Ghost Rings

New York Live Arts 50 & Change Commission
The critically acclaimed, Obie award-winning theater ensemble Half Straddle will make their Live Arts debut with the world premiere of Ghost Rings. Driven by an original song cycle, the work is inspired by elements of live band dynamics, graphic novels, and music videos and tells the story of two friends taking the ultimate leap into adulthood. With text and lyrics by Tina Satter, the “genre-and-gender-bending, visually exacting stage artist” (The New York Times) and music by Chris Giarmo and Erin Markey, the show unfurls a narrative of contemporary friendship and family-making told through virtuosic performances and evocative design. Mixing deadpan magical realism with the considerations of feminist thinkers like Maggie Nelson and Michelle Tea, the resulting piece is a tender, harrowingly funny, unexpected musical experience.

Ghost Rings is commissioned by New York Live Arts for its 50 & Change Commission series with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Produced by Aaron Rosenblum.