An Evening With George Wallace
An Evening With George Wallace was a collection of poems and songs by Suffolk County poet laureate George Wallace. The performance is a blend of Mr. Wallace reciting his poetry and songs set to lyrics by him and a series of short films that played alongside these moments. Wallace’s presence from the beginning set the tone of the collection the audience was hearing that night. Wearing dark attire and with a bottle of Jack Daniels in sight, there is a rustic Americana quality to Wallace reminiscent of Johnny Cash and the lyricism of his work reflects it.
The poetry of the evening was the highlight. Wallace’s style as a poet has a down to earth, grounded quality to it. His poetry does not rely on lyrical spectacle, trite rhyme, and verbose language to trick you into thinking its deeper than it is. It is deep but the kind of depth and wisdom you find drinking with a garbage man who knows a thing or two about the world as opposed to an erudite academic who thinks he knows a thing or two.
An early piece within the performance was a poem about a fascination with garbage men which reflects a humble notion of beauty on behalf of Wallace. The poetry does not demand your attention with gimmick rhyme but it sustains it none the less through vivid imagery maintained through creative use of syntax and grammar. The vocabulary keeps itself simple and it feels like a deliberate choice so it can be understood.
The use of song and video projections were both wonderful additions to the show. Music is a spatial art form; it brings you to a time and a place. The use of music evoked an Americana imagery, the sounds of winding roads, or as if it belongs around a crackling fire while stopping travel for the evening.
The movies were well produced and shot, though at times the visual language and imagery used within the short films seemed confusing in comparison to the imagery the music creates and the imagery the poetry creates. What the sonic landscape of the music evokes, and the word choice and syntax of the poetry evokes contrasts with the literal visual imagery of the films presented. Contrast can often be used to great effect in these scenarios, but for me it fell a little flat as I could not quite sure what effect the contrast was hoping to capture.
An Evening With George Wallace has a sort of meditative quality to it even though it still has its tinges of frustrations with the modern world. It concerns itself more with the universal things, the things we prioritize above all of us. Love, the natural world and our spirits. Nights like this are good for the spirit, a show that feels like a meditation and reflection around a hearth. I highly recommend seeing one of George Wallace’s readings if you are given the opportunity.
An Evening With George Wallace
Starring: George Wallace
Performed on: October 24, 2026
October 19 – November 22, 2026
Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street, in Manhattan
Reviewer: Alexander J. Preziosi
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