The Lily’s Revenge

I went to see Taylor Mac’s new show, The Lily’s Revenge, at HERE Arts Center on Saturday night, which also happened to be Halloween. So many things make this show worth seeing, and overall I highly recommend it.

*This review contains spoilers*

The format is based on the Japanese noh theatre tradition, which is an extended theatrical experience. Lily is 5 acts over about 5 hours. It is an all-evening affair. It’s an event. There are intermissions, during which there are various activities and kyogen performances to watch. There is a “Discussion Disco” where many of the performers hang out, a Flickr photo pool to which you can add your own picture instantaneously, a live Twitter feed documenting tweets about the show, and video testimonials looping on flat screen TVs.

I had never seen Taylor Mac live before, but I had seen a few of his YouTube videos. He is a bundle of energy. Enthusiastic, flamboyant, and immensely likable. He is a riveting performer with an amazingly flexible voice and plenty of things to say. There were times when I wondered how he will keep it up for many weeks, since he’s really putting his voice through its paces, going from what sounds like painful screaming to the most delicate, intimate pianissimos. He is mostly successful in maintaining this dynamic range, though a few times I thought I detected some grit in the louder belt portions. While it didn’t necessarily detract from the effectiveness of the performance, it did occasionally make my throat hurt in sympathy for his vocal folds.

The idea of theatre as commitment is compelling. When you decide to go to a 5-hour show, believe me, you are making quite a commitment. Personal connection was stressed. We were asked to turn off our cell phones during the first half of the evening, even during intermissions, in the hope that we might actually, you know, talk to one another rather than texting. Then that was turned on its head when we were allowed to turn our phones back on and were encouraged to only text and communicate via cellular devices. Curious how the atmosphere changed during that intermission. There really was a difference.

The plot was focused on deconstructing the institution of marriage, or, more specifically, the wedding. It raised questions about nostalgia, and the way we view marriage and how people generally approach it with various expectations and fantasies and a longing for something that doesn’t exist, and never has. That’s the danger of marriage: when you enter into it thinking it will be one thing and you find out it’s something else entirely. I think that happens a lot. We are fed fairy tales and movies that all end with a wedding. The wedding is a destination, an end point, rather than a beginning. The realities of the ever after are glossed over or not discussed at all. It’s all about the wedding industry, your big, special day, and the dress, always the dress. Problem is, that’s not what marriage is. The wedding is just the beginning.

My problem with the show is with how it ended. I found it deeply unsatisfying, and I found the last act  jarring and at odds with some of the the messaging in the other acts. Taylor came out of his sequins and face paint, and that was a nice, effective touch, as was his personal address to the audience at the very end. But it didn’t seem like the regret at having given up who he was came across in the last act. The institution was broken down, but there was no resolution. I liked the idea of asking people to keep an open mind, simply consider different options, try to engage, try to connect as people. But there seemed to be undue emphasis on connection through sex. The transition from resolution of the plot to the personal address was clunky and odd. It was the one part that didn’t move me. It made me uncomfortable, spawned good conversations with my husband, but it didn’t work for me theatrically.

The cast is amazing, and the production as a whole is fantastic. It’s a lot of fun, and is something completely different. It’s song, dance, burlesque, vaudeville and poetry. It’s colorful, imaginative, and put me off-balance. And, like I said, it inspired lots of conversation, which is what good theatre is meant to do.