Legendary boxer John L Sullivan—a hard drinking, five foot ten, two hundred and twenty pound Boston born Irishman who toured the US by offering to beat all comers—is the inspiration behind Chris Black's one woman show, TOUGH, that asks what it means to be strong and confronts the onset of “can’t” that is every athlete’s final opponent. Wearing a custom suit for the occasion, Black circumvents drag yet implies that ‘clothes make the man,’ as she incorporates the boxer into her own diminutive but sinewy five foot one, one hundred and five pound frame and investigates how for an artist (like a boxer) it pays to enjoy the fight, the solitude of the lone performer whose sense of worth is dependent upon an audience, notions of Irish-ness and the very real joys of whiskey. Join us after the August 2nd performance for a reception hosted by Butch Basix and Kipper Clothiers.