MIRABELLA
March, 1990

BEST OF THE ARTS:
'ABC No, Yes'
by Rebecca Moore

ABC No Rio is a renegade, little, no-frills performance space tucked into a forbidding-looking building in New York's "Loisaida." Though it's been around for 11 years, ABC No Rio continues to be an outlet for some of the most experimental, diverse, daring and raw new performers/artists around. Lou Acierno, who runs the place, has made a point of never shying away from "political work." Besides holding conferences, seminars, concerts and shows on a regular basis, ABC No Rio has been generating a lot of attention with its "Wide-Open Cabaret" hosted by Matthew Courtney. You never know what to expect, as one person after another lets loose with ten minutes of mind-boggling stuff. Sometimes it's horrible, sometimes it's a glimpse of emerging brilliance. Either way, at $1 admission for a show that usually goes on into the early hours, it's always a bargain.


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