Today’s “Fab 5″+1/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, SEPT. 23, 2014
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”
Reading and Discussion of ‘All the Way,’ With Robert Schenkkan
“Mr. Schenkkan, author of the 2014 Tony Award-winning play about the early presidency of Lyndon Baines Johnson — which featured Bryan Cranston of the AMC series “Breaking Bad” in the title role — will read from the play and talk about it with the actor Brandon J. Dirden, who played the role of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the production.” (NYT)
This was one heck of a play. Should be interesting to hear from the playright.
Drama Book Shop, 250 West 40th St. (btw 7/8 ave)
212-944-0595 / dramabookshop.com
At 5 p.m. / FREE.
Ghirardelli Minis Launch Party
Get free ice cream sundaes and free mini chocolates!
Ghirardelli minis are here. Come #shareamini with us at our official minis launch celebration where you’ll enjoy free ice cream sundaes, free minis, plus play games for sweet prizes!
10AM to 7PM
Grand Central Terminal, Vanderbilt Hall, 89 E 42nd St.
Christopher Owens
After fronting Girls — a bratty, lo-fi psychedelic duo from San Francisco — this rocker channeled the roiling emotions of a passionate yet doomed love affair into “Lysandre,” a gentler classical- and folk-influenced song cycle that suggested Elliott Smith or Conor Oberst. He marks the release of “A New Testament,” a cultured and country-inflected record with surprising skiffle flourishes.” (Anderson-NYT)
Highline Ballroom, 431 West 16th St., Chelsea (btw 9/10 ave)
866-777-8932 / highlineballroom.com
At 8 p.m. / $22
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks
“If you haven’t yet checked out the Nighthawks’ new digs, what are you waiting for. “The band (which has just released their second volume of music from HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire”) now actually sounds better, audio-wise, and the menu is a vast improvement over the band’s previous venue—overall, it is a step up, to the second floor, rather than a flight down, to the basement.
Although longtime fans are currently referring to the Nighthawks as “The Iguana Troubadours,” they continue to play with the same amazing combination of skin-tight historical authenticity and sheer, relentless energy, plus a tempo that has always characterized Mr. Giordano’s bands.” (WSJ-Will Friedwald)
Iguana, 240 W. 54th St., (Btw 8th/B’way)
8pm-11pm (3 sets) / $15 cover, $20 food/drink minimum
(212) 765-5454 / iguananyc.com
New York City Ballet Fall Gala
A program conceived by actress Sarah Jessica Parker that merges ballet, fashion and fine Champagne. Tonight’s program includes three ballets with costumes designed by an international cadre of fashion talents that includes Thom Browne, Sarah Burton and Valentino Garavani. The gala marks the beginning of the fall season and the introduction of a new permanent element to the theater’s promenade: a Ruinart Champagne Bar.” (DNA info)
DHK Theater, West 63rd Street and Columbus Avenue at Lincoln Center.
7 p.m. / Specially-priced tickets for the performances start at $29 nycballet.com.
Elsewhere, but looks worth the detour:
Shovels & Rope
“The husband-and-wife duo of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst stomp up a scene as Shovels & Rope, lacing roots ballads and Americana anthems with a barbed, quite nearly punk edge. Their instrument-swapping set brought a twangy fury to the Celebrate Brooklyn! festival this summer. With John Fullbright.” (Anderson-NYT)
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn
800-745-3000; 718-486-5400 / musichallofwilliamsburg.com
At 9 p.m. / $25
this is not Manhattan’s WestSide, but it is Bklyn’s WestSide.
subway:#1-2-3 to 14th St.; transfer to L to Bedford, (1st stop in Bklyn).
short walk to venue – 3 blks West on N 6th S
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♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors, where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater, and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world. Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues. Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.
For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com) Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view. ==========================================================
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 