Today’s Top 10 – THURSDAY / JULY 16, 2015
“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
> Barb Jungr: Hard Rain – The Songs Of Bob Dylan & Leonard Cohen
Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette St. / 7PM, $25
“one of the best interpreters of Jacques Brel and Bob Dylan anywhere on this angst ridden planet today” (Village Voice, New York) and “one of the best nightclub singers in the world” (Time Out New York).”
> River and Blues: Valerie June
Robert F Wagner Jr. Park, 20 Battery Place / 7PM, FREE
“her “Organic Moonshine Roots Music” encompasses the musical heritage of her native Tennessee, mixing Appalachian folk, blues, gospel, soul, and country music with stunning originality.” Enjoy a summer evening listening to the blues while the sun sets over the Hudson River.
> Broadway in Bryant Park (weekly through Aug 13)
Bryant Park, 6th ave at 40th St. / 12:30PM, FREE
The best of musicals on and off By roadway showcase their hits.
today: Finding Neverland, CHICAGO, SISTAS: The Musical, MAMMA MIA!
no better way to spend your lunch hour.
> Henry Threadgill’s Zooid (through July 18)
Village Vanguard, 178 7th St S @ 11th St./ 8:30PM, 10:30PM; $30 plus one drink
“a superb composer, saxophonist and flautist, Threadgill is a true master musician. With Zooid, he teams up with several other jazz instrumentalists to bring the funk to the Village Vanguard.” (TONY)
> MoMA Nights with Tamar-kali: Psychochamber Ensemble
Museum of Modern Art, 53rd St. (btw 5/6ave) /
Set begins at 6:30PM. Regular Museum admission applies.
Performances take place in the Sculpture Garden
“born and raised in Brooklyn, the vocalist and composer Tamar-kali is a second-generation musician with roots in the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina. The works she composes and arranges for the Psychochamber Ensemble blend the classical music of her Catholic upbringing with the fire of the hard rock she came to love.”
> Momix (through Aug 1)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave at West 19th St. / 7:30PM, $10+
“Moses Pendleton’s whimsical troupe, a hybrid of modern dance, circus and visual spectacle, celebrates its 35th anniversary with a nearly monthlong run of the new work “Alchemia.”
Smart Stuff / Other
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)
>Peter Mendelsund, Tobias Frere-Jones and Abbott Miller
Strand Book Store, 828 Broadway, at 12th St. / 7PM,
“three designers share their stories of jobs gone wrong in a discussion about learning from mistakes. Mr. Mendelsund is a book designer and the author of “What We See When We Read”; Mr. Frere-Jones is a typeface designer; and Mr. Miller is a partner at the design firm Pentagram. Moderating the conversation will be Ellen Lupton, senior curator of contemporary design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.”
> DruidShakespeare: The History Plays
Gerald W. Lynch Theater (at John Jay College) / 7PM, $45–$175.
“Ireland’s estimable Druid Theatre Company returns to Lincoln Center Festival to present all four plays of Shakespeare’s Henriad in rep, tracking the English throne from the fall of Richard II to the rise of Henry V.” (TONY)
> French Restaurant Week
Various locations and times, prix-fixe meals for $17.89 and $178.90
“Celebrate French Independence Day the American way: by eating. Dine on special prix-fixe dinner menus for $17.89 or $178.90 at more than 40 NYC bistros and brasseries (Mirabelle, Triomphe) as part of Bastille Week. In addition to dining deals, restaurants will also be hosting fetes including a Pétanque tournament sponsored by Tribeca’s Cercle Rouge.” (TONY)
for the full list see: frenchrestaurantweek.com.
Have time for only one event today? Do this:
> Marissa Mulder: Instincts
Metropolitan Room, 34 W22nd St. (btw5/6 ave) / 9:30PM, $20
“As comfortable singing Tom Waits as she is singing Noël Coward, the winsomely natural Melissa Mulder is one of the cabaret world’s biggest breakout successes of the past five years. Her new set includes songs by Stephen Sondheim and Sara Baraeilles.”
Bonus – Music Picks:
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 – 34W22ndSt., 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 – 237W42nd dSt. 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.
====================================================================================
♦ 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.
====================================================================================
Chelsea Art Gallery District*
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.
This is a current exhibitions that the NYT recommends:
Roger Brown: ‘Political Paintings’ (through July 31)
“Brown (1941 – 1997) was one of the best of the Chicago Imagists who emerged in the 1960s. The paintings here address topics like money, war and terrorism with comical skepticism. “Gulf War” (1991) is a diptych pairing mock-heroic portraits of former President George H. W. Bush and Saddam Hussein. The men loom gigantically over desert landscapes with helicopters buzzing around their heads. It suggests that as makers of war, theses leaders were kindred spirits. DC Moore Gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, dcmooregallery.com, 212-247-2111.” (Johnson)
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.
*Now plan your own gallery crawl, but plan your visits for Tuesday through Saturday; most galleries are closed Sunday. and Monday.
TIP: After your gallery tour, stop in Ovest at 513W27th St. for Aperitivo Italiano (Happy Hour on steroids). Discuss all the great art you have viewed over a drink and a very tasty selection of FREE appetizers (M-F, 5-8pm).
=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 07/14 and 07/12.
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 