Today’s “Fab Five” / Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, July 08, 2013

She & Him*
“Five years before cementing sitcom stardom on “New Girl,” the famously twee singer-actress Zooey Deschanel formed She & Him with the indie-country veteran M. Ward. The unlikely pairing of her warmly vintage, romantic vocals atop his gentle progressions and intuitive harmonies has resulted in three discs of earthy, easygoing folk-pop and a cockles-warming Christmas album. Part of the SummerStage Festival with Camera Obscura.” (Anderson-NYT)
Central Park SummerStage, Rumsey Playfield,
midpark at 70th St.
At 7 p.m. / $40.
(212) 360-2777 / summerstage.org

Stephanie J. Block
“The vivacious star of The Pirate Queen, Wicked and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (which earned her a Tony nomination this year) returns to her periodic perch at Birdland, there to be mobbed by her legions of loyal Blockheads.” (TONY)
Birdland, 315 W 44th St, (btw 8th / 9th Aves)
At 7pm, $30–$40, plus $10 minimum
212-581-3080 / birdlandjazz.com

Brian Stokes Mitchell: Simply Broadway
“The baritone star of such shows as Ragtime and Man of La Mancha, Mitchell is one of Broadway’s most accomplished leading men, and has lately proved a suave and affable concert performer as well.” (TONY)
The Town Hall, 123 W 43rd St (btw Sixth Ave and Broadway)
at 8pm / $50-$65
212-840-2824 / the-townhall-nyc.org

The English Beat
“Brit-ska’s greatest pogo band comes to town, with lead warbler Dave Wakeling and a backing group that plays to his strengths. And you know “Mirror in the Bathroom,” “I Confess” and Smokey Robinson’s “Tears of a Clown” are on the set list.” (TONY)
City Winery, 155 Varick St, at Vandam St
At 8pm / $40-$60
212-608-0555 / citywinery.com

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Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change.
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SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS @ 3 Museums (WestSide & the BklynMuseum) 

‘Claes Oldenburg: The Street and the Store’ and ‘Claes Oldenburg: Mouse Museum, Ray Gun Wing’ (through Aug. 5)
‘Performing Histories (1)’ (through Aug. 5)
‘Bill Brandt: Shadow and Light’ (through Aug. 12)
‘Ellsworth Kelly: Chatham Series’ (through Sept. 8)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St,
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.
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‘Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design’* (through Sept. 15)
Museum of Arts and Design: 2 Columbus Circle,
299-7777, madmuseum.org.
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‘John Singer Sargent Watercolors’  (through July 28) [see review below]
‘Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui’ (through Aug. 4)
‘LaToya Ruby Frazier: A Haunted Capital’ (through Aug. 11)
Brooklyn Museum: 200 Eastern Parkway, at Prospect Park,
(easy ride from midtown on #2 or #3 subway to Eastern Pkway/Bklyn Museum)
(718) 638-5000 / brooklynmuseum.org

John Singer Sargent Watercolors
“The exhibition brings together 93 of his watercolors and 9 oil paintings from the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Both institutions acquired significant quantities of his work early on, the Brooklyn Museum from Sargent’s career debut show in New York in 1909 and the Boston museum from a solo show there in 1912. The beauty of Sargent’s watercolors is in how seemingly effortlessly yet exactly he captured outdoor light and complicated man-made and natural forms. In landscapes, close studies of fruit and flowers and portraits of women you see at once the supremely deft action of the brush and the illusions of a sun-drenched halcyon world that it conjures. Prepare for bedazzlement.” (KEN JOHNSON-NYT)
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 07/06 and 07/03.