Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – BEAUTY IN THE ABYSS: A hybrid evening investigating beauty and desire from National Black Theatre and the NY Philharmonic

• By drediman
• February 5, 2022
• No Comments

Last night at the intimate Stanley H. Penthouse, I attended a fascinating and insightful program entitled Beauty in the Abyss, which was curated by National Black Theatre in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic. On the heels of Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Costanzo’s sensational mash-up of a concert last weekend at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center (where they revived, in condensed form, their cabaret spectacular Only an Octave Apart), yesterday evening’s one-night-only event represents the New York Philharmonic’s ongoing effort to program more inclusive and diverse events during its season.

The hourlong program – which was conceived and directed by Dominique Rider – reached far beyond classical music, embracing poetry, storytelling, theater, as well as the requisite music-making in its quest to explore how the notions of beauty and particularly desire influence one’s experience of life. The hybrid format lent an air of restless exploration to get to the core of things, often leading down unexpected and illuminating paths. The roster of participants were as inspiring as they were provocative, exuding an investigatory spirit and highly articulated – often radical – points of view.

The evening was emceed by performance artist Nia Farrell, whose poised presence and sacred sense of occasion brought a ritualistic atmosphere to the proceedings. The poets Mahogany L. Browne and Diane Exavier used the artistry of their spoken word performances to eloquently lay bare the program’s stream of thoughts, and the complexities therein. In terms of music, a quartet of players from the New York Philharmonic joined vocalist Joshua Banbury, who used his smooth, Anohni-esque vocals and organic sensibility as a librettist to striking effect in selections from Herb Jeffries’ “The Singing Prophet”. Most effective of all, however, was young playwright Nissy Aya, who opened and closed the program. Her lucid emotionalism brought a raw, visceral power to the evening’s explorations that I won’t soon forget.

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BEAUTY IN THE ABYSS
Spoken word, Concert
The New York Philharmonic / National Black Theatre
1 hour (without an intermission)
Closed