Julio Marcelino

Harlem, 1926. A “sweetman” Zeddy, living off a woman, brings a country girl he’s trying to impress to a gay-owned cabaret. There he meets a friend, Jake, whose girlfriend, Congo Rose, is the singer there. Drama swirls around the characters as Zeddy confronts the cabaret owner, about his sexuality. Congo Rose, seeking to reignite her man’s fading interest, puts on a performance, with her Pansy Dancer, of a Bessie Smith song that seduces the whole room, especially Zeddy.

In 'Daddy?', time and persona are fluid as we explore a homeless young dancer's night. Following the break up with his boyfriend and an assault on his way to the club where he works, events cause him to question who he is, where he’s going and what he has lost. A fever dream of violence and sex, bringing his buried fears to life. Is the man he wants to love someone he can trust? Will he ever have someone, feel safe and be whole?

An experimental take on the traditional operatic diva which replaces them with queer and trans performers. Their lip-syncing to Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas from 1689 infuses energy and meaning to the iconic myth-which receives a radical update for 2018.

Made with Equinox and The LGBT Community Center.