The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac

HERE Arts Center

This was reviewed really well in the New York Times. So, we went.

Taylor Mac is a consummate performer. He does what I've told people through the years a great paper or good writing will do. He takes you by the hand and leads you through. He tells you where you are going, where you've been, what to think and how to think about it. The performance is studied, spontaneous and delightful at the same time.

I think the plays main theme was humanity, not losing track of the connection between humans. There were so many subthemes it was difficult to keep track.

Taylor Mac builds a relationship between the audience and performer and this may be his strongest skill. He was well aware of what the audience was thinking at different stages in the performance and moved the show along from there. A good example came in the beginning of the show when it felt like the prologue had been going on for an extended time. He said something like, "I bet you are all starting to wonder when the back story will end and the show will begin--well, it's already started, you are in it." It probably doesn't read like the brilliance it was. But, it really hit the spot. It made the audience feel safe. The performer knew what was going on, was in control. Ironically safe in a show about the feeling of not being safe in the aftermath of September 11th.

Mixing song and chit chat, the show moves over a range of topics and outfits in about two hours. It's a one man show by a man in drag who calls it a play. It just can't get any better than that. It was entertaining, if not maybe as fully cohesive as it could have been.

I would recommend the show. You just don't see people very often who can't not perform. Taylor Mac has a true, defined calling for the stage and he's answering that calling in a very unique way. The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac was intelligent, gentle, entertaining and (his word) fierce all at the same time. It would be impossible to not recommend the show.