Anne Bogart to Direct Reimagined STEEL HAMMER at BAM This December

The 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winner Julia Wolfe's art ballad STEEL HAMMER comes to BAM in a dramatic reincarnation by director Anne Bogart, performed by six members of SITI Company, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and three vocalists- Emily Eagen, Katie Geissinger, Molly Quinn.

The production makes its New York Premiere, presented by Julia Wolfe, SITI Company and Bang on a Can All-Stars, at the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton St), December 2-6, 2015.

With original text by Kia Corthron, Will Power, Carl Hancock Rux, and Regina Taylor, STEEL HAMMER will feature scenic & costume design by James Schuette, lighting by Brian H Scott, sound design by Andrew Cotton and Christian Frederickson and choreography by Barney O'Hanlon.

Wolfe's profound art ballad was not conceived as a stage show. But Bogart was so inspired by this musical retelling of the John Henry legend that she wanted to give it a dramatic interpretation. Wolfe's text is culled from the many iterations of the folk hero John Henry and her music incorporates elements of minimalism, Appalachian folk music, and rock. Deconstructing and resetting more than 200 versions of the famous ballad, STEEL HAMMER examines not only the subject of human vs. machine, but delves into the richly populated mythos of American folklore and roots music.

Intersecting the music is commissioned text from four remarkable American playwrights-Kia Corthron, Will Power, Carl Hancock Rux, and Regina Taylor-who explore hearsay, recollection, and tall tales. Performers in STEEL HAMMER take on wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, step dancing, and more as they explore the human impulse to tell stories and this quintessential tale of an American folk hero who worked on the railroad.

"STEEL HAMMER was really inspired by my love for the legends and music of Appalachia," Wolfe explains. "It's a return to my musical roots in folk music, and when I wrote the piece, I looked to the breadth of musicianship in the Bang on a Can All-Stars. I was also moved by the myriad of songsters, some known, some not-so-known, who filled my ears with their own personal versions of the John Henry ballad."

About the Artists:

Julia Wolfe, winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in music, draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them. Wolfe's music is distinguished by an intense physicality and a relentless power that pushes performers to extremes and demands attention from the audience. Her music has been heard in venues worldwide including BAM, the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, The?a?tre de la Ville, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall, and has been recorded on Cantaloupe, Teldec, Point/Universal, Sony Classical, and Argo/Decca.

Formed in 1992, New York's electric chamber ensemble, Bang on a Can All-Stars is recognized worldwide for its ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today's most innovative music. Freely crossing the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world, and experimental music, this six-member amplified ensemble has consistently forged a distinct category-defying identity, taking music into uncharted territories.

SITI Company is an ensemble theater company based in New York that tours extensively throughout the United States and internationally. SITI is dedicated to the creation of new work, the training of theater artists, and to international collaboration. Founded in 1992 by Anne Bogart, Tadashi Suzuki, and a group of like-minded artists, SITI seeks to redefine and revitalize contemporary theater in the US through an emphasis on international cultural exchange and collaboration. Among the countless accolades SITI, as well as its members, have garnered include seven OBIE awards; two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Doris Duke Artist Award, a USA Artists Rockefeller Fellowship; American Theatre Wing's Henry Hewes design award, Best Foreign Production at the Dublin Festival, and several Drama Desk Award nominations.

Anne Bogart is the artistic director of SITI Company, which she founded with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. She is a professor at Columbia University where she runs the Graduate Directing Program. She and SITI have created about two dozen works including A Rite (2013 Next Wave), Trojan Women (After Euripides)(2012 Next Wave), Hotel Cassiopeia (2007 Next Wave), bobrauschenbergamerica (2003 Next Wave), and War of the Worlds-the Radio Play (Next Wave 2000). She is the author of five books: A Director Prepares; The Viewpoints Book; And Then, You Act; Conversations with Anne; and What's the Story.

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafe? are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe?, operated by Great Performances, offers a dinner menu prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafe? also features an eclectic mix of live music for BAMcafe? Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.

For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.

Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow