Queer disco takes over downtown with ‘Beyond the Stardust’
In these uneasy times, who doesn’t need an explosion of joy to lift their spirits and get their bodies moving to immerse oneself in an otherworldly environment and abandon oneself to spectacle? That can be powerful and exhilarating theater — and you can get it right now at The Flea downtown, which has, for the … Read More
Mark
0
6
In these uneasy times, who doesn’t need an explosion of joy to lift their spirits and get their bodies moving to immerse oneself in an otherworldly environment and abandon oneself to spectacle? That can be powerful and exhilarating theater — and you can get it right now at The Flea downtown, which has, for the next month or so, been converted into The Stardust Club for an extravaganza aptly named “Beyond the Stardust.”
The creators known as The Illustrious Blacks, who conceived the show with Flea artistic director Niegel Smith, bill the show as an “Afro-disco-space-punk-extravaganza of no-fucks-futurist-fabulousness.” And that it is, though that logline may take a little explaining. Yet beyond, or perhaps beneath the immersive dance party, is a theatrical intelligence that elevates the piece into something artistically powerful.
Part disco, part Cirque du Soliel, part absurdist theater, and part agit-prop political drama, the Illustrious Blacks — Monstah and Black! — take a stand for rejecting convention, celebrate Black queerness and freedom of gender expression, among other topics. Setting them in a disco where patrons are encourage to dance — wonderfully conceived by designer Oscar Escobedo, whose overhead, inter-galactic sculptures are dazzling lit by Kate McGee — transforms the piece from the cerebral to the visceral.
[caption id="attachment_65156" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
"Beyond the Stardust" draws on “Disco, House, Funk, Punk, and Synth Po,” in its playlist, according to its creators.Jeff Eason[/caption]
The show features 12 original songs, which the Illustrious Blacks have developed over years as they built their following, as well as aerial acts, light shows, outrageous (and stunning) costumes by DeShon Elem. Amazonian Rockstar serves as the emcee, guiding the performance and the audience as the evening unfolds. Aerial acts by Blaine Petrovia and Queen Ravenden are stunning, made even more so by their intimacy with the audience.
The songs are in a variety of styles. The creators say that they drew on “Disco, House, Funk, Punk, and Synth Pop,” to create the playlist. The songs are meant to challenge conventional social attitudes within the context of recognizable styles. No lyric captures the ethos of the piece more effectively than one from the song “Suck My Disco.” It’s an in-your-face statement that demands an audience confront attitudes of complacency and demands that they pay attention to the whole experience, not just a beat one can move to. They say, “If you’re gonna come and get it, then you got to take it all./There is pain with the pleasure and a weight that you must haul…/Look beyond the cover, every lyric, ever chapter./Gotta go deeper.”
That really is the essence of the show. It’s a serious message delivered with love and humor, spectacle and intention, and ultimately a celebration — and exhortation — to be fully yourself, however you may express it and always with love for everyone.
If there is hope and healing to be found in these contentious times, it may just be found on the dance floor. At least you can get a taste of it for the next few weeks at the Stardust Ballroom.
Beyond The Stardust | The Flea | 20 Thomas Street | Weds-Sat 7 p.m; Sun 3 p.m. through October 28 | $29.50-$55.50 at Ovationtix | 75 mins, no intermission | Note: You will stand (and dance) for the entire performance, limited seating available.
"Beyond the Stardust" draws on “Disco, House, Funk, Punk, and Synth Po,” in its playlist, according to its creators.Jeff Eason[/caption]
The show features 12 original songs, which the Illustrious Blacks have developed over years as they built their following, as well as aerial acts, light shows, outrageous (and stunning) costumes by DeShon Elem. Amazonian Rockstar serves as the emcee, guiding the performance and the audience as the evening unfolds. Aerial acts by Blaine Petrovia and Queen Ravenden are stunning, made even more so by their intimacy with the audience.
The songs are in a variety of styles. The creators say that they drew on “Disco, House, Funk, Punk, and Synth Pop,” to create the playlist. The songs are meant to challenge conventional social attitudes within the context of recognizable styles. No lyric captures the ethos of the piece more effectively than one from the song “Suck My Disco.” It’s an in-your-face statement that demands an audience confront attitudes of complacency and demands that they pay attention to the whole experience, not just a beat one can move to. They say, “If you’re gonna come and get it, then you got to take it all./There is pain with the pleasure and a weight that you must haul…/Look beyond the cover, every lyric, ever chapter./Gotta go deeper.”
That really is the essence of the show. It’s a serious message delivered with love and humor, spectacle and intention, and ultimately a celebration — and exhortation — to be fully yourself, however you may express it and always with love for everyone.
If there is hope and healing to be found in these contentious times, it may just be found on the dance floor. At least you can get a taste of it for the next few weeks at the Stardust Ballroom.
Beyond The Stardust | The Flea | 20 Thomas Street | Weds-Sat 7 p.m; Sun 3 p.m. through October 28 | $29.50-$55.50 at Ovationtix | 75 mins, no intermission | Note: You will stand (and dance) for the entire performance, limited seating available. 
