Patrick Scully to Honor Walt Whitman at Dixon Place

To celebrate Walt Whitman's 197th birthday*, Dixon Place presents Leaves of Grass - Uncut, a solo performance by Patrick Scully, summoning the spirit of 19th-century poet. Leaves of Grass - Uncut shows us many sides of Whitman: from the furtive-changing genders to "straighten things up", to the fierce-defying the censors and getting banned in Boston.

This solo performance by the renowned performer and founder of Minneapolis' popular Patrick's Cabaret opened in Minneapolis to critical acclaim. The Dixon Place presentation on Tuesday, May 31* & Thursday, June 2 at 7:30pm marks its New York debut. Lavendar Magazine raved, "Patrick Scully was born to play Walt Whitman." The Minneapolis StarTribune noted Scully as "the perfect caretaker for Whitman's legacy."

Leaves of Grass - Uncut reflects Whitman's utopian dreams, and his 19th century tribulations. On stage, this world includes video images of eighteen men dancing together, ranging from tender and sensual to boisterous. Stripping down entirely to bathe in the opening scene, they set the tone for the evening about relationships between men and the forces that seek to deny them. (Video work by Bessie Award winner Nancy Mason Hauser).

Leaves of Grass - Uncut pulls from history, art, literature, even opera and presents aspects of Walt Whitman's life and work that are fascinating for our time, in which discussions of male/male relations have finally moved out of the shadows into the light of day.

Patrick Scully is a Minneapolis based choreographer/dancer & performance artist. He danced with Remy Charlip, including Remy's Ten Men show in BAM's Next Wave Festival in 1984. Patrick's Queer Thinking show at DTW in 1992 was chosen by the NYTimes as one of the year's performing highlights. His work with Ishmael Houston Jones & Keith Hennessy, Unsafe/Unsuited, was praised in the Village Voice review by Deborah Jowitt 3/21/1995 & is included in Dona Ann McAdams Caught in the Act. In addition to his performing work, Patrick was the founder and long time director of Patrick's Cabaret in Minneapolis.

Dixon Place, an artistic incubator since 1986, is a Bessie and Obie Award-winning non-profit institution committed to supporting the creative process by presenting original works of theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature & visual art at all stages of development.

After spawning a salon in her Paris apartment in '85, Artistic Director Ellie Covan pioneered the institution in her NYC living room for 23 years. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary year, Dixon Place has organically developed and expanded into a leading professional, state-of-the-art facility for artistic expression.

Dixon Place is located at 161A Chrystie Street (btwn Rivington & Delancey) in Manhattan's Lower East Side.

The Dixon Place Lounge will be open before, during and after the show. Proceeds directly support Dixon Place's artists and mission.

Tickets are $18 in advance, $22 at the door, and $15 for students, seniors & idNYC.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit http://dixonplace.org/performances/leaves-of-grass-uncut-2/?

Photo Credit: Sara Rubinstein