The Young Ladies Of: Time Out NY Review The Young Ladies of… Raven Snook ***** star rating DEAD LETTER OFFICE Mac sits among epistles of the past. Kim Whitener Outrageous solo performer Taylor Mac has always been fierce, but his work (like last year’s bacchanalian epic Red Tide Blooming) has often lacked focus. However, his stunning new solo piece—a pastiche of autobiography, allegory and social analysis—proves that the gender-bending artist can be in control and still be utterly fabulous. The incongruous descendant of a line of manly military men, Mac was quite young when his father was killed in a motorcycle accident. Aside from a few random details (Dad’s favorite movie was Carousel), most of what Mac knew about him was based on assumption. When his mom sent him a sack of his father’s letters a few years ago, Mac figured he would finally discover more. Turns out, they weren’t written by Pop; they were responses to a 1968 personal ad he had placed when he was an Army lieutenant in Vietnam. Looking like a glitter-encrusted Baby Jane, Mac interweaves spirited readings of some of these letters with songs, personal anecdotes and a hilarious slide show juxtaposing images of his red-state relatives with photos of his adopted freak family. Despite being intensely personal, the show never feels self-indulgent. Anyone with paternal issues or identity crises (and as Mac points out, that includes pretty much everyone—even the President) should be able to relate. Although he never really became acquainted with his father, the audience has the pleasure of knowing Mac. October 3, 2007

The Young Ladies of…

Raven Snook

***** star rating

DEAD LETTER OFFICE Mac sits among epistles of the past.

Kim Whitener

Outrageous solo performer Taylor Mac has always been fierce, but his work (like last year’s bacchanalian epic Red Tide Blooming) has often lacked focus. However, his stunning new solo piece—a pastiche of autobiography, allegory and social analysis—proves that the gender-bending artist can be in control and still be utterly fabulous.

The incongruous descendant of a line of manly military men, Mac was quite young when his father was killed in a motorcycle accident. Aside from a few random details (Dad’s favorite movie was Carousel), most of what Mac knew about him was based on assumption. When his mom sent him a sack of his father’s letters a few years ago, Mac figured he would finally discover more. Turns out, they weren’t written by Pop; they were responses to a 1968 personal ad he had placed when he was an Army lieutenant in Vietnam.

Looking like a glitter-encrusted Baby Jane, Mac interweaves spirited readings of some of these letters with songs, personal anecdotes and a hilarious slide show juxtaposing images of his red-state relatives with photos of his adopted freak family. Despite being intensely personal, the show never feels self-indulgent. Anyone with paternal issues or identity crises (and as Mac points out, that includes pretty much everyone—even the President) should be able to relate. Although he never really became acquainted with his father, the audience has the pleasure of knowing Mac.

October 3, 2007