RITUAL: Schwarze Messe Kabarett

RITUAL: SCHWAZRE MESSE KABARETT//BLACK MASS CABARET

13-14 DEZEMBER 2024//DECEMBER 13-14 2024

THE CELL THEATRE
338 W 23RD ST. NEW YORK NY

In this Black Mass Cabaret, featuring music from J. S. Bach to Kurt Weill, we'll bear witness to the long march for queer liberation from Weimar Germany to the present day.

RITUAL tells this story in four chapters: WEIMAR GERMANY, THE RISE OF FASCISM, THE CLOSET, and LIBERATION NOW.

Through our journey, we bless those working today to build a better future.

CHAPTER 1:
WEIMAR GERMANY
Queer love at the peak of the doomed republic.

CHAPTER 2:
THE RISE OF FASCISM
Queer perseverance in the face of insurmountable hatred. 

CHAPTER 3:
THE CLOSET
Queer Survival: Hiding in fear of judgment and exile.

CHAPTER 4:
LIBERATION NOW
Queer joy calls to us: Liberation now!

PLEASE NOTE: This production contains content that is NOT suitable for minors and that some audience members may find disturbing including sexual content, nudity, and identity-based violence.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13

DOORS AND BAR OPEN AT 7:00 P.M. // SHOW STARTS AT 8:00 P.M.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14

SHOW 1: DOORS AND BAR OPEN AT 2:00 P.M.//SHOW STARTS AT 3:00 P.M.
SHOW 2: DOORS AND BAR OPEN AT 7:00 P.M. // SHOW STARTS AT 8:00 P.M.

FEATURING

Jordan Rutter-Covatto - countertenor
Max Richards - actor
Peter Clough - actor
John de los Santos - director
Mila Henry - music director
Jules Biber - cello
Brian Shaw - clarinet and saxophone

MUSIC BY

Viktor Ullmann, Erwin Schulhoff, David Beyglman,
Friedrich Holländer, Arnold Schönberg, Kurt Weill,
Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer,
Alexander von Zemlinsky, J.S. Bach

Arr. Jordan Rutter-Covatto

IN THEIR WORDS

“Give me everything you have: my soul is not vain. Proudly I receive your blessing.”
-Arnold Schönberg and Richard Dehmel

“If I had the wings of a dove, I would fly far away. I would go into the vista and find rest in a shaded refuge.”
-Felix Mendelssohn

“Ah, if we could feel a life outside of the one we have, and not be in danger.”
-Viktor Ullmann and H.G. Adler

“Hear now: we are who we are, even in the face of death.”
-Mischa Spoliansky

PROMPT: ADVENT III

Each generation brings suffering, and struggle – but also fortitude and perseverance motivated by faith. We ask ourselves:

What is the meaning of suffering, and why should we survive?

We must create our own salvation. While our bodies are temporal, we can create legacies that live on through the generations.

Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam.

Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti, et semini eius.

Our ancestors will speak through us and we will find glory in speaking to our successors. We will live in sæcula sæculorum through our collective spirit that transcends all suffering and grows alongside us.