Event

Beauty Is

One of Philadelphia's most innovative theater companies is taking a captivating look at the skyrocketing rates of HIV among gay men who use crystal methamphetamine in an original production. "Beauty Is" explores the underlying emotional reasons people engage in self-destructive behavior and raises awareness about the dangers of crystal methamphetamine, known as "Tina" in gay communities across America. The ensemble production features a four-person cast and is an original work written, scored, and choreographed by San Francisco-based playwright Matthew Graham Smith and Hotel Obligado ensemble members. "Beauty Is" evokes the raw emotionality of missed connections, repressed tendernesses, and painful pleasure people on Tina experience. It uses the graphic physicality and rushed extremism they embody to enact the fantasies and horrors of using crystal methamphetamine. Named one of the Top Ten Productions of 2006-2007 by the Philadelphia Weekly, it also earned Robin Marcotte the Weekly's award of Best Choreographer. For more information, please visit www.hotelobligado.org.