ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE
October 7, 7:30PM
Live/Reserved Seating
Priority Seating: $35
General Seating: $25
Harlem Stage presents the NYC album release shows of Haitian-American artist Leyla McCalla’s remarkable new album, Breaking The Thermometer. Derived out of a multi-disciplinary theater project commissioned by Duke University, which acquired the complete Radio Haiti archives in 2016, Breaking The Thermometer combines original compositions and traditional Haitian tunes with historical broadcasts and contemporary interviews to forge an immersive sonic journey through a half century of racial, social, and political unrest. PopMatters states, “Breaking the Thermometer is a reminder of the album as a statement, a covenant between artist and listener to intentional and attentional communion. Leyla McCalla’s profound creativity asks for such attention in this album and richly rewards it.” McCalla’s record is a work of radical performance art, historical scholarship, and personal memoir, a wide-ranging and powerful meditation on family, democracy, and free expression that couldn’t have arrived at a more timely moment. Join us for an evening of thought-provoking and awe-inspiring music and talent.
Combining original compositions and traditional Haitian tunes with historical broadcasts and contemporary interviews, Leyla McCalla’s remarkable new project, Breaking The Thermometer, offers an immersive sonic journey through a half century of racial, social, and political unrest as it explores the legacy of Radio Haiti—the first radio station to report in Haitian Kreyòl, the voice of the people—and the journalists who risked their lives to broadcast it. McCalla’s performances here are captivating, fueled by rich, sophisticated melodic work and intoxicating Afro-Caribbean rhythms, and the juxtaposition of voices—English and Kreyòl, personal and political, anecdotal and journalistic—is similarly entrancing, raising the dead while shining a light on the enduring spirit of the Haitian people. McCalla isn’t just some detached observer, though; she writes with great insight and introspection on the album, grappling with memory, identity, and her own experiences as a Haitian-American woman, unraveling layers of marginalization and generations of repression and resolve in search of a clearer vision of herself and her role as an artist. The result is at once a work of radical performance art, historical scholarship, and personal memoir, a wide-ranging and powerful meditation on family and democracy and free expression that couldn’t have arrived at a more timely moment.
BEFORE YOU PURCHASE YOUR TICKET, know that you must show proof of full Covid-19 vaccination having completed the vaccination series at least 14 days prior to the performance date. Masks are required. We will continue to update our safety protocols to remain in line with CDC guidelines. Learn more about our safety protocols.
Photo by Rush Jagoe
Personnel
Leyla McCalla, Cello, Banjo, Guitar
Shawn Myers, Drums
Markus Schwartz, Haitian Percussion
Pete Olynciw, Bass
Nahum Zydybl, Guitar
Sheila Anozier, Dancer