Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Serving up fashion: Trajal Harrell’s MONKEY OFF MY BACK OR THE CAT’S MEOW and Luke Newton in HOUSE OF MCQUEEN

• By drediman
• September 10, 2025
• No Comments

This week saw the opening of two shows — one avant-garde dance, the other an elaborately staged Off-Broadway play — with intrinsic connections to the world of fashion. As usual, read on for my thoughts on these fascinating productions, both of which have arrived just in time for New York Fashion Week.

MONKEY OFF MY BACK OR THE CAT’S MEOW
Park Avenue Armory
Through September 20

Last night saw the North American premiere of Trajal Harrell’s Monkey Off My Back or the Cat’s Meow (RECOMMENDED) at the expansive drill hall of Park Avenue Armory. Performed by the eclectic and game dancers of Zürich Dance Ensemble — from which Harrell recently stepped down as artistic director — the piece takes its most obvious inspiration from the world of fashion, particularly the runway show aesthetic. But look more closely, and you’ll see countless references not only to fashion (the countless self-referential costumes, all of which have sprung from Harrell’s active imagination), but also to visual art (the Mondrian-like flooring, luxuriously taking up much of the massive hall), pop culture (the carefully curated soundtrack), history (readings from the United States Declaration of Independence), and of course contemporary dance (ranging from Japanese butoh to New York’s voguing scene). It’s an ambitiously post-modern concoction that challenges our notion of beauty and looks to the past and present to boldly craft a utopian future — an eclectic tapestry that’s devoid of any sort of repression and categorization. At two hours in duration (without a break), the full length piece — which is segmented into five announced sections — is a slow-burning pageant that champions excessive repetition, self-indulgent poses, and glacial progressions. As such, Monkey Off My Back or the Cat’s Meow may very well try the patience of those unprepared to take it all in (as indicated by a number of walkouts on opening night). But those who surrender to Harrell’s intoxicatingly hypotonic vision — thankfully laced with humor, wit, and joy — are likely to leave the performance unquantifiably altered by its uncompromising and hopeful persistence for utter freedom.

HOUSE OF MCQUEEN
The Mansion
Through October 19

Last night also saw the Off-Broadway opening of Darrah Cloud’s House of McQueen (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED) at The Mansion in Manhattan’s burgeoning Hudson Yards neighborhood. Based on the book by Rick Lazes and Seth Koch, the new play is a biographical fever dream that recounts the influential fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s rise to superstardom from humble beginnings and muses on the personal demons that led to his death by suicide at the age of just 40. Despite the enticing subject matter, Cloud’s unnecessarily busy play could use more focus and craft. As it currently stands, it lumbers along without clear intent (e.g., the depiction of McQueen’s death oddly seems a mere afterthought), and many of the characters representing actual people in McQueen’s life register little more than caricatures — the end result being hand-held melodrama rather than thought provoking drama. Lots of money has been obviously thrown at the project, which also includes a small but well-curated exhibit of some of McQueen’s rarely-seen pieces that you shouldn’t miss. As directed by Sam Helfrich, the stylish production also boasts a high tech staging, complete with complex lighting and video design work (courtesy of Robert Wierzel and Brad Peterson, respectively). But despite all the bells and whistles, I wish the play had created a more compelling dialogue between fashion and theater. Indeed, there’s very little in the stage production that actually visually references McQueen’s iconic fashion designs; it’s a missed opportunity, to say the least. Apart from the aforementioned exhibit, the production’s other saving grace is Luke Newton (of Bridgerton fame) in the title role. His performance uncannily and sensitively channels McQueen despite the general heavy-handedness that surrounds him.