brigid's day
in which the band residency starts Feb 24, IRON JOHN kicks ass and takes donations, and an obscure celtic holiday comes around again
Hey Hartlist,
Happy Brigid’s Day!
I’ve always felt pretty close to the Celtic goddess Brigid. For one thing, she’s a rare female deity who isn’t a mom OR a virgin, and i kind of think of her as the Universal Cool Aunt. For another, she’s known as a ‘triple goddess’ who spends a lot of time juggling three art forms - in her case, poetry, smithcraft (!), and healing - but tell me she didn’t have a sideline in Tarot cards, I dare you.
Speaking of smithcraft…1
JUST THE GIGS
(ITS KIND OF ALL ABOUT THE GIGS THIS WEEK)
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24 @ 7PM, The Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3: The first ever Rebecca Hart & the Wrong Band monthly residency begins. Hie thee hither. Tickets in cash at the door for mysterious reasons, or in advance by clicking this image:
IRON JOHN: an American Ghost Story
…‘s first 29-Hour Industry Presentation, February 13.
Sorry. I bet that seemed like I was FINALLY inviting you to an actual performance of my beloved musical. O my friends, I would love nothing more than to be doing that. IRON JOHN is possibly my favorite thing I’ve ever made… and I think well of both my album AND the ‘jam swirl’ cake I made last week.
I think I love IRON JOHN personally because it was something I was sure I couldn’t do when I started, and definitely because I made it in collaboration with the insanely talented composer and Story Wizard Jacinth Greywoode.
It is a riff on a little-known, bewitching folktale which inspired a bestseller in the 80s which launched a well meaning and problematic “men’s movement” which my dad loved and I hated and I’d been meaning to write my own interpretation for years… but it became its own thing once it started. It’s had a whole lot of development so far, though there was a global pandemic just as we were gaining momentum. Perhaps you remember. We still managed to have two virtual college productions of the show in the past few years and have been humbled and awed and schooled by the process of rewriting and refining every time. Since its first pages in 2016, we have (sadly) watched it become more relevant as our country’s storydisintegratesunfolds. I may, possibly, have just fixed the ending yesterday. We’ll see! If you’re curious, you can hear songs and get more info right here.
TL;DR: I really, really want you to be able to see it sometime.
And in order for that to happen, we need to meet some people who might help us produce it. And to that end, we are having this reading February 13.
YES THAT IS QUITE SOON.
Can you help?
All donations to the cause are now tax-deductible and can be made right here! 2
Thank you to all those who have contributed so far - we are over halfway to where we need to be! And thank you to everyone who reads this newsletter. I hope the next time I mention IRON JOHN, I’m inviting you to opening night.
That’s all for now. FYI, Brigid’s Day is also the pagan holiday of "Imbolc”, which translates to “in the belly”, a reference to - you guessed it - lactating ewes. (Did you guess it, though? Be honest.) Traditions include lighting candles in the snow, pouring milk on the ground, and hanging around near wells. Enjoy that. Try not to look suspicious.
Love,
Rebecca
In our version of the tale, ‘Iron’ John gets his nickname from his work as a blacksmith. I realize that’s tough to get from context.
IRON JOHN 29-HOUR READING is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of IRON JOHN 29-HOUR READING must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.