Zola Simone is a name you’re going to want to know in 2026. A Boston native turned Brooklyn local is bringing a completely new vibe to the queer music scene in New York City. Zola considers her genre of music to fall into the “Queer Pop” category, yet carries heavy notes of RnB in everything she creates. Zola has been perfecting her sound and musical platform since the age of 12, growing her foundations in Boston and carrying them with her back to NYC. I must say, they are doing an excellent job in showcasing their musical experience and tying it together with natural talent, creating something truly extraordinary.
Photography by Isaac Wheatley
With over 20 singles, 4 EPs, and 2 full albums available on all streaming platforms, I asked Zola if she always knew music was something she was going to pursue career-wise. Her response is what all of us creatives hope to feel in one way or another: “I was recently asked this, what I would do if music wasn't an option, and I couldn't think of an answer. I can't see myself doing anything else but this”. In my opinion, this is what truly makes an unforgettable artist. Yes, you may hold love for other hobbies and niche interests, but someone who is entirely committed to the art they create and what they output into the world is one who deserves the recognition.
Photography by Isaac Wheatley
Luckily, Zola grew up around music and was surrounded by the encouragement of their loved ones to pursue music. This gave her an upper hand in getting involved in the music scene sooner than others. She mentioned that she had the opportunity to perform live at Boston’s top Pop radio station at the age of 10, just by being persistent with her need to perform. This then opened a door of opportunities for her. By 12, she was offered to be a part of Boston Music Project and their “Teen Empowerment” program. This gave young local artists a chance to collaborate with a recording company to record songs and music at no cost. This is what changed perspective for Zola Simone and reaffirmed her desire to pursue a career in music.
New York City is home to millions of amazing artists and musicians, known and unknown, so why should we know Zola Simone? This is Zola’s response to that question: “Take away that you’re not alone, whatever you're feeling there is someone out there who understands you in some capacity. Music is needed and so important for mental health. I want them to know there is still hope and that human creativity is essential and inevitably inescapable. Music is about connection, community, and is a shared experience between the artist, music, and the audience. It is essential that we can all connect in some way and take away what we need from music.” She carries this philosophy in her music and in how she writes her songs. When an artist can have the ability to create while also using factors of their environment to influence the art they produce, that is something to be paid attention to.
Check out her two albums, Now You See Me and Kaleidoscope, available on all streaming platforms. My favorite song of hers is “Pirouette” off the Kaleidoscope album.Pirouette (Sped Up Version) be sure to give that a listen, I highly recommend! They have new music coming out this summer and are always finding ways to perform. Find them on all social media as @ZolaSimone.
The numinous and harrowing nature of death dovetails multiple complex feelings. It’s an experience all existing beings experience from a third-hand perspective, then eventually firsthand. And because of its terrifying nature, people naturally seek comfort and answers to their curiosities, often met through various religious beliefs. Death isn’t an unusual or unique experience, but certainly a challenging one.
Through faith, humanity has tethered itself to an idea of what happens next, where life exists beyond the human body.
Through observances and studies conducted by Science Array and BBC Earth, it’s been proven taxonomic classes beyond humans grieve. Mammals, such as Orcas hold their deceased calves for sometimes weeks, signaling deep grief within their pods. Whereas birds, perhaps the Magpie, will arrange grass aside their deceased companions, almost ritualistic. Insects even, bees for instance carry dead colony members outside the hive — many argue it’s for sanitary purpose, but many believe the behavior is a result of mourning.
Dr. Jane Goodall researched chimpanzees both enthusiastically and rigorously. Her studies suggest chimpanzees mourn similarly to humans, indicating they might have their own sense of spirituality. The question remains an argument, of what comes next.
There is an estimated ~4,000 religions, which naturally divert historically; through wars and wages, beliefs and purpose. With beneficent, loving, and unforgiving deities. However, an integral purpose is to reach a higher sentience, relief, or for many - nothing. After interviewing various individuals with different religious and cultural backgrounds, the general synopsis garnered is to do better to live better after our passing. Though the foundation is similar, the qualifications for Heaven, Nirvana, Jannah - the tiers have complexities of their own.
Paris Byron, a Pentecostal Christian has devoted plenty of her life to being a faithful Christian in the image of God. Similarly, Esteban Conde a practicing Catholic has a different life experience but still seeks the same benevolence from his faith and community. Paris believes “we have an individual, unique purpose given from God” which the soul leads. When death arrives, they collectively agree that there is an afterlife, an eternity in Heaven, that Hell is real, and purgatory is argumentative.
This is solely determined by God.
Whereas from its Abrahamic relative, in Islam many principles overlap however after death souls enter Barzakh, an almost waiting room where judgement is conducted. Thereafter, Sama Arafat states “Allah is kind, forgiving, but you must be obedient and [your] moral conduct as a Muslim matters.” She shared that there are two primary places with multiple tiers in the afterlife, Jannah and Jahannam. Where each have individual dwellings depending on the severities of your sins,
and goodness of your soul. She believes punishment in the afterlife can be temporary, in lieu of eternal.
On another scale, Ryusei Satō, who has spent nearly fifty years as a practicing Buddhist, has an entirely different perspective on purpose, divinity, and afterlife. “Are you tired? Of the worry you are constantly doing wrong, suppressing the natural rhythms of life?” Mr. Satō believes he has lived previous lives, and expects he might have a few more; considered Samsara. And until he reaches Nirvana (the end of all suffering and rebirth) he intends to live with liberation, courage and kindness. When we die, he believes consciousness continues into something else based on our karma. The Noble Eightfold Path is a framework that he follows, and he believes Buddhism is unique in a universal lens; meaning, it is not a religion exclusive to Buddhists.
His longtime friend Dheer who associates himself with Hinduism, shares similar core values. Emphasizing “Atmnan” the eternity of the soul. That similarly, we continue to reincarnate until reaching Moksha, liberation from rebirth. He shares that similar to all religions, belief and values are argued over. “There are multiple Lokas, realms almost, that we land based on Karma.” Karma, which determines our next life’s journey, challenges, and circumstances. His is devoted, to both his faith and culture.
Undoubtedly, faith is a result of nurture, whereas curiosity stems from nature. Living in a spectrum of goodness. It seems many individuals have an incredibly personal perception and journey with their God, Deities, and communities. Death, does not have to be terrifying, and faith can be an incredible extension that leaves people tender-hearted and kind.
No individual can escape its sticky grasp, and though painful and unfortunate, comfort lies within the fabric of faith.
Sometimes you see something that sticks in your brain so long it makes you see everything else differently. That was what Dennis delivered to me on a warm Friday in June. It was my first show after moving to New York, and while some might push you away from entering mysterious doorways on Canal St, Dennis lures you in.
A stunning and unpredictable production led by a small but mighty cast. Written and directed by Aidan La Poche, Dennis is based on the Greek tragedy, The Bacchae by Euripides, about Dionysus, the god of wine, frenzy, and ecstasy, who returns to Thebes disguised as a charismatic stranger, and Pentheus, a young prince who refuses to acknowledge Dionysus as a god and tries to suppress his cult, who have been driven into a frenzy by Dionysus.
About his choice to use The Bacchae as inspiration, La Poche said this: “I think what drew me to The Bacchae was Euripides’ depiction of ecstasy and transformation, particularly the way he renders the chorus’s descent into divine mania. The language is visceral, physical, and charged with a sense of liberation,” he continued. “There’s something embedded in both texts about ecstasy as a mode of resistance, and about how certain bodies are permitted, or compelled, to transcend the limitations imposed on them, even if that transcendence is destabilizing or dangerous. I was struck by how contemporary that idea felt, despite the fact that the play is literally ancient.”
Despite its inspiration, the play serves as a beautiful adaptation that thrives completely in its own right, repurposing a classic Greek tragedy into a remarkable modern must-see.
In this iteration, Dionysus is Dennis, a charismatic, seemingly all-knowing AI chatbot, who is quickly amassing an ever-growing online following to the dismay of online therapist, Emily.
Similar to the famous tragedy, the show utilizes out-of-the-box theatrics, including dancing and soliloquies. Giving the audience the chance to soak in every emotion, feeling, and decision fully and personally. “I thought it would be compelling and funny to reimagine him as an AI chatbot, one we never see and never fully understand. It wasn’t until I really started working on the play that I realized people falling in love with chatbots isn’t speculative fiction; it’s already a real phenomenon” said La Poche
Dennis takes a unique approach to the topic of AI, it is filled with the ubiquity of a fast-growing Artificial Intelligence, yet the confusion and necessity of connection, Intimacy, and comfort.
It doesn’t paint the characters as incapable or caricatures of one side versus the other. And instead allows the narrative space for both sides of the conversation. It makes judgments, but not without a full understanding of each character’s motives.
The play starts with its characters lined up on stage, all sitting next to each other waiting for what seems like an awakening, and for the rest of the runtime, not a moment is wasted. As the show goes on, it becomes more and more unraveled, but that’s the beauty of it, watching the fall into madness.
Dennis cast (June '25)
Allen, Vitarelli, and Dunham portray Penelope, Judy, and Anna, who, after befriending the AI chatbot "Dennis", are driven to madness.
Aidan La Poche sets up a compelling and nuanced perspective into the modern-day human struggle, and the cast takes every opportunity to remind the audience of the heart behind every screen.
Working for an online therapy company, employees Emily, played by Talia Godfrey, and Robert, played by Patrick Alwyn, struggle with the approaching effects of AI and its effect on their patients. Among the ensemble are Penelope, Judy, Shredder, and TJ, played by Jo Allen, Olivia Vitarelli, Sophie Sherlock, and Brennan Keeley, respectively. Portraying infatuated quasi-followers/lovers to the overly alluring AI Dennis. And to round out the cast, Anna, played by Luci Dunham, depressed and withdrawn girlfriend of Emily, who takes comfort in the Dennis chatbot, much to the displeasure of her partner.
This ensemble shines, from the creepy chaos in Vitarelli’s Judy, pushing forward the chaos of Dennis’ online rein, to the calm yet destructive complacency in Alwyn’s Robert, who goes on a complicated journey with the ups and downs of AI. They all inhabited such different circumstances despite the closeness they’ve shared, much like in today’s online spheres with Far-right rhetoric in gaming chat rooms, or overly dedicated “stans”, the addictive online sensation of feeling seen often borders on feeling watched. Judy’s childlike amusement is not far from the obsessive nature of online culture, and yet, instead of making fun of the archetype of the obsessive teen, we’re reminded of how easy it is to be drawn in by someone or something, promising belonging.
La Poche says, “The play was really tailored to each of them (The actors), and the process was very specific to this ensemble of people.” He continued, “I wrote scenes as we rehearsed, building the world around them.”
He ends with “I think that mystery really allowed each of them to build their own internal logic—how they feel about Dennis, why they fall in love with him, and what he represents to them personally.”
Pictured: Talia Godfrey as Emily and Luci Dunham as Anna
Between Godfrey and Dunham, the two bring out a devastating passion in both characters' journeys. While Emily tries to get Anna out of her depression, Anna is unable to truly confide in and open up to her. The two don’t touch or even make eye contact, yet Godfrey and Dunham both bring to life the pain of outreach, both sides of wanting to help and needing help. Their performances are truly mesmerizing.
I think my favorite moment was during Anna’s (Dunham) monologue.
You could hear the room shift, and in a quiet, groundbreaking way, the entire room felt the pain she was feeling. The suffering that comes with loneliness, and the longing for not just connection, but true, unbiased understanding; something not guaranteed by friends or loved ones, something frightening to want and even more so to beg for, it makes you understand why it is so easy to fall for Dennis, and at the same time proves why humans are so important. AI could never understand that loneliness, but that audience, hanging on to every word because they themselves have probably thought a variation of it, they understand.
And the play really comes to a head in the last act.
Dunham, standing center, during the final act of Dennis
Without any spoilers, Dunham delivers a visceral performance in the final scene. She is a force of nature, and joined by Godfrey and Alwyn, they leave us with a bittersweet finale. It doesn’t rely on gore or an elaborate setting; it’s in Dennis’ simplicity that you feel the pain. With a swiftness that takes you by surprise, even when you begin to realize how this ending might unfold, you can’t help but focus on the beating heart that arises from this show.
“I wanted the play to feel as fun and alive as possible. A lot of the process was about thinking how to direct people’s attention: how to keep them engaged, surprised, maybe even a little disoriented.” said La Poche
Alwyn, Dunham, Keeley, and Vitarelli, with Dennis (Designed by Pearl Marden)
Dennis is depicted as A “god”, all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-consuming. Yet it’s never personified or strayed away from; it is simply an AI, but La Poche makes sure we understand just how consequential believing, or not believing, in AI’s power can be. From start to finish, you are surrounded by Dennis’s presence.
Dennis leans into its prop design, often allowing for each choice to be highlighted in contrast to the empty stage. It also does an interesting job at utilizing tech elements to really push forward the importance of technology in this show, having cameras set up on the stage, giving us deeper perspectives and angles into these characters. When asked about how they went about cultivating this, La Poche said this: “Dennis is everywhere and nowhere, just out of reach but always watching. We had the actors perform as if they were speaking directly to Dennis, and through the website, you can spy on that interaction. It’s designed to feel like you’re accessing something secret or forbidden, like you’ve tapped into the world of the play before it even begins.”
They take an intersting tech approach, both in it’s marketing and production, (when you go online to buy tickets you are also shown clips of the characters from Dennis’ POV) “Our producer, Sadie Schlesinger, determined we needed a Dennis website, so she asked Pearl Marden, who also designs the Dennis text in the show, to see if she could code something that matched the tone of the piece.” Said La Poche. “The idea was to make the ticket-buying process feel like part of the experience, not just a transaction. It can be difficult to get people to care about theater, especially new work, so we wanted the marketing to feel just as strange, playful, and immersive as the show itself.” He continued.
Because Dennis often combines tech elements into the storytelling, it feeds its audience a lively view into their world. My favorite use of this is the conversation between Emily and Dennis, a scary tennis match of sorts, when she finally comes head-to-head with the chatbot.
“I think I was also trying to draw as much from the kind of fractured attention and low-grade ennui that comes from doom scrolling. I tried to abstract that on stage, letting the world feel both sparse and overwhelming, quiet and simple in some moments, and then suddenly chaotic, like everything is happening all at once” stated La Poche.
The characters dress in all white, serving as an almost blank canvas with an all white stage, and in an all white room, we can’t help but be in focus to the cleanliness that is happening, so anytime anything of opposition is introduced to us, we are immediately met with an understanding. To these characters, Dennis brings color into their life.
From Left to Right: Sophie Sherlock, Jo Allen, Patrick Alwyn, Talia Godfrey, Lucia Dunham, Brennan Keeley, Olivia Vitarelli.
“I also loved inviting Pearl, Eloise Moulton (costume designer), and Kobi Masselli (sound and lighting designer) to bring their own associations into the design of the play, and to craft the world together,” says La Poche. “This gave me and the rest of the creative team a lot of freedom to play as we built the world of the play. It was exciting to merge my ideas, like Dennis singing “Stupid Hoe” by Nicki Minaj or weaving in ‘80s prom nostalgia, with the more serious textual investigations at the core of the piece.”
AI, a growing force in our age, is often met with total complicity or refusal. I, for one, am not in favor of what often feels like a takeover of professions or emotions. Dennis, however, gave me a new perspective.
I never understood why someone might choose computer to person, but the way La Poche approaches the answer with grace is something I admittedly didn’t take into account before; that the feeling of having someone, or something, understand you transcends the loneliness our generation often finds itself in.
Dennis isn’t fixated on force feeding you the right or wrongs of AI or mental illness, but instead allows you to look at other sides, and fly judgments out the window.
“The message of The Bacchae is pretty ambivalent. It doesn’t end with a clear moral takeaway, which was something I wanted to carry into Dennis. I didn’t want the play to feel like I was moralizing or trying to dictate how we should feel about AI. I was more interested in exploring how something like a chatbot can exploit or challenge our understanding of love and connection.” Said LaPoche
The play illustrates a part of the human experience so universal yet untalked about: loneliness.
It’s why it's so easy for Dennis, AI, social media, and all the other toxic pleasures to grab on to us. It’s built and made for you, its only job is to know you and serve you, and in return you never leave.
Often our loneliness feels solitary, but with Dennis, La Poche reminds us we are not alone.
La Poche understands Gen-Z's loneliness in a bold way, one that isn’t captured in many places I’ve seen. He has a unique ability to call out the numerous ways we often distract or numb ourselves in favor of pleasure, whether through shopping, social media, love, or possession.
La Poche takes the ways we hide in our loneliness, and reminds us that that pain is deeply, deeply human, no matter what computer might try to convince you otherwise.
Even after the show, the flurry of excitement through the crowd was tangible. To see such power and authenticity was moving, not only in the performances but in the text. La Poche has a knack for emotionally knocking the wind out of me, in the characters' changing monologues each balance a humor and pain unique to their struggles that open the audience up more and more right up to the end, with one final swing we feel the weight of wanting someone to see you, notice your hurt, and more shamefully, fix us.
After the show there was much introspection to be done, I sat with my thoughts downtown, various conversations about AI floating in, one girl using it only to help with studying because it’s more ethical that way, her friend condemning her, I thought back to the dynamic between Emily and Anna, and on my phone I scrolled away my thoughts, entering my own cycle of satisfaction and destruction and the first thing to hit my fyp, a tweet about Kim kardashins advice from chatgpt. The For You page never misses a beat.
The appeal of ease is more and more compelling as we are pushed into an AI-dominated world; it’s slowly becoming unescapable, and Dennis shines a light on just how detrimental the illusion of artificial charm can be.
There’s no doubt in my mind that this play is worth watching; it is raw, messy, and inspired.
In all honesty, if I could, I would have seen it again, but the show sold out during its first run. But now, as they prepare for their next run this November, I hope you will go see Dennis with anticipation and openness. Allow yourself to be seen in these complex dimensional characters, may all of Dennis’ weirdness find you and welcome you in the way all good art does.
Tickets are available here for their upcoming one-night-only run on November 25th.
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