There’s a Riot going on!
The Real Music & True Story of Stonewall
Premiering At Joe’s Pub June 4th and 11th
CONTACT:
DAVID ELKIN // PUBLICIST
LYDIA KRUMPER // PUBLICIST
Sourced from mainstream and underground media, gay-bar guides, court decisions and political flyers, as well as first-person accounts, the texts of There’s A Riot Going On! reframe selections like Shirley Bassey’s “This Is My Life,” The Flirtations’ “Nothing but a Heartache,” Sly & the Family Stone’s “Stand!,” and popular favorites by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Harry Nilsson. Heard in this context, familiar hits and deep cuts alike take on new life, giving modern audiences glimpses into why these songs resonated with the Stonewall Inn’s diverse patrons amidst the societal pressures they faced, and ultimately, confronted.
This latest iteration expands the show’s perspectives by interpolating excerpts of audio interviews from the archives of Eric Marcus’ book and podcast Making Gay History. Now, the actual voices of LGBTQ+ pioneers including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Frank Kameny have a say in There’s A Riot Going On!, too.
“I was surprised by how vividly the texts brought you back to that pivotal moment and also how some of the participants clearly had no idea that they were part of a revolution with seismic proportions, they were just filled with righteous rage at the moment and did what they felt was right,” observes Michael Musto, one of the show’s narrators. “Not all heroes wear capes, and not all of them know they even could have!”
Led by Music Director Ann Klein (Grease, Almost Famous, Kinky Boots) several cast members from 2024 return for this limited engagement at Joe’s Pub, including Driver, Musto, queer burlesque legend Tigger!, Machine Dazzle, and drag chanteuse Castrata, whose performance of the Petula Clark classic “I Know A Place” can be heard here. Joining the production are Eric Redd, stepping in for Everett Bradley on June 11, acclaimed singer and songwriter Nicki Richards, Catskills’ drag king Cowboy Lou, and more.
“This show has taken on a much bigger meaning than it originally had,” Driver says. “In the face of our current political regime, I thought a lot about what I can do to push back and this is where I landed. I can put this show out into the world and, if we’re lucky and things go as hoped, we’ll be able to bring it to a lot more people. This show is jubilant and celebratory and, ultimately, it's about queer victory. That’s an important message at a moment like this: We can win. We’ve done it in the past and we’ll do it again.”