Taylor Mac: The 1850s

One of the most exciting theater artists of our time, the freakishly sublime Taylor Mac wears his specialness on his face, in elaborate makeup creations that give him the air of a Fabergé clown: at once beautiful and ridiculous, and full of hidden tricks. Lately he has been performing a decade-by-decade survey of the last 250 years of American music; in this installment he puts his particular stamp on songs from the 1850s.