Press

Keith Hennessy’s Delinquent
Rachel Howard, SF Chronicle
November 15, 2008

Excerpts:

Near the beginning of Keith Hennessy's new one-hour show, "Delinquent," Lick Wilmerding High School senior Constance Castillo sits high in a sling hoisted by her fellow cast members. "Two of us have been locked up on both sides of the bay," she says, steely-eyed. "Three know someone killed in the last month. Five have parents who have been incarcerated. Some have parents in prison right now. All have stolen."

All are honest, compelling performers, and choreographer Hennessy - a veteran performance artist and activist best known for his anti-fear-mongering AIDS rituals - mostly does right by their diverse talents.

"Delinquent" is strongest whenever Hennessy lets these teens and no-longer-quite-teens do their thing. Trae Greer unleashes his lush balletic dancing, Dawon Davis shows off his fierce hip-hop free-styling, Nestor Reyes dispatches a biting spoken-word solo about being a misogynist 16-year-old Casanova. Hennessy, the founder of political cirque nouveau troupe Circo Zero, also draws on his cast's big-top skills. After describing her former high school's weekly moment of silence for victims of violence, a commanding Tracy Piper does a fantastic contortionist act dressed like a skeleton. Jeremie Chetrit twirls through a death-defying rope climb, wrapping the coil around his neck like a noose.

Read the whole review:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/15/DD42144ML3.DTL#ixzz0QlKUREVy