This is a weekend when art and activism converge: “Rise Up Sing Out: A Concert for the First Amendment” will be held at The Town Hall on Sunday night, and streamed at watch parties and individual homes across the country. This is also the weekend of the second annual Stage Left festival, the launch of the eighth annual Criminal Queerness Festival, and the opening weekend of two different plays about life under authoritarian rule. Details and links below.
Why this weekend? Some of it may have something to do with how the president of the United States is celebrating his 80th birthday on Sunday — with an 85-foot-tall, 600-ton steel octagon called ‘The Claw’ erected on the White House lawn for a $60 million Ultimate Fighting Championship series of mixed martial arts bouts.
“Even as authoritarians increase their attacks on our freedoms and communities, we see examples across the country of people rising up together, taking action, and turning back those forces,” write Committee for the First Amendment, the hosts of the Rise Up, Sing Out concert.
Stage Left
(Theater Row)
June 12-14
A festival of five new plays, each paired with a progressive advocacy organization.
Criminal Queerness Festival
(National Queer Theater at HERE Arts Center)
June 10 – 27
The eighth annual festival is showcasing three plays by Arab LGBTQ+ playwrights, as part of its mission to present new works written by artists from countries where queerness is criminalized or censored.
The first of these, on June 12 and 13 is “Area D”
In this musical fusing Arab pop and electronic sounds, a Palestinian pop band lands an unexpected shot on the Eurovision stage. What starts as a lucky break for Lara and her feisty bandmates spirals into a glitter-drenched spectacle, forcing them to wrestle with how far they will go to get their voices heard and save one of their own.
There are community events before each performance: On June 12th, for example, Immigrant Artists Night with Artistic Freedom Initiative and NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
Building the Wall
(Urban Stages)
June 11-21
A revival of Robert Schenkkan’s chilling two character play from 2017 that imagines the dystopian consequences of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies, involving immigrant detention centers. Was it prescient? Let’s just say it doesn’t seem dated. My review of the original production.
Youth in Flames
(59e59)
June 10 – 28
Written and performed by Mimi Martin, and inspired by true events, the show follows Millie, a cheeky British teenage expat living in Hong Kong whose world is upended during the 2019 regime protests. Through her friendship with local classmate Jesse, she is drawn into the heart of the cause and realizes that her carefree attitude can have real consequences. Part of Brits Off Broadway, direct from Edinburgh Fringe.
Rise Up, Sing Out A Concert for the First Amendment
The Town Hall Sunday June 14 at 7:30 p.m.
This is a starry (and pricey) 90-minute concert that you can attend in person, But it will also be streamed…
“so wherever you are, you can sing along, find inspiration in the performances, build community, and take meaningful action together.”
