In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall and World Pride

Come Back Once More
So I Can Say Goodbye

Passion, Struggle, Loss and Freedom: Gay Life in New York City 1965-1995

 

June 14-17th, 2019, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater

June 8th, 2015, The Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater

 

Recommended by amNY and The NY Times!

Conceived, Choreographed and Directed by
Sasha Spielvogel

Check out our shout-out on NY1

Dr. Ruth Loved Us too

Check Out Our Facebook Album

 

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Ultimately, this show is about HOPE and LOVE triumphing over HATE.

Through the passage of time, we have seen challenges to our human decency that surface repeatedly. When a class of people is treated as ‘other’ and caused the pain and loneliness of hiding their true selves, it is easier to turn a blind eye than it is to acknowledge our common humanity.

Growing up with a father who was a Holocaust survivor and who barely escaped Nazi-occupied Vienna, I learned from an early age to take notice of the dark places in the human soul. I saw it firsthand when, as a young dancer in New York, friends and colleagues were dying of AIDS; the general population, the government and the medical establishment turned away. And once more, compassion for those who most need it is lacking in the corridors of power.

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we acknowledge the journey that brought us to this day. Great progress has been made, but the struggle is not over.

For older folks, this show is a chance to remember their friends who fought for Gay Rights and some who were lost to the plague. For younger generations, it is an important reminder that being able to live authentically as an LGBTQ person is a very recent thing, not a guaranteed right, and is only possible because of the hard-won battles of those who came before us. Cherishing the flames lit by them will light the way to our future’s progress.

I hope this show can be some small part of that vision.

– Sasha Spielvogel

Sasha Spielvogel with Dick Leitch, president and founder of the Mattachine Society, New York
and mastermind of the Julius sip-in on April 21st, 1966. photo by Eve Cuyen

Check Out Our Facebook Album

"Come Back Once More" was an intensely emotional experience for the whole cast and, we believe,  all who witnessed it.

Thanks to all who took the journey with us!

 

"Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye is extraordinarily wonderful and inspiring!"
- Larry Fuller, Broadway choreographer (Evita, Sweeney Todd, On The Twentieth Century)

 

Labyrinth Dance Theater is a 501c-3 nonprofit.
All donations are tax-deductible.

Special Thanks to Our Charity Partners;
Ali Forney Center
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
GMHC
Live Out Loud

and our Lead Sponsor

 

Photos by Rachel Herman-Gabrielli unless otherwise noted.

TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

If you would like to support Labyrinth and
make a Tax Deductible Contribution by credit/debit card or Paypal click

to contribute by check,
make it payable to:
Labyrinth Dance Theater
and send to
Sasha Spielvogel, Artistic Director
141-60 84th Road #4C
Briarwood, New York 11435

Thank you for your donation to our project!

In 2015 Labyrinth Dance Theater, in association with Dancers Over 40 and Friends, presented the original production of Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye at the Ailey Citicorp Theater as a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the NYC Anti-Violence Project.

VIDEO

3:42 minute Short Promo

Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye promo 2 from Sasha Spielvogel on Vimeo.

8:03 minute Promo

Come Back Once More So I Can Say Goodbye extended promo 2 from Sasha Spielvogel on Vimeo.

PHOTO GALLERY