Today’s “Fab 5”/ Selected NYCity Events – SUNDAY, JAN. 12, 2014

Nutcracker Rouge (last day)
Company XIV delivers a sexy Nutcracker for adults

“Even the most traditional “Nutcrackers” are treated as a young woman’s coming-of-age story with either a student or company member as the slipper-throwing mice slayer who saves her prince. Company XIV director Austin McCormick’s “Nutcracker Rouge” is no different…EXCEPT there are no mice, kids or snowflakes. They are not missed.

Pretty Marie Claire (Lauren Careless) gets lost in a snowstorm on Christmas Eve and wanders into a Burlesque House. Why not? They like celebrating, especially when performing their “Waltz of the Flowers” – a genuine waltz dressed in violet and danced with big smiles. The dancing, singing and acrobatic feats McCormick integrates has the same effect as opening presents on Christmas morning. His ability as a choreographer/director is so confident and creative that in the first act he sets dances to Tchaikovsky’s original score and adds an accompanying one from a pastiche of Big Band numbers, the Ellington/Strayhorn “Nutcracker”, and bawdy French songs (translations not necessary).

One example being Candy Cane (Courtney Giannone), who performs with and inside her Cyr wheel to the “Russian Dance” and a ballad about being someone’s candy cane. The second act is when he adds extra delicacies of champagne, macaroons, and cake. The other sweet Marie Claire discovers the Sweet Spot. There’s nothing new with sexing up the classics, but “Nutcracker Rouge” is different.” (Patricia Contino, Flavorpill)
Minetta Lane Theatre, 18-22 Minetta Ln, (btw W3rd St/Bleecker), just E of 6th ave
At 8PM / $48-$124
companyxiv.com/productions

Bettye LaVette with Stanley Clarke Trio and the Harlem String Quartet
“Her 2005 comeback album, “I’ve Got My Own Hell to Raise,” is a gem of gospel urgency and a cappella rumination. A former touring mate of James Brown and Otis Redding, Ms. LaVette has the steamroller charisma to invigorate the night. “Thankful N’ Thoughtful,” released in 2012, celebrated her 50th anniversary in entertainment. On this evening, she sits in for a genre-spanning jam with the jazzy Stanley Clarke Trio and the Harlem String Quartet.” (Anderson-NYT)
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th Street, Chelsea,
At 8 p.m./ $25-$45
(212) 414-5994, highlineballroom.com

NYC PodFest 2014
Capitalizing on the ongoing podcast boom, Jeremy Wein brings together some of the city’s popular shows and hosts for a weekend marathon of recordings. Among those participating: Keith and the Girl, Proudly Resents, New York City Crime Report with Pat Dixon, Tell Your Friends! and many, many more to be announced
Fontana’s, 105 Eldridge St. (BTW Broome and Grand Sts)
AT 3PM / $6-$25
Subway: B/D to Grand St.; F to Delancey St;
212-334-6740 / Nycpodfest.squarespace.com / Fontanasnyc.com

GlobalFest 2014.
“Just how prevalent are the crosscurrent winds of Pan-Global pollination? Consider those 12 romping Romanians known as Fanfare Ciocărlia, the pre-eminent Balkan brass band, who specialize in such brilliant rearrangements as driving interpretations of Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild” and Duke Ellington’s “Caravan.” Then there’s Sergio Mendoza, whose “la Orkestra” plays the customary Cuban-style dance numbers like “Mambo in the Dark” as well as an ingenious Afro-Cuban treatment of the traditional Russian “Ochi Chyornye.”

These are but two of the 12 exceptional ensembles playing Sunday evening at Webster Hall over the course of about five hours. As icing on the cake, there’s the remarkable Bombay Royale, whose music asks the cultural question, “If James Bond were a Hindu, what would * that * theme song sound like?” (WSJ)
Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St.
not Manhattan’s WestSide, but you can’t miss this one.
subway:#1-2-3 to 14th St.; transfer to L train to 3rd ave; walk S 3 blocks
at 6PM / $40
(212) 353-1600 / websterhall.com/events, bowerypresents.com

Christian McBride Big Band
“This spit-and-polish outfit, which won a recent Grammy for best large jazz ensemble album, thrives on the robust energies of its namesake bassist-bandleader. It’ll be the first of two weeks with his name on the Village Vanguard marquee; the second, starting Jan. 14, will feature his effervescent trio.” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue South, at 11th St., West Village,
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m./ $25 to $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum.
(212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
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What’s on View:
Special Exhibitions @ 4 Museum Mile / Fifth Ave. Museums:

‘Balthus: Cats and Girls — Paintings and Provocations’ (through Jan. 12, 2014)
“Brush Writing in the Arts of Japan” (through Jan. 12, 2014)
‘Silla: Korea’s Golden Kingdom’ (through Feb. 23)
“Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa, The Venini Co., 1932–1947” (through March 2, 2014)
‘Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China’ (through April 6)
‘The American West in Bronze, 1850-1925’ (ends April 13)
William Kentridge: ‘The Refusal of Time’ (through May 11)
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave, at 82nd St.
(212) 535-7710 / metmuseum.org

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‘Chagall: Love, War, and Exile’ (through Feb. 2)
this one is very special – don’t miss it.
Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd St.
(212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org

‘Christopher Wool’ (through Jan. 22, 2014)
“Kandinsky in Paris, 1934–1944“ (through Apr. 23, 2014)

Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, at 89th St.
(212) 423-3500 / guggenheim.org.

‘Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Hals: Masterpieces of Dutch Painting From the Mauritshuis’ (through Jan. 19, 2014)
Frick Collection, 1 East 70th St., at Fifth Ave.
everyone wants to see “the girl with the pearl earring”, so admission is by timed tickets.
212-288-0700 / frick.org

========================================================== Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Ten museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:

• 110th Street – Museum for African Art

• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio

• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York

• 92nd Street – The Jewish Museum

• 91st Street –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

• 89th Street – National Academy Museum

• 88th Street – Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

• 86th Street – Neue Galerie New York

• 83rd Street – Goethe-Institut

Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
• 82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Additionally, though technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th St. and the The Morgan Library & Museum on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave. Now plan your own museum crawl. ==========================================================

What’s on View: Top Photography Exhibitions
(NYCity / Manhattan’s WestSide)   

Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53rd Street / 212-708-9400
Walker Evans: American Photographs (through Jan. 26, 2014) 

Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street) / 212-535-7710
Everyday Ephiphanies: Photography and Daily Life Since 1969  (through Jan. 26, 2014)

ICP 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street / 212-857-0000
Lewis Hine
The Future of America: Lewis Hine’s New Deal Photographs
JFK November 22, 1963: A Bystander’s View of History
Zoe Strauss: 10 Years
All these exhibitions run from Oct 4, 2013–Jan 19, 2014

American Museum Natural History 
79th St. And Central Park West / (212) 313-7278
Picturing Science: Museum Scientists and Imaging Technologies (through May 31, 2014)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar: “NYCity Events: Manhattan’s WestSide” dated 01/10 and 01/08.