Tag Archives: Delacorte Theater

Look out, “Hair.” Peace and love (not war) may rule in Central Park at the Delacorte Theater, but they’re not the only free musical game in town. The pimps and whores and crooked cops of Melvin Van Peebles’s “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death” reign uptown in a lively Classical Theater of Harlem production at Marcus Garvey Park. (Presented by City Parks Theater, “Ain’t” moves to other locations in the coming weekends.)

Mr. Van Peebles’s show — he wrote the book, music and lyrics — tweaks the conventions of musical theater when it doesn’t dispense with them outright. A series of loosely strung together vignettes, it’s short on plot and traditional songs, but long on innovation. Continue reading →