Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the gay rights movement, Perfect Arrangement merges madcap sitcom-style laughs with provocative drama as two closeted U.S. State Department employees struggle to maintain their cover – and their sanity – in 1950s America.
It’s 1950, and new colors are being added to the Red Scare. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, have been tasked with identifying sexual deviants within their ranks. There’s just one problem: Both Bob and Norma are gay, and have married each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the earliest stirrings of the American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to stare down the closet door.
Amanda Farbstein, John Mannion, Tanya Marie, Alex Rodriguez, Brad Satterwhite, Leslie Wagonner, Erica Wyman
GALLIM returns to The Joyce with a dynamic bill celebrating a 15-year prolific period of Artistic Director and Founder, Andrea Miller’s expansive, boundary-blurring, interdisciplinary work. Music pulsates throughout the program with newest works, FROM and Sama, to the intoxicating tracks of Nicolas Jaar and Duets for Jim to the hallowed songs of music legend, Sade. Miller’s much anticipated World Premiere for the "King of Krump," Brian "HallowDreamz" Henry, marks a new collaboration between two mavericks of movement invention. New works and long time favorites all share Miller and GALLIM’s embodiment of the elemental and sensual appearing in the glow and shadows of live performance and its alchemy. Additional guest artists and creatives to be announced.
In The Sacrifice, South African choreographer Dada Masilo embodies the rituals of Tswana dance in a work inspired by composer Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” Masilo expands upon the concept of sacrifice, building a unique narrative by fusing ballet with modern and traditional dance to reimagine classic tales. The traditional dance of Botswana, Tswana dance is both rhythmic and expressive, rooted in storytelling and healing practices—a fertile base on which Masilo expertly melds disparate styles.
Following its triumphant debut at The Joyce last season, New York's Gibney Company returns with a powerful program featuring two world premieres and Johan Inger's Bliss, an ode to the joy of dancing. Co-artistic directors of Vancouver's Out Innerspace Dance Theatre, Tiffany Tregarthen & David Raymond make their U.S. debut with a new work commissioned for Gibney Company. Featuring rigorous, hyper-detailed movement, the work will meld dance and design into an inseparable and ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration. Acclaimed choreographer Yue Yin combines Chinese classical and folk dance, ballet, and contemporary dance movement into a completely unique creation. Her new work for Gibney Company features an original score of live music and recorded sound by Ryan Lott of the band Son Lux. Rounding out the program, Johan Inger's Bliss was inspired by jazz pianist Keith Jarrett's legendary Köln Concert who is considered the epitome of virtuoso improvisation. Inger translates the essence of Jarrett's iconic music into dance that truly is a state of bliss.
The Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in collaboration with the Chitrasena Dance Company presents the New York City premiere of Āhuti, a thrilling combination of classical Odissi dance from India and traditional Kandyan dance from Sri Lanka. Meaning “offering,” Āhuti bridges the gap between distinct dance traditions of these South Asian cultures, in the second cross-cultural collaboration between these two acclaimed companies.
Bessie Award winner Ayodele Casel is a longtime City Center collaborator and one of the world’s great tap talents, beloved for her musicality, strength, and fluid, generous style. As the second featured artist-curator in our Artists at the Center series, Casel invites an all-star roster of choreographic and performing talent to join her on the City Center stage in an evening that features six World Premiere City Center Commissions. Casel expands her sublime 2021 Fall for Dance commission Where We Dwell—featuring live original music by Crystal Monee Hall—to further explore her and her collaborators’ personal, cultural, and musical approaches to the quintessentially American tap form. “The work transforms the stage into a kaleidoscope of vibrant dancing bodies” —The New York Times
Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to New York City Center, April 19th-23rd! The Company’s extraordinary dancers shine in two New York premieres: William Forsythe’s Blake Works IV, the latest installment of the choreographer’s continuously evolving work The Barre Project; and a new ballet by Tiffany Rea-Fisher set to an original score created by New York-based DJ and composer Erica Blunt (aka Twelve45) and inspired by the trailblazing Hazel Scott, the classical and jazz musician and civil rights activist. A program of works featuring Resident Choreographer Robert Garland‘s latest hit, Higher Ground—named one the best performances of 2022 by The New York Times—as well as Artistic Director Virginia Johnson’s favorite George Balanchine ballet—the joyous Allegro Brillante—will also be presented. Join us for the audacious vision for classical ballet that is Dance Theatre of Harlem. Special events include pre-show DJ and dancing on the Grand Tier, Divine Nine/HBCU Night and a post-performance talkback with soon-to-be Artistic Director Emerita Virginia Johnson (Friday), and a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the relaunched Company and Virginia Johnson’s final season as Artistic Director (Sunday).
The acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) makes its Joyce debut with a program celebrating the extensive repertoire of its Artistic Director Mark Morris. Founded in New York City in 1980, the company has received “highest praise for their technical aplomb, their musicality, and their sheer human authenticity” (Bloomberg News). Live music from the MMDG Music Ensemble accompanies works from across the decades that feature Morris’ distinctive wit and devotion to music. Experience a world premiere work by Morris, audience favorites, and rarely seen pieces from the company’s repertory.
GALLIM returns to The Joyce with a dynamic bill celebrating a 15-year prolific period of Artistic Director and Founder, Andrea Miller’s expansive, boundary-blurring, interdisciplinary work. Music pulsates throughout the program with newest works, FROM and Sama, to the intoxicating tracks of Nicolas Jaar and Duets for Jim to the hallowed songs of music legend, Sade. Miller’s much anticipated World Premiere for the "King of Krump," Brian "HallowDreamz" Henry, marks a new collaboration between two mavericks of movement invention. New works and long time favorites all share Miller and GALLIM’s embodiment of the elemental and sensual appearing in the glow and shadows of live performance and its alchemy. Additional guest artists and creatives to be announced.
In The Sacrifice, South African choreographer Dada Masilo embodies the rituals of Tswana dance in a work inspired by composer Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” Masilo expands upon the concept of sacrifice, building a unique narrative by fusing ballet with modern and traditional dance to reimagine classic tales. The traditional dance of Botswana, Tswana dance is both rhythmic and expressive, rooted in storytelling and healing practices—a fertile base on which Masilo expertly melds disparate styles.
Seven actresses with musical instruments in their hands create a life-affirming performance about love, freedom, and beauty which – at the end of the day – will save the world. Already well known in Kyiv as actresses of the DAKH Theatre, band members can occupy neutral ground between the musical genre and dramatic art, in the right experimentally-creative space. Dakh Daughters create an atmosphere of a French saloon, where Mireille Mathieu befriends Marilyn Manson. On occasion, armed with a full compliment of strings, keyboards and percussions, the women shake the audience with a roar in the manner of Laibach (Slovenian avant-garde group), but can swiftly change anger for kindness, turning into fun-loving Hollywood beauties of the 1950’s that dream of tropical vacations in the Caribbean. This completely unique group is ideologically related to the English band – The Tiger Lillies – which has the capability of hyperbolizing characters and involving the public in funny intellectual shows. Song lyrics of these semi-fairytale fairies are based on classical Ukrainian poetry, Nobel-prize winners, their own works, and fragments of popular hits of the past. Drawing on their experiences, the Dakh Daughters easily manipulate the emotions in the audience, changing the rhythm from slow to fast to pausing in just the right places at the right time. Together with their audience, they create rock-operas, demonstrating the desire not only to find new forms of popular music but also to develop the context needed for today’s world. Being one with the rhythm of time, enjoying the creative moment, and accumulating their own energy, the Dakh Daughters develop a space of enormous love around them, breaking the walls of boring routines…
Join us for this special show in tribute to our Nisei generation as the Grateful Crane Ensemble from Los Angeles takes you on a sentimental journey through the Nisei's life in America before, during and after WWII. Featuring over 20 of the Nisei's favorite Japanese and American songs, the show will bring back fond memories of their lives well-lived as we say "Thank you" to them for paving the way for the younger generations to follow.
From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over! SIX has won 23 awards in the 2021/2022 Broadway season, including the Tony Award® for Best Original Score (Music and Lyrics) and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical. The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic's Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!" The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 Million streams in its first month.