Part of HANCHER’S 2026–2027 SEASON
Presented by HANCHER AUDITORIUM
An absurdist driven by serious ideas, Tatarsky takes audiences to unexpected, hilarious, uncomfortable places.
Alex Tatarsky is a self-proclaimed “experimental clown artist,” and their performances break down the boundaries between comedy, dance-theater, performance art, and deluded rant—sometimes with songs. Of Sad Boys in Harpy Land they say, “I guess my question is, if society is dysfunctional, then what does it mean to function well within it? Might being dysfunction be a valid—even rational—response to a world that makes no sense?” Tatarsky answers with a series of existential vignettes in the hellscape of the mind, fusing autobiographical bones onto those of equally tormented protagonists from sources including Goethe, Dante, Amiri Baraka, Helen Adams, and Seinfeld in a falling-apart coming-of-age story.
AUDIENCE ADVISORY: This performance will contain adult content (including brief nudity), language, and themes.
Sad Boys in Harpy Land
Created & Performed by Alex Tatarsky
With Live Music by Shane Riley
Directed by Iris McCloughan
Scenic, Props, Costume Design by Andreea Mincic
Lighting Design by Masha Tsimring
Production Stage Management by Payton Smith
Developed with Eva Steinmetz
Dramaturgy by Basie Allen, Lisa Fagan
"Gob-smacking, dangerously funny, enigmatic and brave.” –Playwrights Horizon
Photo: Maria Baranova
TICKETS
Adults $25
Students & Youth $10
Additional ticket fees may apply; total ticket price listed on ticketing page
Purchase your tickets through Hancher Box Office online or call 319-335-1160.
HANCHER EVENT PARTNER
John Harper