Whole new take on pop iconography

Ever wish you could see your favorite songs played out in all their visual glory (kind of like the movie “Across the Universe,” but not laughable)?

This month, the Brick Theater has what you’re looking for.From July 9 to 18, the Williamsburg venue will host DMTeatrics’ The Badass Record Collection, a late-night series of musical extravaganzas, featuring tributes to great composers, performers, and genres of 20th and 21st century pop music.

Each theme is selected by DMTheatrics founder and acclaimed director Frank Cwiklik, OOBR-award winning creator of “Sugarbaby,” the Vegas-themed “Antony and Cleopatra,” and the infamous “Bitch Macbeth,” as he pulls from his collection of nearly 10,000 records, CDs, and even 78s of pop, rock, jazz, and esoterica.

First up in the series is the pop songwriting genius Elvis Costello. The agonies and ecstasies of love, lust, and life, the ups and downs of friendships, relationships, and marriage, and the exquisite pains of heartbreak, all are beautifully portrayed in this selection of great compositions by the music legend.


Cwiklik reteams with longtime conspirator, musical director Adam Swiderski and a recent DMT arrival, choreographer Becky Byers, for the production, entitled “Taking Liberties: An Evening of Elvis Costello,” which acts as both a history of the music of the songwriter, and the performance, musical, and visual styles of the past 50 years of entertainment.

Performers include “Orgy of the Dead!” star Carolyn Demisch, as well as DMT newbies Adam Enright, Aaron Fuksa, Colleen Horan, Elaine Moran, Evan Toth, and Brianna Tyson. Michele Schlossberg also co-produces.Together, this powerhouse cast presents a live musical performance that is touching and invigorating, exciting and moving, hilariously funny and deeply disturbing – all that music can be, and all uniquely theatrical.

Beyond this first installment of larger-than-life pop theater, the series will feature the musical talents of both indie theater legends and up-and-coming musical theater performers, it’s a collection of the greatest pop music of the past hundred years.

Don’t miss the inaugural event, as “Taking Liberties: An evening of Elvis Costello” runs July 9 through 18 at The Brick Theater (575 Metropolitan Ave.), at 10:30 p.m on Thursdays and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Tickets are $15 and are available at wwww.bricktheater.com or Theatermania (212-352-3101).For more information, go to call 718-907-3457 or go to www.dm-theatrics.com.