GAYLETTER

Last Friday I attended the opening preview for Hildegard (Vision) presented by the Pioneers Go East Collective. I was on a day date that turned into an early evening happy hour moment, which then transitioned into the boy accompanying me to the performance at the La MaMa theatre. Needless to say there’s nothing like a little live theater and boozy opening night gala following the performance to elevate your night. Upon arrival, we were given our tickets, shown inside the auditorium and told to “explore the space and then choose your seats.” The piece is described as a “meditative performance and sonic installation inspired by the work of mystic, artist and “proto-feminist” Hildegard Von Bingen” who was apparently a bad-ass medieval Lady Lover nun who gave a lot of advice (shade) to the Pope at the time.

The plot of Hildegard had a sparse structure and this made it difficult to follow exactly what was happening. However, the actors, audio installations and set pieces fully immersed the audience into the world of the play. It was like we were plopped right into the center of Hildy’s brain during a really bad hangover. The seats circle the space so as you watch the piece you are literally inches away from the action, which I love! My favorite part was when Hildy had a “divine vision” of a lion, a dog and a pig all destroying the church with sex and power. It really got me in the mood and I think it would do the same for all of you. The show runs December 3-20.

$18, December 3-20 Thurs-Sat (7:30PM) Sun (2:00PM), La MaMa, 74a East 4th Street, NY, NY.