Mac for finding a way to make us feel the weight of history, without recurring to tedious dramatizations, or “respectable” devices. What one sees on stage at a Taylor Mac show contains such love and devotion that leaving the theater can’t help but feel like a disappointment. There’s no way the world outside will ever live up to the possibilities Taylor Mac suggests.
