By Aaron Davis
Renowned triple-threat writer, actor and director, biting social critic, founding father of hip-hop theater, the illest, the thrillest, whom no stereotype is safe from, Danny Hoch will be performing his latest show, “Taking Over,” at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center Oct. 6, 7, 9 and 10.
“Taking Over,” like many of his shows, tackles important social issues in a humorous and unconventional manner. “Taking Over” will bring up the issue of gentrification, especially as it is happening in his neighborhood of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“'Taking Over' is a bunch of different character monologues that represent different voices of New York City in 2008,” said Hoch, 38, who grew up in Lefrak City. “Most are centered around Williamsburg and in the last 15 years it has been ground zero for gentrification in the city and in the country. It has been the blueprint for developers and city boards on how to rezone and gentrify an area. Essentially branding New York.”
Hoch's style of one-man-performance is to seamlessly transition into nine different characters, each representing one aspect of the myriad experiences involved in gentrification. Hoch covers the condo developer who uses artists as his “ground troops” for gentrification, the indignant artists protesting the yuppification and the unknowing Midwestern hippie girl who is adorable even as her presence is a sign of the changing landscapes. No Williamsburg archetype is beyond this biting social critic's reach, even himself, the artist who must travel outside of New York to be able to support his career of telling New York's stories.
The show's current run is the New York premiere. It has previously played in Berkeley, Minneapolis, Montreal and Washington, D.C.
“People were very, very provoked by the performance,” Hoch said. “We had some post-performance discussions and I've never seen an entire audience stay for an entire post-performance discussion.”
Hoch's previous plays “Pot Melting,” “Some People,” and “Jails, Hospitals, Hip-Hop” have garnered many awards, including two Obies, an NEA Solo Theatre Fellowship, a Sundance Writers Fellowship, a CalArts/Alpert Award In Theatre and a Tennessee Williams Fellowship.
In 2000 Hoch founded the Hip-Hop Theater Festival at which he gathered national and international artists of the hip-hop generation under one roof.
“The majority of people, when they hear hip-hop, they think rap music or break dancing,” Hoch explained. “What hip-hop theater really means is any kind of theater, whether experimental or avant garde, that is about hip-hop-generation issues and is for hip-hop-generation audiences.”
If You Go:
“Taking Over” – Written by and starring Danny Hoch
When: Oct. 6, 9 & 10, 8:30 p.m.; Oct. 7, 2:30 p.m.
Where: LaGuardia Performing Arts Center's Little Theatre, at 47th Avenue and Van Dam Street, Long Island City.
Cost: Free
For More: Box office, 718-482-5151, for reservations
