Contradict This! A Birthday Funeral for Heroes NYC Reviews and Tickets

76%

(6 Ratings)

Positive

83%

Mixed

17%

Negative

Members say

Great singing, Edgy, Quirky, Confusing, Clever

About the Show

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the much lauded homo poet Walt Whitman's birth and the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret is throwing a pageant for the ancestors.

Part trial, part birthday, part funeral, this spectacle will feature original music performed by a host of misfits, drag artists, queers, and a local choir. Come with friends, complaints, heroes, and villains alike. All are welcome to the death, birth, and reckoning of the great poet.

Part of the "Stonewall 50 at La MaMa" series.

Show-Score Member Reviews (6)

Vastly entertaining, Birthday party & roast of walt whitman, Surprising, Talented cast & musicians, Bearded ladies cabaret strikes again

See it if trip back to 70s experimental theatre sensibilities with taste of Duncan Sheik, Hedwig and even David Byrne. With fab cast of go 4 brokers

Don't see it if Hate experimental theatre, dislike anything new or different, or gay content or poetry or Leaves of Grass or Walt Whitman or cabaret

Deliciously off-beat and yet deep exploration of walt whitman, Great singing, Edgy, Delightful, Clever

See it if Walt Whitman matters to you and quirky vitality turns you on

Don't see it if you want normal in any sense

Thought-provoking, Great singing, Confusing

See it if you are interested in Walt Whitman and LGBTQ matters

Don't see it if if LGBTQ and PC turn you off Read more

Edgy, Relevant, Great singing, Entertaining, Absorbing

See it if you like experimental performance theater - good acting, fine music, great voices, wild costumes all wrapped in a party/funeral/toast to WW.

Don't see it if Whitman's poetry set to music and performance acts does not interest you or if you are looking for a traditional play.

Experimental, Quirky, Edgy, Clever, Ambitious

See it if Musical celebration/trial/funeral of gay poet,Whitman,by the gender-inclusive group that he represents.Averting hagiography, he's excoriated

Don't see it if The contradiction lies in embracing him through his poetry, then distancing his views from the soft-boil of the rest of the group. Read more

Self-indulgent, Quirky, Confusing

See it if you enjoy/appreciate 60's era style performance art, strangely linked together but with earnest, mostly talented performers

Don't see it if you are into story, characters, and sensibility. This is quite "out there" and you need to be up for that. Read more

Critic Reviews (1)

"Whatever the underlying intelligence, what’s on the surface of 'Contradict Myself!' suggests a vibe of playful anarchy...This can be fun (if you’re in the right mood) but such an approach is in danger of sliding into incoherence and amateurishness, especially among the members of the cast who are less experienced actors. Luckily the show features some two dozen original songs, most of which are tuneful, and presented by some fine singers and musicians."
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Trailer

Creative team

La MaMa

Producer