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| Dixon Place presents comic performer D'Lo in To T, or Not to T, a highlight of the 2017 Hot! Festival, DP's annual celebration of queer arts and culture. (photos: Ryan Harper Gray) |
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| Bearing witness is the only way I know to be alive. -- D'Lo |
From the outset, D'Lo literally trampolines and pogo-sticks into our hearts and, if you haven't seen him perform before--and I hadn't--you figure that's cute. But where will he go after this wacky first impression?
To T, or Not to T--a Dixon Place commission for this summer's Hot! Festival--hooks in and never lets you go. Just over an hour in length, this one-trans show is, by turns, hilarious, tender and sharp. D'Lo's so talented and smooth, he makes it all look effortless, but you know a hellawork went into getting all this material to line up and flow this well.
To T, or Not to T traces D'Lo's experience being raised as a girl in a Tamil-Sri Lankan family in Lancaster, California ("aka Sri Lancaster, California") and gradually coming to terms with his true gender identity. He has now been on testosterone for two years. Right there, that's a whole lot of content. Heavy-going, you say? Oh, no. Not one bit.
What gives D'Lo and his narrative so much lift and embraceable charm is how strongly it is rooted in his observation of and complete delight in his family--a family that wrestled with challenges but ended up cheering him on in the most heartwarming way. Which makes me think: Despite the idiot in the White House and his delusional supporters, we're actually living a moment in America where D'Lo's relatives and friends could easily find themselves the subject of a quality tv sitcom. And I would watch it. Every last episode.
To T, or Not to T continues tonight and July 21-22, all performances at 7:30pm. For information and tickets, click here.
For a full Hot! Festival schedule (through August 4), click here.
Dixon Place
161A Chrystie Street, Manhattan
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