North Adams— On February 28th at 7 p.m. and March 1st at 2 p.m., MCLA’s MOSAIC presents the world premiere of “ReWritten,” an evening-length multimedia dance theater performance that travels through time to examine the relationship between writers Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne and extend the queer archive.
Created by Matthew Cumbie and Tom Truss, “ReWritten” inspired by one of America’s most mysterious and intense friendships through letters, between Herman Melville and Nathanial Hawthorne. As it turns out Melville’s letters to Hawthorne still survive and are filled with copious amounts of admiration, innuendo, and longing, but what happened to Hawthorne’s letters and responses? “ReWritten” steps into this historical literary gap to expand the queer archive and ask what happens when you say no to a dream and what really happened between Melville and Hawthorne?
If you caught any of the site-specific versions of “ReWritten” at Arrowhead, this staged version is vastly different after having been workshopped during residency at the University of Toronto over Thanksgiving.
The performances are on February 28th at 7 p.m. and March 1st at 2 p.m. at MCLA’s Venable Theater, located at 375 Church Street in North Adams. Tickets and more information can be found online.