Vielmetter Los Angeles in collaboration with Studio Edgar Arceneaux presents a sneak preview of Arceneaux’s new play Boney Manilli to be staged as an outdoor performance and BBQ in the North parking lot at Vielmetter Los Angeles (1700 S Santa Fe Avenue, LA, CA) on February 18th, 2022 from 7-9pm.

Recently developed in residency at UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance (CAP UCLA), the sneak preview of Boney Manilli will be presented as a 30 minute work-in-progress immersive experience performed inside of a BBQ party, catered by QD’s Double Barrel BBQ. This is a private, ticketed event — tickets are available via Eventbrite.

A nine-cast member play, Boney Manilli tells a story about the relationship between Sunny, a troubled playwright, and his mother, Momma. Sunny is trying to direct a play about the infamous pop group duo Milli Vanilli, while struggling to take care of Momma who is slowly dying from dementia. The rest of the family, on their own journey, searches for a missing script written by Momma’s father, Sunny Sr. The legend goes that Sunny Sr. wrote the script for the Disney movie Song of the South (1946) but was never credited for it. They hope to find the original script and sue Disney Studios but Momma hid it and can’t remember where. With original music, dance numbers and a BBQ, Boney Manilli is an epic tale traversing 100 years of history, both real and surreal, confronting family trauma and learning to let go.

Boney Manilli is supported by the Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts and presented in association with CAP UCLA. The Boney Manilli sneak preview performance and BBQ is presented during Frieze LA and concurrently with Arceneaux’s solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures, “Skinning the Mirror” on view at Vielmetter Los Angeles through March 12th, 2022.

The full production of Boney Manilli is scheduled to make its official US premiere in 2023 at CAP UCLA. CAP UCLA received the prestigious Mike Kelley Foundation for the Arts’ Artist Project Grant for Arceneaux’s project.  Arceneaux is also the recipient of the COLA Individual Artist Fellowship in 2020.