About the Show

Set in Brooklyn 2017, 'Pillowtalk' is an intimate two-character drama that brings to life one night in the lives of a newlywed interracial gay couple, using inventive staging incorporating elements of ballet.

Through a formal exploration of theatrical naturalism and the codified gender norms of ballet's pas de deux, 'Pillowtalk' queers the intersections of race, gender, and class to examine the evolving values of gay marriage and ask whether queer communities of color can truly celebrate marriage equality in times of #BlackLivesMatter? The play explores how liberation and oppression co-exist in our most intimate spaces, transforming social and cultural traditions into radical performances of change.

Critic Reviews (5)

"Poking and prodding at questions of love, identity, and safety in a hostile world, Park is fusing naturalistic drama with ballet...A beautifully designed production, held gently aloft throughout by atmospheric original music. When the choreography meets...Day-Glo dance costumes, they make a drama all their own...The play is front-loaded with diatribes...that are tedious and untheatrical, even if you agree with them. Yet 'Pillowtalk' is a political work, and feels very much of this moment."
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"Kyoung H. Park directs his own 'Pillowtalk', an uneven two-hander about a faltering same-sex marriage, in which the couple grapples with confusion about what fulfillment should feel like. Park's portrait of them is both sentimental (there's a fantasy ballet) and lacerating. For example, one man complains about their neighborhood, but nails himself instead. 'Everyone here now looks like my class at NYU!' Oof: Gentrifier, spruce up thyself."
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“‘Pillowtalk’ does have its audacious moments including the final pas de deux - choreographed by Katy Pyle to wonderfully moody music by Helen Yee - which is a natural extension of Buck's pipe dream of becoming a classical ballet dancer. The two young men grapple with each other, perform high lifts and wrestle themselves into complex shapes, dressed in Andrew Jordan's revealing costumes consisting of strips of colorful cloth.”
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"A naturalistic two-hander with elements of dance to heighten the emotional charge...The play gets high points for being candid about its message. The characters never shy away from saying exactly what they mean...However, the play's script suffers from a lack of nuance as it turns pedantic with dialogue saturated with political buzzwords...The dance duet at the end is dreamlike and achingly beautiful. If only the script that came before could have matched it."
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"Delves deeply, fearlessly, and often hilariously into the marital life of crusading Asian-American journalist and his African-American ex-athlete husband...'Pillowtalk' manages regularly to be simultaneously self-aware and emotionally honest, and JP Moraga and Basit Shittu similarly balance tension with tenderness as they create a fully realized, lived-in interplay between Buck and Sam."
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