Screening
Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music
HBO Original Documentary, 2023
Directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman
Taylor Mac’s 24 Decade History Of Popular Music © HBO
Rich with stunning musical performances, the documentary “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music” captures Taylor Mac’s marathon, 24-hour immersive theatrical experience.
Taylor Mac's “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music” (2016) was a decade in the making and captures Mac’s lens on the entirety of US history from 1776 to present day. Comprising more than 240 songs, enhanced by lush new arrangements by musical director Matt Ray, Mac and numerous other performers decoded the social history of a country and created a subversive spectacle in the process. The musical performance was complemented by outrageously imaginative costumes created by designer Machine Dazzle specific to each decade.
This 24-hour live show, which was reenacted over four nights at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele in 2019, was performed only once in its entirety in Brooklyn, NY. Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman adapt this tour de force performance in all its righteous outrage and radical humanity in this feature length documentary “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music”. With highlights, interviews and backstage footage, the film once again impressively demonstrates the essential importance of communities – and the potential that lies in the audience when it is given trust.
The works of Taylor Mac (pronoun: judy) are distinguished by their collage structure and their community-building momentum. Mac studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, has written and staged numerous plays and revues and received several awards, among them the International Ibsen Award, two Obie Awards and two Bessie Awards. Furthermore, judy was nominated for the Tony Award and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. For “A 24-Decade History of Popular Music”, Taylor Mac and Matt Ray jointly received the Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History. Composer, pianist, singer and musical director Matt Ray has been working with Taylor Mac for many years. He has composed and staged musical shows, e.g. “Matt Ray Plays Hoagy Carmichael featuring Kat Edmonson”, and performed at venues including the Lincoln Center and the Hollywood Bowl. Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music” was directed by Oscar-winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, who have been involved in film and television for over 30 years. They have been nominated three times for Oscars for their work together and have won two of them, for the HBO production “The Celluloid Closet” (1995) and “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (2019). They have also received five Emmy Awards and three Peabody Awards.
Artistic Team
Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman – Directors & Producers
Joel Stillerman, Linda Brumbach, Alisa E. Regas, Taylor Mac & Mari Rivera – Production
Nancy Abraham & Lisa Heller – Executive Producers
Anna Klein – Coordinating Producers
Presented by HBO Documentary Films in association with Content Superba, a Telling Pictures and Pomegranate Arts Production in association with Fifth Season and Nature’s Darlings.