CHEAT SHEET

Reasons to get excited for “Maggie the Cat”:

  1. We love an adaptation — revisit one of Tennessee Williams’ most beloved works in an entirely new light.
  2. We love an oeuvre – Trajal Harrell’s body of work builds in complexity, visual language, and scope of citation with every new piece.
  3. We love to cross genres – Harrell mixes dance, performance, fashion & music in a vibrant, visceral collage.

 

Learn more about Trajal Harrel and The Schauspielhaus Zürich Dance Ensemble.

Office Hours: Coming Soon

Get Into It

Maggie the Cat  - Trajal Harrell - Teaser
"Maggie the Cat" Trailer

Get Thee to the LIbrary

Recommended readings to get you in gear for the show.

Kemi Adeyemi, Kareem Khubchandani, Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, editors, Queer Nightlife. Ann Arbor: Univ. of Michigan Press, 2021.

Ramsay Burt, The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities. New York: Routledge, 2022.

Annette J. Saddik, Tennessee Williams and the Theatre of Excess: The Strange, the Crazed, the Queer. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2015.

Read All About It

New York Times | July 16, 2019

On the Catwalk With Tennessee Williams

“Through rhythmic juxtaposition and perfect pacing, [Harrell] creates alternating states of chaos and calm, of joy and excitement, bewilderment and bathos.”

Exeunt Magazine | July 15, 2019

Review: Maggie the Cat at Manchester International Festival

“For Maggie the Cat, the individual (the upholstery, the fashion, the act) is exploded, explored through the body of the company, ‘our help.’”

The Guardian | July 21, 2019

Maggie the Cat review - wit and passion abound

“Applause doesn’t seem quite enough; it’s a thrilling work, both free and beautifully structured, profound and exhilarating.”

Works Cited

Harrell makes nuanced use of a wide range of influences, from Tennessee Williams to Sophocles to the Harlem voguing underground. Spend some time with each of these inspirations before the show.

"Three Players of a Summer Game" by Tennessee Williams

Williams based “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” off of his own short story, published several years before the premiere of the play – find an earlier iteration of Brick & Maggie in the archive.

"Home Fire" by Kamila Shamsie

This contemporary adaptation of Sophocles’ “Antigone” was part of the 2019 NYU Skirball Book Club – learn more about it & read an excerpt.

Paris is Burning work sample
"Paris is Burning" Excerpt [find it on streaming platforms!]

Extra Credit

Learn more about other shows you might enjoy this season at NYU Skirball.

Found in Translation

Learn more about other shows with related themes.

Representation Matters

Learn more about other shows with related themes.