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Bed-Stuy Becomes 'Briar Patch' in Funk Opera Tackling Gentrification

By Camille Bautista | January 21, 2015 5:23pm
 The cast and musicians of  Brer Rabbit The Opera: A Funky Meditation On Gentrification  will address changing throughout the cities by way of folklore and funk.
The cast and musicians of  Brer Rabbit The Opera: A Funky Meditation On Gentrification  will address changing throughout the cities by way of folklore and funk.
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BRIC House

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — It’s a tale as old as time — getting remixed with some funk.

A Bed-Stuy artist is exploring the idea of gentrification with a musical performance that combines community input, opera and folk stories.

Brer Rabbit The Opera: A Funky Meditation On Gentrification tackles the city’s ever-changing landscapes with the help of trickster folklore hero, Brer Rabbit, and his birthplace, the briar patch.

Set sometime in the future, the play stars Undre, a middle-aged marketer who moves into a notoriously dangerous area, according to writer Aisha Cousins.

“We learn about the neighborhood through him, his different philosophy on life, and follow him through his journey of adjusting,” Cousins said.

A mix of predominantly black neighborhoods in the country, including Bed-Stuy and parts of Washington, D.C., inspired the fictitious setting.

“Gentrification is a national and international problem, and we wanted to dig into its questions,” Cousins said. 

Brer Rabbit, who survives through his wit and challenging of social norms, served as a metaphor for the issue, the artist added.

“In one particular folk story, Brer Rabbit tricks his nemesis into throwing him back into his home. His nemesis thinks the place is dangerous, but the rabbit knows it’s safe — it just shows internal and external perceptions of a neighborhood,” she said.

Much like changing city areas, outsiders can see the briar patch as a rough area, but to the rabbit it’s home, Cousins said.

Music for the show is described as “Nina Simone having a party in Queen’s living room, with Lil’ Wayne popping by" and will be performed by Greg Tate and the group Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber

Cousins, who has lived in Bed-Stuy since 1989, created public art projects in the past to address gentrification in her neighborhood, drawing inspiration for the opera from the collections and people’s shared experiences.

A project called Briar Roses asked community members to place an object representative of their block inside a thorny plant to represent the briar patch.

“With this opera we really want to ask about perception versus reality in these areas and what’s unique about gentrifying a predominantly black neighborhood,” Cousins said. 

“In talking about these personal experiences, you almost find a place where you discover a universal point. What do we stand to lose?”

Brer Rabbit the Opera: A Funky Meditation on Gentrification will take place at Bric House, 647 Fulton St. on Jan. 22 and 23 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information visit the BRIC Arts Media House website