Would you be willing to buy a ticket for a concert that goes on for 24 hours? Hundreds of people did just that to see theater artist Taylor Mac in 2016, and that show has now been turned into the documentary “Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music,” which will stream on Max starting June 27.
Directed by two-time Oscar winners Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the film follows the 24-hour performance at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn as Mac performs renditions of songs dating back to America’s origins in the 18th century, from “Yankee Doodle” to “Gloria.”
Along the way, Mac complements the alternative tour of American history with elaborate costumes designed by Mac’s longtime collaborator Machine Dazzle and make-up designer Anastasia Durasova.
As the show goes on, one member of Mac’s 24-piece orchestra leaves the stage every hour, until only Mac is left to close out the show after performing this one-time-only performance without any rest.
“The audience…they start to support us more,” Mac says in one of the film’s interviews. “We start to lose energy onstage but they give more energy. I’m interested in when an audience has to make a commitment to something.”
“Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music” will premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival ahead of its release on Max. Watch the full trailer in the clip above.
