Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop / Some People

by Danny Hoch

Theatre, performance art, or spoken word--whatever you call it, the work of actor/writer Danny Hoch is a solo tour de force. In Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop and Some People, New York City's rich oral traditions come alive on the page, as Manhattan Boricua English, Brooklyn Polish, Bronx Dominican Spanish, Queens Trinidadian English, Jamaican patois, and Hip-Hop all get flipped and flexed center stage.
     The range of contemporary experience on display in Hoch's monologues is A white teenager dreams of being a black gangsta rapper. A wheelchair-bound kid explains how his mother smoked crack during pregnancy. A pale-skinned Bronx street vendor enrages a policeman who can't figure out what race he is. A young Puerto Rican man on crutches rhapsodizes about his dancing talent.
     Now the thousands of fans who have enjoyed Mr. Hoch live or on HBO, as well as the many more who've only heard about him, can enjoy both Jails, Hospitals & Hip-Hop and his earlier, equally brilliant work, Some People, in a single volume that confirms his status as a unique and important artist.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

172 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[sdrd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw him perform some of these stories. He has such voice, such energy. I really appreciated the fact that he was sharing new, frequently misunderstood or previously unheard voices.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating character studies that really come together in Some People, and extraordinary language use throughout.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Only read first play J,H&H; read it whilst listening/watching to Danny Hoch's performance)

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Andy
By Danny Hoch

[Andy Littleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book for $1 in Manhattan and, I have to say, I’d recommend it at $2.99! It seems like his live performance was the highlight, and that the book is best when you’ve seen that.