THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Joyce opens its season with the curious dance theater piece HEART OF BRICK, a sensitive if undercooked look at Black Queer love

serpentwithfeet and company in “Heart of Brick” at The Joyce Theater (photo by Fabian Hammer).

This past weekend saw the opening of The Joyce Theater’s 2023/2024 season with Heart of Brick. Using singer/songwriter serpentwithfeet’s latest album as the springboard for this curious dance theater concoction — featuring choreography by Raja Feather Kelly — the work depicts the love story between Wise, a reclusive Black man, and Brick, a man he chances to meet at a gay club catering to Black clientele.

The songs by serpentwithfeet are invariably sensitive and emotionally wrought, if at times a tad precious. The slight but lively work is most notable for its gentle heart, which is in refreshing contrast to the trauma and turbulence that typically accompanies such queer stories. Indeed, serpentwithfeet and his collaborators — namely multimedia artist Wu Tsang — make sure that they’ve created a safe space for their tender tale to unfold in. Even if the work’s lack of specificity and tension make for somewhat undercooked drama, it’s function as an homage to authentic Black Queer love and the nightlife spaces that have made such stories possible makes up for most if its shortcomings.

In terms of performances, the production is led by serpentwithfeet himself, who provides the piece its lyrical quality and unique point of view via live singing atop a prerecorded track. He’s backed suavely by a small company of dancers who execute Kelly’s incidental movements with poetic intuition, even though I wish the choreographer’s work had taken more of a central role alongside serpentwithfeet’s musical contribution.

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HEART OF BRICK
Dance / Music / Theater
The Joyce Theater
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)
Through September 22

Categories: Dance, Music, Other Music, Theater

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