Nightclub Cantata

A provocative, eclectic and heralded theatrical creation rarely seen since its inception decades ago, innovator, activist and theatre icon Elizabeth Swados’ 1977 breakout sensation is a joyful song cycle of world literature about survival: what compels us back to life and to living as one. Based on texts by Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda and other poets, the eclectic evening of sound, literature, poetry, and bold physicality melds to intrigue, provoke, and engage the listener. Whimsical, intense, insightful and singular, Nightclub Cantata combines what Swados called “the seriousness of a cantata with the frivolousness of a nightclub.” The ground-breaking work premiered at The Village Gate in 1977 and has not been seen on the NYC stage for over 40 years! It is born of the avant-garde tradition of the 1960s and 70s, yet it is fresh, vital and relevant to our lives today.

Bill Castellino directs and choreographs the cast of seven.