For Immediate Release: Rachel Mason: The Lives of Hamilton Fish Rock opera and album launch Performances: Friday, March 6, 2015; Saturday, March 7, 2015 Time: 7 pm Rachel Mason, The Lives of Hamilton Fish (HD video still), 2014. Image courtesy the artist. Tickets: $12 Location: ROOT Studios, 443 West 18th Street, New York, NY http://www.artingeneral.org/events Art in General 79 Walker Street New York, NY 10013 www.artingeneral.org Press contact: Aimee Chan-Lindquist
[email protected] Art in General is thrilled to present the Manhattan debut of Rachel Mason’s rock opera The Lives of Hamilton Fish March 6–7, 2015. The Lives of Hamilton Fish is a cinematic performance based on figures who lived in New York state during the Great Depression. The deaths of serial killer and a statesman—both named Hamilton Fish—are announced on the same day. Hamilton Fish II is a descendant of one of the most prominent families on the east coast, and Hamilton “Albert” Fish is a psychopath and notorious murderer. A newspaper editor, played by Mason in drag, becomes obsessed with this coincidence after publishing their simultaneous obituaries on his front page. The film’s story is told entirely through original songs performed live, as a surreal tale unfolds where supernatural events and historic facts merge in a wild, musical journey. Scenes were filmed at historic sites including Sing Sing prison, where Mason was a volunteer art teacher from 2005-2010, and the Jumel-Morris Mansion, where Alexander Hamilton was shot. Real locations are intercut with fabricated sets imagined as abstract paintings, mimicking the actors’ makeup and costume design.