Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music: Release date, trailer, what to expect, and more details

Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music is all set to premiere on Max and is expected to be available for streaming from Tuesday, June 27, 2023. Directed by Oscar-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the documentary captures Taylor Mac's 24-hour-long performance in 2016 at St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn.

Please note: Taylor Mac's preferred pronoun is judy and shall be used here accordingly.

Filled with flamboyant musical performances, revelatory historical interpretations, humor-laden banter, and audience engagement, Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music gives an alternate take on American history, using music that was popular from 1776 to 2016 as a narrative device. The performances are spliced with intimate off-stage interviews of Taylor Mac and judy's closest collaborators.

The documentary will also have footage from other shows with a behind-the-scenes peek into the work of Mac's costume designer Machine Dazzle. It is produced by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Joel Stillerman, Linda Brumbach, Alisa Regas, Mari Rivera, and Mac himself.

---

The Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music trailer promises viewers an energetic and colorful experience

The trailer for Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music was released on HBO's YouTube channel on June 7. It begins with a voiceover by Mac, saying that the show is about "our history as Americans" and that history "is in our songs." Mac then goes on to reveal that judy wanted to do the show only once, but as a 24-hour performance.

There are glimpses of Mac's collaborators talking about the show spliced with footage from the performance. The snippets from the performance show judy powering through the 24-hour-long performance, with the multifaceted artist revealing that the audience kept judy's energy up. The trailer ends with shots of the audience having the time of their lives as Taylor Mac sings and plays the ukulele.

The synopsis for Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music was revealed in the official press release for the Max documentary:

"In 2016, Taylor Mac performed a one-time-only, 24-hour immersive theatrical experience in front of a live audience at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The concert offered an alternative take on U.S. history, narrated through music that was popular from the nation’s founding to the present, with Mac transforming hourly by changing into elaborate, decade-specific costumes by Mac’s longtime collaborator Machine Dazzle."

It continues:

"The documentary, TAYLOR MAC’S 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC, captures Mac’s marathon performance in New York, alongside footage from other shows on the tour, which played throughout the world. In the show, Mac and 24 musicians interpret 24 songs, from “Yankee Doodle” to “Gimme Shelter,” “Born to Run,” and “Gloria,” with one performer leaving the stage each hour, until Mac is on stage alone in the final 24th hour."

Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music earned Mac recognition from the Pulitzer Prize Board, making him the 2017 finalist in the Drama Category. The board nominated the show for "an inspired bardic creation that involves the audience in a marathon musical journey that challenges the persistent societal demons of racism, sexism, and homophobia."

Ultimately, however, Mac ended up losing to Lynn Nottage, whose drama, Sweat, wooed the judges better.

---

Produced by HBO Documentary Films and Content Superba, Taylor Mac's 24-Decade History of Popular Music will be available for streaming exclusively on Max from June 27, 2023.