“Mr. Interviewer, what do you want? A moldy story filled with boring facts, or a show?” – Nita
The Southern transforms into a vaudeville-style cabaret with ex-Minneapolis playwright Lisa D’Amour’s OBIE-winning biography of “international dancers” Nita and Zita. The sisters emigrated from Romania in the 1920s and became legends among the eccentrics and outsiders that make up New Orleans’ mystique. Nita & Zita recreates their oddly charming, ideosyncratic mix of burlesque, contortionism, and pure visual fantasy. Questioning what is truth and what is myth, this surreal cabaret searches for what matters in the personal quest for artistic freedom. Produced by ArtSpot Productions. Copresented with the National Performance Network (NPN).
Inside Out There: Lisa D’Amour, Kathy Randels, Katie Pearl: AND AGAIN
Saturday, January 22, 2 pm
Flora and Piroska Gellert, the real-life sisters who inspired Nita & Zita, are legendary for the obsessive polka-dot pattern they painted on every surface of their home. Take a look at the Geller’s work and that of Henry Darger, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Yayoi Kusama, and others, and examine repetition in word, image, and gesture. Uncover your own obsessions in an exploration of multiples, excess, and the desire to do it again. Limited to 20 participants.
Inside Out There is held at the Southern Theater and is free with a paid performance ticket. For reservations, call 612.375.7622.