Today’s Sweet6 NYC Events>MONDAY/JAN.30, 2017

“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.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-Jan.”

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

An Evening with Thomas Friedman
Temple Emanu-El, 1 E. 65th St./ 7PM, $30
“Journalist and author Thomas Friedman is the winner of three Pulitzer Prizes: the first for coverage of the war in Lebanon, the second for coverage of Israel and the third for his commentary illuminating the worldwide impact of the terrorist threat.

Now one of the most celebrated observers of our time turns his attention to the 21st century with his new book, Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations. In this time of super-computing power, self-driving cars, economic interdependence, spiraling debt burdens, rising sea levels and the exponential acceleration of most everything, Mr. Friedman establishes a blueprint for how to think about modern times, take advantage of technology and feel optimistic about our future.”

5  OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY
Ziegfeld Follies of the Air
Roy Hargrove
When Pop Writers Go Broadway
Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution
Emmett Till: True Stories of An American Tragedy

PLUS 
NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open
Broadway Week and Attractions Week now open
Bryant Park’s Winter Carnival

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Ziegfeld Follies of the Air
Birdland, 315 W44th St./ 7PM, $25+
A starry cast pays homage to great entertainers of a bygone era in a gala benefit for the Ziegfeld Society, directed by Walter Willison. Headliners include Liliane Montevecchi (Nine) as Mistinguett, Loni Ackerman (Evita) as Fanny Brice, Carole Demas (Grease) as Billie Burke, Shelly Burch as Helen Morgan, Erin Cronican as Marilyn Miller and Lee Horwin as Libby Holman.” (TONY)

Roy Hargrove
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8pm; 10:30pm; bar $30, tables $45
“Fiery trumpeter Roy Hargrove has been doing double duty for years now, spending half his time as a funkster with his slick combo RH Factor and the other half as a soulful neobopper. You’ll be hearing him in the former mode tonight, so wear your dancing shoes.” (TONY)

Smart Stuff / Other NYC Events
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other)

When Pop Writers Go Broadway
The Greene Space, 44 Charlton St./ 7PM, $20
Broadway’s relationship with contemporary music is a rocky one. Burt Bacharach and Hal David triumphed with their swinging 1968 hit “Promises, Promises,” but the team never wrote another musical — a pattern followed by subsequent Broadway one-timers like Roger Miller, Paul Simon and Dolly Parton.

How do songwriters from the worlds of rock, folk and country adjust to writing for the theater? And why has the Broadway establishment been so resistant to their idiosyncratic and often fascinating shows? Encores! Artistic Director Jack Viertel hosts a conversation with Rob Berman, musical supervisor for “Bright Star,” and Carmel Dean, musical supervisor on Green Day’s “American Idiot” and “Hands on a Hard Body,” written by the frontman of Phish. The evening will include a performance by Lauren Worsham from the cast of Encores! “Big River.”

Future Humans: Inside the Science of Our Continuing Evolution
The Explorers Club, 6 E. 70th St./ 6PM, $25
“Evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon looks at aspects of modernization like epidemics and online dating and the way they may be influencing a new phase in human evolution. If recent political shifts are hastening the need to become a multi-planetary species, will new humans adapted to say, Martian environments, be the next step in our development? (ThoughtGallery.org)

Author Talks:
Emmett Till: True Stories of An American Tragedy
NYPL, Main Building, Celeste Auditorium, 42nd St. & 5th Ave.
6:30PM, Program is FREE, but advance registration is recommended. Priority will be given to those who have registered in advance.
“In August 1955, a fourteen-year-old black boy visiting Mississippi from Chicago named Emmett Till was abducted from his family’s home in the middle of the night by white men who believed that Till had harassed one of their wives; he was beaten, murdered, and dumped in a river with a cotton-gin fan tied to his neck by barbed wire. The atrocity, which persisted during the trial of his killers and their acquittal by an all-white jury, rattled a nation and helped fuel the modern civil rights movement. Two groundbreaking accounts of the lynching that changed a generation re-examine the life, death, and legacy of Emmett Till. Historian Timothy Tyson and PEN Award–winning author John Edgar Wideman will speak about their new books, The Blood of Emmett Till and Writing to Save a Life, with historian Nell Irvin Painter, author of the New York Times bestseller The History of White People.

Timothy Tyson’s The Blood of Emmett Till records one of the most comprehensive accounts of Emmett Till’s story, using for the first time trial transcripts that had gone missing for a half century and a revelatory interview with Carolyn Bryant, the woman Till had supposedly harassed, near the end of her life. John Edgar Wideman’s Writing to Save a Life plumbs the story through Louis Till, Emmett’s father, who was hanged for rape and murder by the U.S. Army in Italy a decade before his son’s death.”

PLUS 

NYC Restaurant Week reservations now open
From Jan. 23 to Feb. 10, have your pick from 375 participating restaurants, with a three-course prix fixe lunch or dinner; lunches are $29, and dinners are $42, not including beverages, gratuities and taxes, a great deal for some of the city’s most popular spots…

This year there are 32 new restaurants participating, joining the array of restaurants that span 41 neighborhoods and four boroughs.
To see the full list, go to nycgo.com/restaurantweek.

Broadway Week and Attractions Week now open
Day 12 of Broadway Week and Attractions Week, through Feb. 5, where you can receive deals like two-for-one tickets at performances and cultural events around the city.

Bryant Park’s Winter Carnival
“There will be an ice castle and so much more at Bryant Park’s Winter Carnival
Rooftop igloos are pretty cool, but an ice castle is way cooler (pun intended). And guess what? You can scope out the frozen fortress at Bryant Park Winter Village’s upcoming Winter Carnival on January 27. Better yet, the formally weekend-only festival has been extended!

That’s right. This year’s nine-day, frosty celebration is jam-packed with entertainment including free curling lessons, a silent disco, a cozy sweater pup meet-up, an outdoor winter brew house and more. And, like last year, there’s an “Ice Ball” where folks can don their fanciest attire and waltz (or, er, try to) on the park’s ice-skating rink. For more of the very ~chill~ activities you can do while you’re there. see the Bryant Park Winter Village Guide.” (TONY)

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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
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 (all six are within walking distance of each other):
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 – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346
Cornelia Street Cafe – 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319

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 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2016.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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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.

Time Out New York highlights this current exhibition:
“Sergei Eisenstein: Drawings 1931–1948” (thru Feb.11)
Alexander Gray Associates, 510 W26th St.
“Did you know that the director of Battleship Potemkin drew pornographic pictures in his downtime? Us neither, but as this roundup of his explicit exertions on paper clearly demonstrate, it’s true. The show spans the period from 1931 until his death in 1948.”

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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 better to 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).

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 01/28 and 01/26.
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