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The DramaBook shop re-opened, thanks to Lin-Manuel Miranda and others. New location near Times Square, 266 W. 39th St. Lots of places to sit, read, have coffee. Lovely!
2023
Theatre is back after Covid closures! And so am I, retired from ASU/Arizona and returned to full time in NY.
AUGUST
cont. through Sept. 10 DARREL ELLIS: REGENERATION a retrospective of visual artist Ellis' work. The Bronx Museum Deep exploration of his use of multiple formats to reconfigure imagery of family and friends. He's gone through a kind of rediscovery since his death from AIDS in the early 1990's. Also look at the show he is featured in below:
LUX, CALME VOLUPTE Candice Madey Gallery through August 11. Something like 70 works by artists, including Darrel Ellis, working in NYC in the 1980's. Curated by Allen Frame and Antonio Sergio Bessa. A portrait of multiple interconnections during that time in a beautifully conceived exhibition. 1 Rivington St.
4 INFINITE BEAT featuring Each Other (DJ) + Muscle Memory (Steven Reker/Michael Tapper-Live/DJ) + w0rmh0les (Live/DJ). 8pm Public Records, 233 Butler St., Brooklyn. ticks via DICE
through Sept. 17 PEPÓN OSORIO: MY BEATING HEART/MI CORAZÓN LATIENTE The New Museum "Informed by his background in theater and performance as well as his experiences as a child services case worker and professor, Osorio’s richly textured sculptures and installations are deeply invested in political, social, and cultural issues affecting Latinx and working class communities in the United States."
SEPTEMBER
cont. through Oct. 8 INFINITE LIFE. Annie Baker's newest! Directed by James Macdonald. Atlantic Theater Company
7 ALL OF A SUDDEN: SEKOU @ 75. Celebrating the Legacy of Sekou Sundiata. A remembrance of this brilliant poet/musician and story teller. With Craig Harris, Lisa Jessie Peterson, Carl Hancock Rux, Samita Sinha, David Thomson, Aisha Jordan, Frantz Jerome and others. Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School. 7pm 66 W. 12th St. RSVP
8-Oct. 13 CROSSING THE LINE Annual dance festival at French Institute/FIAF. Always good stuff. From the curators: "As we are writing these lines, we have learned that the iconic Under the Radar, a festival that echoed Crossing The Line, would not return — limiting opportunities for foreign artists on our shores. In curating the 16th edition of Crossing The Line, we looked to bring artists who could offer new perspectives from the entire Francophone world to New Yorkers, allowing all of us to expand our minds. Their shows, presented in partnership with artistic powerhouses across the city, address some of the most pressing issues of our time — gun violence, climate change, race, sexism, and artificial intelligence — as they explore new ways to make art today. We are proud to present this talented group of artists and are hopeful that these performances will spark new artistic dialogues, across genres and borders."
9-10 6pm. NEWTOWN ODYSSEY World premiere of a floating opera set in an industrial canal (Newtown Creek) in Brooklyn. Performers will be on floating stages observable from shore and from boats. Collaborators musician Kurt Rohde, writer Dana Spiotta, artist Marie Lorenz.
13, 15 ART21 AT THE MOVIES Metrograph Theatre on 13th, SVA Theatre on 15th. Featuring the premiere of “Friends & Strangers,” the third and final episode of Season 11 of Art in the Twenty-First Century; the 3D film premiere of “Westermann: Memorial to the Idea of Man If He Was an Idea,” a film on the life of artist H.C. Westermann; an hour of films curated by Miranda July; and a collection of films that pay homage to art and artists. Guests including Cannupa Hanska Luger, Miranda July, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Aaron Curry, and Chiemi Kawarasa. Info
15-22 HEART OF BRICK Joyce Theater. "a theatrical dance and music production that captures the multi-generational spirit of the Black queer community" Choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly and with music by serpentwithfeet. Direction/design by Wu Tsang. My thoughts after seeing: clearly a concept to take the musician's work into live theatre, but with a very weak book/script flawed by vagueness and sentimentality. Dramatically inert. The dancing is strong but feels like back-up dancers for a headliner.
15-Oct 1 PROMETHEUS FIREBRINGER Hybrid performance/lecture written, directed and performed by McArthur awardee Annie Dorsen (after Aeschylus) Theatre for a New Audience Polonsky Shakespeare Center, 262 Ashland Pl Brooklyn. Dorsen looks deeply into AI and how it affects art and performance. See her article on AI intoxication in American Theatre
15-16 UNRAVELING REALITIES: THE FILMS OF JANIE GEISER Museum of the Moving Image. I have not seen her recent films, but if it's as fascinating as the work she was doing in 1980's-90's in NYC (she's been teaching at CalArts for many years) then this should be amazing.
15-Oct. 22 THE WORLD'S UNFAIR presented by Creative Time. 24-17 Jackson Ave.Long Island City, between 23rd St and 45th Ave. Thursdays, 2:00 – 9:00 PM, Fridays & Saturdays, 2:00 – 10:00 PM, Sundays, 2:00 – 9:00 PM also special evening events. "an immersive spectacle of animatronics, large-scale sculptures, video installations, and powwow grounds, The World’s UnFair invites you to play a part in a decolonized future. Brought to you by New Red Order (NRO), a public secret society of informants and collaborators dedicated to rechannelling desires for indigeneity towards the expansion of Indigenous futures, The World’s UnFair offers a practical solution to growing calls for the return of Indigenous land: Give It Back."
21 CULTURE WARS THEN AND NOW presentation by John R. Killacky, former curator at Walker Art Center (1988-96) where he was very involved in the cultural battles of the time (which continue) Later he was Exec Director of Flynn Center and Yerba Buena. He went on to serve two terms in the Vermont House of Representatives. And much more! Free but RSVP
22-Jan. 7. CHRISTIAN WALKER: THE PROFANE AND THE POIGNANT curated by Noam Parness/Jackson Davidow. Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art "surveying the work of artist, critic, and curator Christian Walker (1953-2003). Active in Boston and Atlanta from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s...Black, gay photographer who made compelling and experimental work about queer sexuality, race, and their intersections."
23, 30 COVID VORTEX ANXIETY OPERA KITTY KALEIDOSCOPE DISCO a new work by Karen Finley! Produced by SpincycleNYC at Laurie Beechman Theater, 420 W. 42nd St. 7pm
25-Nov. 19 UNITED SOLO THEATRE FESTIVAL 15th year of this annual festival. 410 W. 42nd St.
27 Smaïl Kanouté NEVER TWENTY ONE presented by NYLA and FIAF at Florence Gould Hall, 55. E. 59th St. 7:30pm Inspired by Black Lives Matter #Never21 paying tribute to young people of color who lost their lives to gun violence. Krump, popping, baile funk.
27 The BOBcast: A celebration of the Life for Robert Patrick. online/live event celebrating the life of Off-Off Broadway playwright. "Guests, performers, and participating artists include: Magie Dominic, Carol Nelson, Bonnie Young, Kristina Wong, Ross MacLean, Michael McGrinder, Harvey Perr, Jason Wittman, Justin Elizabeth Sayer, John Fleck, and more TBA! Reserve your ticket Online to tune in anytime throughout the 10 hour livestream or join us in-person at La MaMa at 7pm ET."
28/29 CAGE SHUFFLE Created and performed by Paul Lazar, choreographed by Annie-B Parson. As part of the opening of "John Cage's Japan" at Japan Society, 333 E. 47th St. 7:30 pm "a 50-minute spoken-word solo work comprising a randomly determined set of texts taken from John Cage's 1963 "score," Indeterminacy."
OCTOBER
cont. through Oct. 8 INFINITE LIFE. Annie Baker's newest! Directed by James Macdonald. Atlantic Theater Company
cont. through Nov 19 STEREOPHONIC by David Adjmi. Songs by Will Butler (Arcade Fire). Directed by Daniel Aukin. Playwrights Horizons. A rock band in the 1970's in the midst of recording an album. Though set in analog 1970's, it avoids sentimental/nostalgic (except for some stoner humor) and becomes a Chekovian interior, one-set, hermetic drama of lives falling apart through success. Very strong performance/direction. The music structure accumulates to keep you wondering, in a good way, as to the reference. Music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, which completely won me over. A bit like the very best of Fleetwood Mac but more.
cont. through Oct. 22 THE WORLD'S UNFAIR presented by Creative Time. 24-17 Jackson Ave.Long Island City, between 23rd St and 45th Ave. Thursdays, 2:00 – 9:00 PM, Fridays & Saturdays, 2:00 – 10:00 PM, Sundays, 2:00 – 9:00 PM also special evening events. "an immersive spectacle of animatronics, large-scale sculptures, video installations, and powwow grounds, The World’s UnFair invites you to play a part in a decolonized future. Brought to you by New Red Order (NRO), a public secret society of informants and collaborators dedicated to rechannelling desires for indigeneity towards the expansion of Indigenous futures, The World’s UnFair offers a practical solution to growing calls for the return of Indigenous land: Give It Back."
cont. through Oct. 13 CROSSING THE LINE Annual dance festival at French Institute/FIAF. Always good stuff. From the curators: "As we are writing these lines, we have learned that the iconic Under the Radar, a festival that echoed Crossing The Line, would not return — limiting opportunities for foreign artists on our shores. In curating the 16th edition of Crossing The Line, we looked to bring artists who could offer new perspectives from the entire Francophone world to New Yorkers, allowing all of us to expand our minds. Their shows, presented in partnership with artistic powerhouses across the city, address some of the most pressing issues of our time — gun violence, climate change, race, sexism, and artificial intelligence — as they explore new ways to make art today. We are proud to present this talented group of artists and are hopeful that these performances will spark new artistic dialogues, across genres and borders."
2 FIRST MONDAYS READING SERIES: Bushra Rehman, Alejandro Varela, Daisy Hernández. 7pm Performance Space/NY 150 First Ave. Curated by Sarah Schulman
4-7 CURRICULUM II Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. NYLA
4-14 DRUID O'CASEY: SEAN O'CASEY'S DUBIN TRILOGY 16 actors doing all three plays (TH PLOUGH AND THE STARS, THE SHADOW OF A GUNMAN, JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK) in one day. Directed by Garry Hynes. NYU Skirball co-pro with The Public Theater.
4-28 RIP TIDE written and performed by Edward Oliver. Axis Theatre Company, 1 Sheridan Square in W. Village. Edward is an utterly unique and highly stylized performer. "When he was twenty-three, he found the Pyramid Club. This long-gone ghost of Avenue A became a home for all artists and outcasts, and the first stage Edgar ever performed on in the city. In the dark recesses of this magic theatre Edgar found the voice that brought all the sorrow and glory, the solitude and companionship of his early life into the hearts of his audience."
6-8 THE INTERSECTION: The Apollo Theater FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS . Curated by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Artists, writers, thinkers. Use code ATIM15 for 15% discount. 253 W. 125th St.
11-Nov. 19. MERRY ME by Hansol Jung and directed by Leigh Silverman. New York Theatre Workshop. The writer of WOLF PLAY returns with a "queer cocktail of restoration comedy and the Greeks, served with a heavy garnish of ridiculous." It's hysterically funny with brilliant performers, and gloriously ridiculous. Though it lagged a bit as it progressed; a bit of a one-joke, the quality of direction and intensity of performances are delightful. Use code "SOAP" for 30% discount!
12-24 NEW FEST 35 LGBTQ+ FILM FESTIVAL. In-person and online
12-15 EDISA WEEKS: 3 RITES: LIBERTY second of the tripartite work focused on the "life, liberty, happiness" clause of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. O'Donnell Theater, 160 Schermerhorn St. Brooklyn. Sponsored by Creative Capital
19 EMERGENCE 15 QUEERCEAÑERA EmergeNYC celebrates year 15. With DJ Chata (Bushwig), River L. Ramirez (Los Espookys) Live music by Las Mariquitas. Drag Acts & Performance Art by Emerge artists and friends. BAX/Brooklyn Art Exchange. 421 5th Ave. Brooklyn. EmergeNYC is "an incubator and network for socially engaged artists"
19-21 DANCE choreographed by Lucinda Childs, Music Philip Glass, Film design: Sol Lewitt. I thought this hourlong piece was the most brilliant use of projections and live movement ever when I saw it in 1979. Now restaged by Lyon Opera Ballet at City Center. Discount code: DMLYON
21-23. L'ETANG/GISÈLE VIENNE. NYLA An adaptation of an early work by Swiss writer Robert Walser
19-22 HEBEL Pavel Zustiak and Palissimo. LaMama
25-December 3 SNATCH ADAMS + TAINTY MCCRACKEN PRESENT IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH. "a queer spectacle" co-pro Soho Rep and Bushwick Starr. Written by Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte, Directed by Jess Barbagallo.
26-27 MAILLES. Dorothée Munyaneza NYLA brings together 5 Black, African, Afro-descendant artists
26 THE MUFF DIVING PALACE OF WONDER written by the inventive Madeleine Olnek, and read/staged by the always delightful Deb Margolin, with a bunch of other talented folks, including Deb's students from Yale. 7:30pm Dixon Place.
26-Dec 3. SCENE PARTNER a new play by the fearless ASU grad John L Caswell (Wet Brain). Directed by Rachel Chavkin and starring Dianne Wiest. Vineyard Theatre
31 THE ETERNAL NIGHT/LA NOCHE ETERNA new film by Coco Fusco. 6pm Spanish w/ English subtitles. Screening with Coco and Enrique Del Risco. NYU Latin American and Caribbean Studies. KJCC Auditorium at 53 Washington Square South
RSVP: bit.ly/3Qcb39S
NOVEMBER
cont. through Dec 10 SNATCH ADAMS + TAINTY MCCRACKEN PRESENT IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH. "a queer spectacle" co-pro Soho Rep and Bushwick Starr. Written by Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte, Directed by Jess Barbagallo.
cont. through 19. MERRY ME by Hansol Jung and directed by Leigh Silverman. New York Theatre Workshop. The writer of WOLF PLAY returns with a "queer cocktail of restoration comedy and the Greeks, served with a heavy garnish of ridiculous." It's hysterically funny with brilliant performers, and gloriously ridiculous. Though it lagged a bit as it progressed; a bit of a one-joke, the quality of direction and intensity of performances are delightful. Use code "SOAP" for 30% discount!
cont. through Nov 19 STEREOPHONIC by David Adjmi. Songs by Will Butler (Arcade Fire). Directed by Daniel Aukin. Playwrights Horizons. A rock band in the 1970's in the midst of recording an album. Though set in analog 1970's, it avoids sentimental/nostalgic (except for some stoner humor) to be a Chekovian interior, one-set, hermetic drama of lives falling apart through success. Very strong performance/direction. The music structure accumulates to keep you wondering, in a good way, as to the reference. Music by Arcade Fire's Will Butler, which completely won me over.
2 SOUTH AMERICAN PERFORMANCE ART CYCLE curated by Argentina Performance Art at LATEA featuring live performances by Arantxa Araujo (Mexico/New York), Natacha Voliakovsky (Argentina/New York) and Pancho Lopez (Mexico) and videos by Marta Minujin (Argentina) 7pm at 107 Suffolk St.
2-4 BREATH OF THE BEAST Stephen Petronio Company collaboration with violinist Jennifer Koh. NYU Skirball
3-18. WATCH NIGHT created by Bill T. Jones and Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Composed by Tamar-kali. Dramaturg Lauren Whitehead. The brand new Perelman Performing Arts Center at the site of World Trade Center. The combination of Bill and Marc is something of a dream-team, and being the first production in the new center, 20 years in coming to fruition now under Bill Rauch's artistic leadership makes this especially promising. The performances are strong, but the elements feel jumbled, taking a long time to cohere dramatically and musically. It makes an argument for faith but the partially fictional narrative feels too on the nose. Nicely staged in the new theatre.
4 BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK the delightful and revelatory 2010 documentary on the much loved NYC street photographer, directed by Richard Press and produced by Philip Gefter who will both be on hand for the Q&A. 8pm Metrograph
6 FIRST MONDAYS READING SERIES at Performance Space New York/PSNY (former P.S. 122) 7pm curated by Sarah Schulman. Featuring Karen Finley, Laurie Stone, Jeff McMahon.
8 BEATRICE LILLY, THE DEVIL AND ME. The extraordinary LA-based performer/actor/force-of-nature John Fleck performs for only 1 night at Dixon Place 8pm
8-? SPAIN by Jen Silverman. Directed by Tyne Rafaeli. Set in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Silverman is a smart and funny writer. 2nd Stage
cont. through Dec. 3 SCENE PARTNER a new play by the fearless ASU grad John L Caswell (Wet Brain). Directed by Rachel Chavkin and starring Dianne Wiest. Vineyard Theatre
9-11 MICHELLE ELLSWORTH-EVIDENCE OF LABOR & POST-VERBAL SOCIAL NETWORK. Chocolate Factory dance/performance/installation piece featuring the sound and visual design of my very talented ASU colleague, Max Bernstein
16-18 JUNI ONE SET Boy Mother/faceless bloom presented with Dia Art Foundation as part of Performa 2023. NYLA Juni Set collaboration with Senga Negudi, eddy kown, Haruko Crow Nishimura & Joshua Kohn of Degenerate Art Ensemble
16-18 EDISA WEEKS: 3 RITES: HAPPINESS third tripartite work focused on the "life, liberty, happiness" clause of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Entire piece will premiere 2025. Weeksville Heritage Center, 158 Buffalo Ave. Brooklyn. Supported by Creative Capital
29-? APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Directed by Lila Neugebauer. Pretty much anything by Jacobs-Jenkins is powerful and disorienting. 2nd Stage
DECEMBER
continuing APPROPRIATE by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Directed by Lila Neugebauer. Pretty much anything by Jacobs-Jenkins is powerful and disorienting. 2nd Stage
through Dec 10 SNATCH ADAMS + TAINTY MCCRACKEN PRESENT IT'S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH. "a queer spectacle" co-pro Soho Rep and Bushwick Starr. Written by Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte, Directed by Jess Barbagallo.
2-24 SLEEPING BEAUTY Julie Atlas Muz, Mat Fraser and Panto crew presented by Abrons.
4 BILL CHATS with Marc Bamuthi Joseph. NYLA 7pm. Bill T. and Bamuthi is a conversation worth hearing any day.
4 FIRST MONDAYS READING SERIES: Steven Thrasher, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Penny Arcade. Performance Space/NY 150 First Ave. 7pm Curated by Sarah Schulman
6-9 SMALL SONGS Brian Rogers, Artistic Director of The Chocolate Factory, presents his "multisensory listening environment centered around a custom designed and constructed hi fi speaker system and an array of LED light strips, surrounded by a series of intimate “salons” filled with sofas, carpets and comfortable chairs." A great group of collaborators, including Brian Rogers, Madeline Best, Claudia La Rocco
10-16 THE MARCH Big Dance Theater. Choreographed by Tendayi Kuumba, Annie-B Parson, Donna Uchizono. 3-part choreography presented in-the-round at the brand new PAC. Perelman Performing Arts Center
12-17 BZZZ Caleb Teicher blends tap and beatboxing. Joyce Theater
2024
JANUARY
9-13 WEATHERING Fay Driscoll's feast of physicality returns to New York Live Arts. One of the most invigorating pieces I saw last year. Utterly unique and engrossing.