Vocal festival hosts operatic drag show
IBy Chandler Kidd t’s not over ’til the bearded lady
sings!
A three-day festival of vocal
performances will conclude with a
rock oratorio from an opera singer
dressed as a man who is dressed
as a woman. The seventh annual
Resonant Bodies festival, returning
to Roulette in Boerum Hill from
Sept. 3–5, will feature three recitals
from notable singers each night,
ending with bearded drag queen
Blythey Oratonio, the male persona
of mezzo soprano Stephanie Blythe.
The acclaimed opera diva says that
her bearded alter-ego gives her more
options to express her artistry.
“Blythely is Stephanie, it is not
that he allows me to do something, it
is me, but the character allows me to
sing opera roles that I normally don’t
sing as a soprano,” Blythe said.
She developed the character of
Blythely, a tenorissimo, for a show
to benefit the Philadelphia Opera, in
which she performed with famous
Philly drag queen Martha Graham
Cracker.
She found that donning the beard
allowed her to mix genres and connect
with the audience in a unique
way, she said.
“My reason for wanting perform,
whether I am performing this or an
American cabaret, is to make contact
with the audience, because Blythely
can say things that Stephanie can’t say
on stage, because he is a drag queen
and he is outrageous!” Blythe said.
During her show on Sept. 5,
Blythe will sing a mash-up of disco,
rock, and opera, using skills she has
developed from her many opera performances.
“I still sing with a supported technical
tone, I am just employing a different
COURIER LIFE, A 34 UG. 30-SEPT. 5, 2019
style,” she said. “I employ the
same technique — it doesn’t sound
like an opera singer singing rock ’n’
roll, it sounds like an opera singer
singing opera.”
The founder of the Resonant
Bodies festival said that she is excited
to see Blythe explore a new genre and
direction.
“I love a performance that connects
to a performer’s personal fulfillment
of their greater life purpose.
I feel that Stephanie is setting an
example of what it means to be fearless
and bold. I am looking forward
to laughing, and to the change of
pace her set will offer in the overall
Festival arc,” said Lucy Dhegrae.
Resonant Bodies Festival at
Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave. at Third
Avenue in Boerum Hill, www.resonantbodiesfestival.
org). Sept. 3–5 at
7:30 p.m. Stephanie Blythe performs
on Sept. 5. $20 ($50 for three-night
pass, $75 VIP).
By Bill Roundy Celebrate the end of summer!
This is Labor Day weekend,
which Brooklynites
traditionally celebrate
by abandoning their
glorious city in
favor of vacations
elsewhere. That
means that those
of us who remain
can finally take
advantage of those
things we have been
meaning to do all summer,
without having to fight
the crowds!
So spend your Friday night at
Coney Island, where you will finally
be able to ride the Cyclone without
a line, take a turn on the Wonder
Wheel, and join in the Fireworks
Friday Karaoke on the Beach (on
the Boardwalk at W. 12th street), a
free singing session that starts at 7
p.m. and lasts until the pyrotechnic
show goes off at 9 p.m..
On Saturday, you should
indulge in a sunset sail along
the Brooklyn coast, on a
New York City Water
Taxi; tickets are only
$2.75. Step off the boat
at the Sunset Park
stop, at Brooklyn
Army Terminal (140
58th St. at First Avenue
in Sunset Park) to catch
a free outdoor screening of
“Avengers: Endgame!” The film
starts at 8 p.m., which means that if
you stay through the thrilling conclusion
of the Marvel saga, you will
need to get a subway home — the
ferry stops running at 10 p.m.
On Sunday afternoon, wander to
the outdoor market Smorgasburg at
Breeze Hill in Prospect Park (enter
at Lincoln Road and Ocean Avenue
in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, www.
smorgasburg.com). The fest lasts
from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., and you
should have minimal competition as
you join the line for a Fluffy, a thick
soufflé-style pancake ($8–$10), or
for the elaborate ice cream floats
from 10-Below Ice Cream ($9).
And Labor Day itself, Sept. 2,
will be your final chance to see
the Brooklyn Cyclones play at
MCU Stadium (1904 Surf Ave. at
W. 17th St. in Coney Island, www.
brooklyncyclones.com) this summer
— unless the team has a wild
card entry into the post-season. The
regular season will end just as it
started, with a pitched battle against
our rivals from the Rock, the hated
Staten Island Yankees. The match
will get started at 4 p.m. Tickets
will cost $12–$14, but your kids will
eat free.
HBy Rose Adams e’s got all the history
you can handle!
A local historian
and antique collector
will present a hands-on
exploration of the fight to
give women the vote, at the
Coney Island Museum on
Aug. 31. During his hourlong
“Suffragette City”
lecture, Denny Daniel
— who runs the traveling
exhibition the Museum
of Interesting Things —
will combine stories about
early feminists with more
than 50 historic items that
the audience can hold,
including newspapers from
the turn of the 20th century,
photos, ballot books
with the names of the first
women voters, and a vintage
voting booth from
the election of President
Warren G. Harding. Daniel
says that the highlight of
the collection is his wardrobe
of vintage dresses.
“I love the dresses. I’m
probably going to have
someone try them on,” he
said.
During his presentation,
Daniel will pass
around a gray, plain frock
that British feminists wore
in the early 20th century,
a white dress common
among American suffragettes,
and a corseted gown
called a “bustle dress” that
was a staple for the era —
and that feminists loathed.
“The bustle dress is a
size negative one,” Daniel
joked — he has never seen
someone fit into its tiny
frame.
His many vintage treasures
enliven the history
of the women’s suffrage
movement, and demonstrate
how it intersected
with other social movements
of the time. The
buttons, ribbons, and postcards
also advocate for
civil rights and alcohol
prohibition — two campaigns
that many suffragettes
took part in.
“The movements were
all intertwined, and it was
in the women’s best interest
to fight for all three of
them,” Daniel explained.
Support for the temperance
movement often came
from women who suffered
domestic violence at the
hands of drunken husbands,
he added.
“Suffragette City” is
one of Daniel’s many traveling
exhibitions. Daniel
has also presented his vast
collection of memorabilia
to school children and history
buffs in the service of
lectures about the 1960s
space race, the history of
film, and more. Daniel says
that his passion for history
and his love for teaching
drove him to found the
traveling museum.
“It’s to get people back
to being curious and positive
again,” he said. “It’s
to bring back that curiosity
that we all grew up with.”
“Suffragette City” at
Coney Island Museum (1208
Surf Ave., second floor, at W.
12th Street in Coney Island,
(718) 372–5159, www.coneyisland.
com). Aug. 31 at 5
p.m. $10.
Moustache and music: Stephanie Blythe will perform as her drag queen persona Blythely
Oratonio at the Resonant Bodies festival in Boerum Hill on Sept. 5. Marty Sohl
Hands-on: Daniel’s interactive exhibits allow attendees to hold
many of his antique treasures, like stereographs, which make photos
seem three-dimensional. Denny Daniel
Frock the vote
SING OF QUEENS
Last chance for summer fun!
Coney Isle show covers
the suffragette crusade
/www.brooklyncyclones.com
/www.reso-nantbodiesfestival.org
/www.reso-nantbodiesfestival.org
/www.smorgasburg.com
/www.smorgasburg.com
/www.brooklyncyclones.com
/www.reso-nantbodiesfestival.org
/www.coney-island.com
/www.coney-island.com
/www.coney-island.com
/smorgasburg.com
/brooklyncyclones.com
