BEN KATCHOR and MARK MULCAHY:
The Rosenbach Company – A Concert Version Nineties Pop Phenom and Highbrow Cartoonist Craft Avante-Garde Musical
4/10/06, 4/17/06, 4/24/06 @ Joe’s Pub
Cartoonist Ben Katchor and musician Mark Mulcahy’s present a new pop-musical that chronicles the life and times of Abe Rosenbach, the world’s preeminent rare-book dealer in the first half of the 20th century, and his brother Philip, a savvy dealer of decorative arts. Their collection ranged from James Joyce’s manuscript of Ulysses to John Tenniel’s original illustrations for Alice in Wonderland. Mixing projected animated images with live actors, singers and musicians, the show explores the obsessive nature of collecting, the relationship between cultural and commercial pursuits and the brothers’ historical significance as owners of some of the world’s greatest literary treasures.
I was impressed with Mark Mulcahy’s last album, In Pursuit of Your Happiness, not so sure about the sound of his latest venture.