Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Andrea Miller’s YOU ARE HERE is an artful and profound collection of performative portraits of New Yorkers during the pandemic

• By drediman
• July 27, 2021
• No Comments

Last night, I attended a performance of Andrea Miller’s You Are Here, which is currently in the midst of a weeklong run at Lincoln Center. Commissioned as part of the outdoor Restart Stages series (tickets are free and distributed via TodayTix lottery), the in-person production activates a sculpture and sound installation – courtesy of ingenious scenic designer Mimi Lien, as well as composer and sound designer Justin Hicks – at the venerable institution’s Hearst Plaza. In essence, the show is a collection of performative portraits of New Yorkers during the pandemic (each show features a different lineup of portraits, so each performance is likely to be a unique experience). In short, I found You Are Here to be artfully executed and profoundly moving.

For her show, Ms. Miller – the artistic director of the dance company GALLIM – uses a fluid fusion of dance, song, and theater to portray the here and now vis-a-vis where we’ve been during the pandemic. Providing the free-flowing song and dance interludes are GALLIM and the soulful song stylings of musician Hahn Dae Soo and his band, whose selfless contributions act as a sort of adhesive for the evening, as well as a refreshing balm between portrait performances. Most astonishingly, Ms. Miller uses the shallow pool in front of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre as the centerpiece of her sprawling outdoor stage, creating striking stage pictures of contemplation, liberation, and rejuvenation. Additionally, the evening’s clever meta-theatrical framework draws the audience, smartly diffusing a potentially didactic experience.

At my performance, the portrait performers were diverse and compelling – they included Cassie Mey (New York Public Library), Eli Schreiner (LaGuardia High School), Taylor Stanley (New York City Ballet), Valarie Wong (New York Presbyterian Hospital), and Jermaine Greaves (Lincoln Center Accessibility). Each segment was sensitively staged, giving each performer ample space to express and ruminate on their experience during the strange and difficult time. As such, these portraits – which metaphorically reached towards the element of water and the act of breathing – acted in both healing and commemorative capacities. The show concluded with a joyous dance break for the entire company, and the soundtrack that was used? Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance with Somebody” – which created a perfect and hard won moment of unadulterated uplift and hope.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

YOU ARE HERE
Multi-disciplinary performance / In-person
Hearst Plaza at Lincoln Center
1 hour, 15 minutes (without an intermission)
Through July 30