The RRazz Room, San Francisco's premier nightclub, presents the return of Tony nominated performer Mx Justin VivIan Bond for a special three night engagement, October 12 through October 14. This engagement is the Bay Area premiere of Bond's new show "Mx America," which celebrate the release of the album "Silver Wells."
"Silver Wells" – which covers songs by Ronee Blakley, Kate Bush, Leonard Cohen, Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Mark Eitzel and Brecht & Weill, among others – is inspired by and takes its name from Joan Didion's 1970 novel "Play It as It Lays," which, according to Bond, is one of the writer's most stark and powerful masterpieces. For the album, Bond set out to choose a group of songs that would allow v to "cover" the book's themes of dislocation, nihilism, postmodernist identities, loss and the retrieval of memory. "Silver Wells" follows Bond's 2011 release, "Dendrophile," which consisted almost entirely of original songs and featured a significant cross-section of the New York music scene.
The RRazz Room (222 Mason Street, San Francisco) presents "Mx America" on Friday, October 12 and Saturday, October 13 at 10 PM and Sunday, October 14 at 8PM. Tickets are $30 and available by calling 800-380-3095 or 415-394-1189 and by visiting www.therrazzroom.com. The RRazz Room is a two-drink minimum, all-ages venue.
Mx Justin VivIan Bond is a writer, singer, painter, and performance artist. Mx Bond is the author of the Lambda Literary Award winning memoir "Tango: My Childhood, Backwards and in High Heels," published by The Feminist Press and "Susie Says…" a collaboration with Gina Garan (Powerhouse Books, 2012). The book sparked a vital discussion about gender fluidity and growing up trans in America. Having added the name Vivian and self-applied the trans prefix Mx. (instead of Mr. or Ms.) and trans pronoun "v" (instead of he or she), Bond has persuaded such mainstream media as The New York Times and The Economist to follow suit. It is not an overstatement to say that Bond has become one of the foremost spokespeople for trans experience.
In 2011 Justin Vivian's art exhibition "The Fall of the House of Whimsy" was presented at Participant Inc. in New York City. Mx Bond was nominated for a Tony Award for "Kiki and Herb Alive On Broadway" in 2007. Other notable theatrical endeavors include starring as Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis in Scott Wittman's production of "Jukebox Jackie: Snatches of Jackie Curtis" as part of La Mama E.T.C.'s 50 Anniversary Season, originating the role of Herculine Barbin in Kate Bornstein's groundbreaking play "Hidden: A Gender," touring with the performance troupe The Big Art Group and appearing in John Cameron Mitchell's film "Shortbus." Other films include "Sunset Stories" (2012), "Imaginary Heroes" (2004), and "Fanci's Persuasion" (1995). Mx Bond is a recipient of The Ethyl Eichelberger Award, The Peter Reed Foundation Grant, and The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award for Performance Art/Theater, an Obie and a Bessie. Please visit www.justinbond.com to download and enjoy V's music and blog, "Justin VivIan Bond is Living!"
Photo Credit: Michael Doucette
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