Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – MONDAY, MAR. 09, 2015
“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.”
“How Shakespeare Works”: A Free Night Course — SmartStuff/ Class (6pm)
Celebrity Autobiography — Comedy (7pm)
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra — Jazz (8:30pm) (10:30pm)
Muldoon’s Picnic — SmartStuff/ Reading (7:30pm)
Maggie Nelson and Rebecca Reilly — SmartStuff/ Book Talk (6:30pm)
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:
♦ “9 Notable Events-Feb.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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“How Shakespeare Works”: A Free Night Course
Tonight: Henry V: the theater of arms
The Cooper Union’s charter calls for free night courses open to all. This spring, we are offering “Shakespeare at Work: An Introduction to the Plays in Nine Talks,” taught by William Germano, Ph.D., Dean of Cooper Union’s Faculty of Humanities and Social sciences.
Shakespeare’s plays exert their power over us through the beauty of language, the craft of drama, and something else we can’t easily name. Or maybe we can. These talks are designed as an introduction – or reintroduction – to Shakespeare the poet-playwright-player and to the world of his plays. That world can be lyrical or violent, green or desolate, a place for love and sex or for grappling with the mysteries of time and death.
Shakespeare’s plays were performed at many places and theaters – the famous Globe is only one – but “globe” is as good a metaphor as any for the body of work that, quite miraculously, survived his death in 1616. Shakespeare’s plays teem with characters, and those characters have problems that draw us back again and again. Because five hundred years later, those problems are still with us, and the language in which he poses them continues to give us consolation, and joy, and hope.
Cooper Union,
The Great Hall, in the Foundation Building, 7 East 7th Street, (Btw. Third & Fourth Aves.)
subway: 1-2-3 to Times Sq, transfer to N/R to 8th St.
Each talk begins at 6:00 and lasts for one-hour / FREE
1-212-353-4195
Celebrity Autobiography
“Major comedic actors prick the bubble of celeb autobiographical puffery by performing droll, verbatim readings from stars’ memoirs in Eugene Pack’s popular series. Guest performers in March include Rachel Dratch, Janeane Garofalo, Pamela Adlon, Matthew Broderick, Debbie Harry, Marsha Mason, Alan Zweibel, Tate Donovan and Ralph Macchio.” (TONY)
Stage 72, 158 W 72nd St. (btw Columbus Ave and Broadway)
7pm / $35-$60, plus two-drink minimum
800-838-3006 /http://celebrityautobiography.com
Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
There’s a tradition in many New York City jazz clubs – Monday nights are reserved for big bands. The Village Vanguard, the most storied of clubs, has observed this practice since 1966. The Grammy-winning Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, established by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, is definitely a big band with 4 trumpets, and 4 trombones to accompany 6 reed players. Why not make it your tradition, too.
The band features music with complex yet warm harmonies and memorable melodies mostly written by Thad Jones. We play various styles, from relaxing swing, 70’s-style jazz-funk, ballads with complex harmonic structures, avant-garde tunes with modern rhythms. In addition to the classic Thad Jones charts our library includes music of Bob Brookmeyer, Jim McNeely, Slide Hampton, Bob Minzter, Kenny Werner and others. The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has gained world-wide respect for their wide-ranging repertoire and rich sound.
Village Vanguard, 178 7th Avenue South, just below West 11th St.
At 8:30 and 10:30 pm / $25
212-255-4037 / villagevanguard.com
Muldoon’s Picnic
“The Irish Arts Center continues its series of words and music hosted by Paul Muldoon, the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and poetry editor at The New Yorker. The evening will feature the writer Kevin Barry, the Tony Award-winning actor Michael Cerveris and music by the Wayside Shrines.” (NYT)
The Irish Arts Center, 553 West 51st St.(btw 10/11 ave)
At 7:30 p.m. / $20
212-757-3318, irishartscenter.org.
Maggie Nelson and Rebecca Reilly
“The brilliant Nelson, whose forthcoming Argonauts is one of our most-anticipated books of the year, and Reilly, the author of the poetry memoir Repetition, discuss and read from their genre-transcending lyric works. The New School’s Mark Bibbins moderates.” (TONY)
The New School, J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 W 12th St. (btw 5/6 ave)
6:30pm / $5
BONUS JAZZ PICKS:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:
Greenwich Village:
Village Vanguard – 178 7th Ave. South — villagevanguard.com / 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. — bluenotejazz.com / 212-475-8592
55 Bar – 55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. — 55bar.com / 212-929-9883
Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662
Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
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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, with a population of 8.5 million, had a record 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015. Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub / West Village
Corner Bistro/ 331 W. 4th St.
Sometimes you just need a beer and a burger. If so, Corner Bistro is the place you want. Located just outside the hip Meatpacking district, this corner bar and grill is decidedly unhip, but it’s not uncrowded, especially at night. Seems that everyone knows this place has one of the better burgers in town.
In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town.
The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro celebrated it’s 50th anniversary last year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.
Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $6.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.
Corner Bistro seems to attract very different groups of patrons depending on time of day. While it’s crowded with locals in the evening, in the afternoon you hear different foreign languages, and watch groups of euro tourists wander in, led by their guidebooks and smartphones.
For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
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Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 