“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.”
We make it as easy as 1-2-3.  (click on links for complete event info)

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Lincoln Center’s Midsummer Night Swing
> Gordon Webster Big Band with featured vocalist Brianna Thomas
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center, W62nd St (btw Columbus/Amsterdam Ave.)/ 6PM, $17
Dance Floor Opens at 6/ Dance Lesson at 6:30/ Live Music at 7:30
Dance Instructor: Laura Jeffers teaches Lindy Hop
“A bandleader who dances too, brings an indescribable “wow” to the dancefloor. Tonight, playful, fleet-fingered Lindy Hopper Gordon Webster does just that as he fronts a big band including vocalist Brianna Thomas, whose timing and technique enliven the great tunes and ballads of the golden era of jazz.”

> The Stepkids
Madison Square Park, Madison Ave at 23rd St / 7PM, FREE
“a gleeful blend of classic jazz, R&B, funk, 70s pop rock and countless other genres and styles with a uniquely personal brand of modern psychedelic soul.”

> Systema Solar + Compass + Helado Negro
Rumsey Playfield, Central Park, mid-Park at 69th St. / 6-10PM, FREE
SummerStage presents 3 acts in association with the Latin Alternative Music Conference – rock out

> Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton (through July 12)
Avery Fisher Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza / 8PM, $45 (third tier)
“A raucous and unforgettable evening powered by a full orchestra and choir.”
—L.A. Weekly

> Penn & Teller on Broadway
Marquis Theatre, 1535 Broadway at 46th St. / 8PM, $47-$147
“It’s been almost 25 years since the great magic-comedy team last brought their deconstructive illusionism to the Great White Way. Now they’re back with more shocking awesomeness.” (TONY)

> 54 Sings Irving Berlin – “There’s No Business Like Show Business”
54 Below, 254 W54th St. / 7PM +9:30PM, $35-$45
“Broadway’s Supper Club, presents an all-star cast of 54 Below favorites for an evening celebrating the work of American Songbook pioneer, Irving Berlin. His catalog of songs spans the musical rainbow from rag to pop standard to Broadway anthem. Hear outstanding renditions of Irving Berlin’s most memorable songs including “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, “Always”, “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “God Bless America”. The evening will be hosted by the incomparable nightlife diva, Molly Pope.

Featuring: Tony Yazbeck 7pm show only (On The Town, Gypsy, A Chorus Line) Willy Falk (Miss Saigon) Molly Pope (Found) Raissa Katona Bennett (Phantom Of The Opera) Marissa Miller (Wicked) Marissa Mulder (MAC winner) Eric LuJuan Summers (The Wedding Singer, Little Mermaid, Motown) Madeleine Doherty (Gigi, Sister Act) Janelle Robinson (Mary Poppins) Haley Swindal (Duck Dynasty) Jennifer Sheehan (Radio City Christmas Show) Benet Braun, Musical Director with Ritt Henn and Daniel Glass
Arrangements by Jon Weber
Directed by Samuel Moses Jones
Produced by T. Oliver Reid”

This evening should be like an all star game, with only the best NYCity cabaret performers – a can’t miss event. Almost hidden on that list is cabaret phenom Jennifer Sheehan. Whatever you do, don’t miss her performance.

She will be the brightest star of all.

Bonus – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are a few of my favorite music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:
City Winery – 155 Varick St. / citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St. / joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34 W22nd St. / metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St. / lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St. / beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237 W42nd St. / bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
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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WHAT’S ON VIEW
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museum exhibitions,
and also see the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

Metropolitan Museum of Art:
‘Reimagining Modernism: 1900-1950’ (continuing)
One of the greatest encyclopedic museums in the world fulfills its mission a little more with an ambitious reinstallation of works of early European modernism with their American counterparts for the first time in nearly 30 years. Objects of design and paintings by a few self-taught artists further the integration. It is quite a sight, with interesting rotations and fine-tunings to come. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.” (Smith)

‘Fatal Attraction: Piotr Uklanski Photographs’ (through Aug. 16)
A small but succinct survey of the multimedia bad-boy artist’s polymorphous relationship to photography shows him constantly changing scale, film and printing methods while exploring the medium’s ability to startle, seduce and become generic. He appropriates, imitates and pays homage as he goes, regularly invoking his Polish roots. Don’t miss the large photo-banners in the museum’s Great Hall or the massive fiber-sculpture monument to the eye and to insatiable looking. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org. (Smith)

Neue Galerie:
‘Egon Schiele: Portraits’ (through Sept. 07)
“Of the approximately 125 items in this terrific show, there are only 11 oil paintings, which is a good thing. Except for a large picture of his wife, Edith, in a colorful striped dress, Schiele’s works on canvas are dark and turgid. But his drawings are nimble and nuanced. Working on paper with pencil, charcoal, ink, gouache, watercolor and crayons, he portrayed himself and others with infectious avidity. There’s hardly a single sheet here that doesn’t warrant close looking for its virtuoso draftsmanship and psychological acuity. 1048 Fifth Avenue, at 86th Street, 212-628-6200, neuegalerie.org. “(Johnson)

Guggenheim Museum:
Kandinsky Before Abstraction, 1901–1911 (through spring 2015)
Early in his career Vasily Kandinsky experimented with printmaking, produced brightly-colored landscapes of the German countryside, and explored recognizable and recurrent motifs. This intimate exhibition drawn from the Guggenheim collection explores the artist’s representational origins.

Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum (continuing):
The stately doors of the 1902 Andrew Carnegie mansion, home to the Cooper Hewitt, are open again after an overhaul and expansion of the premises. Historic house and modern museum have always made an awkward fit, a standoff between preservation and innovation, and the problem remains, but the renovation has brought a wide-open new gallery space, a cafe and a raft of be-your-own-designer digital enhancements. Best of all, more of the museum’s vast permanent collection is now on view, including an Op Art weaving, miniature spiral staircases, ballistic face masks and a dainty enameled 18th-century version of a Swiss knife. Like design itself, this institution is built on tumult and friction, and you feel it. 2 East 91st Street, at Fifth Avenue, 212-849-8400, cooperhewitt.org. (Cotter)

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

• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio (closed Sun-Mon)*
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York (open 7 days /week)
•  92nd Street – The Jewish Museum (closed Wed) (Sat FREE) (Thu 5-8 PWYW)
•  91st Street  –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (open 7 days /week)
•  89th Street –  National Academy Museum (closed Mon-Tue)
•  88th Street –  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (closed Thu) (Sat 6-8 PWYW)
•  86th Street –  Neue Galerie New York (closed Tue-Wed) (Fri 6-8 FREE)
Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
•  82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (open 7 days /week)*
*always Pay What You Wish (PWYW)

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (SUN 11am-1pm PWYW) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015). ========================================================

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 07/06 and 07/04.