Hudson Valley! You may remember Penny Arcade from the show, Bitch! Dyke! Faghag! Whore!, premiering in 1990 at Performance Space 122 in the East Village then moving at the Village Gate. As a protest performance art piece, the show was a reaction to former Senator Jesse Helms and the political attacks on the National Endowment on the Arts for supporting “obscene or indecent art”.
Trixie’s List asked Penny Arcade a few questions before the show, Longing Last Longer, at the Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill on Friday-Sunday, March 22-24. Click here for tickets.
Trixie’s List: Many people in the Hudson Valley once lived in New York City, and like myself, have seen you perform in the past. What would you tell someone who has not seen your show in a while? What can they expect?
Penny Arcade: I have written 16 full length plays and hundreds of Performance Pieces. Probably the most important thing to know about my work in 2024 is that for the past three decades my work has continued to evolve. Longing Lasts Longer which I am performing at the Bridge Theatre has been performed 217 times in 47 cities around the world. Catskill is city number 48! Longing Lasts Longer is a completely contemporary show – it’s about the erasure of history and hyper-gentrification but it’s a refutation of nostalgia – it’s a comedy about the difference between nostalgia and longing. Longing Lasts Longer is a 85 minute show with a soundtrack made up of a hundred song loops of some of the best music of the past sixty years – which is live mixed during the show by my long time collaborator of thirty-two years Steve Zehentner – it’s cultural criticism you can dance to! People’s most frequent comment around the world about my work is “It’s like theatre but not boring.”
Trixie’s List: New York City has changed in the past decades. What advice would you give a young artist/performer who wants to make a living today in New York City?
Penny Arcade: Everywhere has changed – not only NY. Look at Hudson! NY is no longer a cultural capital – it’s a marketing capital! The truth is a young artist/performer no longer has to live in NY in order to develop their work. It is better for a young person to develop their work in a less expensive environment than NYC where it doesn’t take all your resources just to pay your rent. Once your work is developed you could bring it to the marketing capitals.
Trixie’s List: What is your outlook on the future?
Penny Arcade: All bets are off on the actual future – politically, ecologically socially but am very excited about my future! If you have a rigorous inquiry into your life, at age 60 you get to start all over again like you are 20 but this time you are raised by yourself! You are your own mother! Your own father, raised by your own values! I don’t believe you can change the world – but you can change the world around yourself!
Thanks so much, Trixie. We are so honored to be bringing this legendary performer to our space in Catskill. Thanks also to NYC’s White Horse Theatre Company, and especially Cyndy Marion, for collaborating with us in making it happen!