Dream Feed
Written and Performed by The HawtPlates: Jade Hicks, Kenita Miller-Hicks, Justin Hicks
Directed by Phillip Howze
HERE Arts Center 145 6th Ave, New York, NY 10013
January 9, 2026 - 25, 2026
Photos by Daniel Vasquez
Once upon a time, you could bar hop in New York City and discover new bands simply by walking into a room and letting sound, energy, and curiosity guide you. That thrill, the buzz of not knowing what is coming, has become increasingly rare. I intentionally did no research on The HawtPlates before attending Dream Feed because I wanted that kind of experience. The moment I walked into the space, I knew that is exactly what I was about to have.
The theatre was arranged in the round, dominated by towering pipes, wind chimes, and a circular percussion table dotted with mallets. The room felt less like a traditional performance venue and more like a club, alive, expectant, and humming. Wind sounds filled the air. People were buzzing. What is to come? What is happening? That shared anticipation became part of the event itself.
Presented as part of the Under the Radar Festival, Dream Feed unfolds like an 85-minute concept album that is immersive, cohesive, and deeply intentional. From the outset, sound design, or more accurately, soundscape, is inseparable from storytelling. Water, wind, seagulls, and voices interweave to guide us into a dream sequence that begins before we fully realize we have crossed over.
Dream Feed is about the dreams we share, the ones embedded in our DNA, and the act of recognizing and realizing them. Simplicity is at the heart of the work, yet it is a simplicity rich with intricacy. Everyday objects such as tables, pipes, and wind chimes become instruments. The set itself is activated as part of the musical language, which feels fresh, inventive, and thrillingly alive. The HawtPlates do not just perform music. They build it in front of us, piece by piece and breath by breath.
Comprised of Justin Hicks, Jade Hicks, and Kenita Miller-Hicks, The HawtPlates’ harmonization is stunning. Their voices are tightly connected, and their storytelling is poetic and emotionally grounded. As siblings and chosen family, their shared history is audible. There is an ease and trust that allows the music to breathe and transform.
There were moments when I felt myself shifting between listening to a concept album and witnessing an experimental performance, and remarkably, both experiences coexisted without friction. I did not feel like an audience member observing from the outside. I felt inside the dream with them. The abstract, subtle, and surreal moments asked for surrender, and I was happy to give it.
Lighting plays a crucial role in this sensory journey. The performance begins in darkness, forcing us to recalibrate by listening more closely and feeling more deeply. That initial sensory deprivation gives way to a sensory expansion, making the experience feel ritualistic and almost ceremonial. At times, it felt like being inside a music video. At others, it felt like being held within a collective meditation.
Under the direction of Phillip Howze, the piece unfolds with confidence and restraint, allowing the work’s ritualistic rhythms and dream logic to lead. His direction creates space for the audience to listen, surrender, and remain fully present within the experience. Scenic Design by Kent Barret, Lighting Design by Tuçe Yasak, and Sound Design by Sean Davis are integral to the storytelling. Each element works in conversation with the performers, shaping the dreamscape and deepening the immersive experience.
What struck me most is that Dream Feed never asks the audience to participate in a performative way. Instead, it invites us to turn ourselves over, to trust the ritual, the story, and the sound. We were not watching the magic happen. We were with it.
It is difficult to put everything into words, partly because the show was so unlike another production I saw earlier that day. That contrast is exactly why I love theatre. Dream Feed demanded that I leave expectations at the door. Once inside, I knew I was in for something different and exciting, and it delivered fully.
The HawtPlates have a new fan.
The HawtPlates are a Grammy Award winning singing group known for creating live vocal performances that break down vernacular musical forms and reconstitute them through improvisation and composition. Their works, which they call sonic one pots, honor lineage and personal history while speaking to a shared human experience. The group has collaborated with artists and institutions including Meshell Ndegeocello, Kaneza Schaal, Hilton Als, National Black Theater, The Public Theater, Performance Space New York, and Park Avenue Armory, among many others. The HawtPlates are composed of Drama Desk Award nominated composer and performer Justin Hicks, his sister, singer songwriter Jade Hicks, and Tony nominated actor and singer Kenita Miller-Hicks.
Dream Feed is also included in Mayor Mandani’s free ticketing initiative during Under the Radar 2026, an offering that feels especially meaningful for a work rooted so deeply in access, listening, and shared experience.
Click here for tickets.
Review by Malini Singh McDonald.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on January 11th, 2026. All rights reserved.
