Experience the creative process in action at an in-progress presentation of the reimagined What to wear before the opera debuts in New York in 2026. The centerpiece of the PROTOTYPE 2026 festival, What to wear is a comedic, post-rock opera by composer Michael Gordon and the late downtown theater renegade icon Richard Foreman, who penned over 50 plays and nine operas across five decades.

The work will bring back to life Foreman’s original staging and production, with creative direction by Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson. The opera offers a commentary on the superficial pressures of society at a moment when our contemporary culture renders Foreman and Gordon’s critiques more cutting than ever. A collaboration between the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Beth Morrison Projects, PROTOTYPE, and Bang on a Can, this historic re-staging honors Foreman’s legacy and confirms Gordon as one of contemporary music’s singular voices.

BAM and Prototype by BMP present

What to wear
Direction, Libretto, and Production by Richard Foreman
Music by Michael Gordon
Music Director: Alan Pierson
Creative Director: Paul Lazar
Co-Creative Director: Annie-B Parson

Original Production by CalArts Center for New Performance

Prices include all fees, which are waived for MASS MoCA members.

Photo: Scott Groller