Pre Covid-19 we searched the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you didn’t have to.” We made it as easy as 1-2-3.
Covid-19 has required some changes for the time being. Stay Safe.
This website has always been non-political, focused on cultural events and everything to do, see and enjoy in this great city. Last week was election day. I believe, as do so many others, that this was the most important election we have ever faced. Voters soundly rejected Trump, giving Biden 5 million more votes.
Because Trump continues to try and delegitimize the election with unfounded claims, I feel it is necessary to lead off today’s events and focus attention on this art installation: ‘Wall of Lies’
20,000 Claims Made By President Trump Line SoHo’s New ‘Wall of Lies’
“This isn’t the first art installation depicting claims made by President Trump to appear in NYC. A second mural had to be created after the original installation in Brooklyn was defaced. Every claim had been organized in chronological order from the fact-checkers at the Washington Post. Radio Free Brooklyn, a nonprofit organization providing active learning in media practices for underserved Brooklyn communities, who put up the mural, said the color-coded display is categorized with pink for environment, green for coronavirus, blue for immigration, purple for crime, yellow for Russia, and so on.” (secretnyc.co).
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Earlier today we covered Selected NYC Instagram Photos and some curated event info. Now, how about some more useful NYC information.
Watch Broadway Performances During Social Distancing
GD: Unfortunately, fans of Broadway will have to wait a little longer for shows to resume — until at least late May 2021. That hurts!
Broadway theaters closed on March 12 as New York City enacted rules to promote social distancing and slow the spread of Covid-19, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a show. The NYC theater community has responded with initiatives and online shows to help support its members and entertain audiences via the internet while we’re staying away from crowds.
We’ve put together a sampling of streaming performances you can watch from your laptop or phone:
Broadway HD Starting in 2015, this online service began offering HD versions of classic and recent Broadway plays and musicals. You can try it out for free (with a one-week trial) or buy a subscription (from $9 a month) to watch some of your favorite shows. You can see stars like Katherine Hepburn in 1973’s televised version of The Glass Menagerie as well as musical hits like Kinky Boots, An American in Paris and Cats.
Stars in the House Broadway actor, director and writer (and radio host) Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, host two shows a day from their house on YouTube. The hourlong shows, which air live at 2pm and 8pm (the usual Broadway start times), raise money for the Actors Fund, helping to provide emergency relief for those unemployed in the theater community.
Living Room Concerts Broadwayworld.com has started posting daily concert videos from an array of performers, mainly those whose shows were running before the recent closure of Broadway. They’re posting a new video every day—stars featured include Carolee Carmello (Hello, Dolly!), Kathryn Gallagher (Jagged Little Pill) and teenager Andrew Barth Feldman, the former lead in Dear Evan Hansen.
Marie’s Crisis Virtual Piano Bar This West Village bar, known for sing-alongs to Broadway show tunes, has taken the experience online. They’re streaming two main sets of songs each evening, usually starting at 4pm, with different pianists tickling the ivories. To watch, join their Facebook group and tune in to “Sing out, Louise” (in the comfort of your own living room). You can also tip the piano players via Venmo or PayPal, with details during each performance.
Download recent shows, like the SpongeBob SquarePants musical, on Amazon Many recent shows are available to rent or buy on Amazon and other online streamers, usually in the range of $3–12. Highlights include Rent, taped just before it ended its Broadway run; 2013’s Carousel, via Live from Lincoln Center; 2010 Tony Award winner Memphis; and the original Broadway production of Into the Woods, starring Bernadette Peters.
Virtual Hal Prince Exhibit at Lincoln Center In December 2019, the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts opened an exhibit on the late Harold Prince, the legendary Broadway producer behind megahits like The Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd. While the library is closed, you can take a virtual walk-through and 30-minute guided tour of the gallery with Doug Reside, the show’s curator.
Broadway Dreams Live Lessons The Broadway Dreams Foundation is hosting free daily lessons, led by some accomplished Broadway-caliber talent, for aspiring actors, singers and dancers. Their lineup has included actors from Frozen, Head Over Heels and Chicago. To watch, get the Zoom link from their Facebook page. Sessions begin at 1pm; each day’s links are posted five minutes before class begins, though the schedule is listed earlier than that.
Viral Monologues from 24 Hour Plays Every year, the 24 Hour Plays event presents a series of shows that are written, cast, directed and performed in one day with the involvement of talent from the NYC theater community. Now they’re doing a mini version, with online monologues, on their Instagram account. They’re performed by actors like Denis O’Hare and penned by playwrights like David Lindsay-Abaire.
Groove to disco versions of Stephen Sondheim songs Broadway Records just released the digital version of Losing My Mind, a compilation of Sondheim songs with a dance beat. Conceived by Broadway performer Joshua Hinck and arranger Scott Wasserman, the 12-song album is an expanded version of a popular concert they put on in 2018. The album features singers like Alison Luff (Waitress) and Chip Zien (from the original Into the Woods). You can preview a track, “Unworthy of Your Love,” from Passion; hear the collection on Spotify; or order a copy from the Broadway Records site.
Broadway Backwards 2020 Encore Broadway Cares, which produces number of annual AIDS fundraisers, has put together a special encore series of recent star-studded performances from Broadway Backwards, at which performers belt out famous show tunes with gender-swapped roles. They’re also asking viewers to support an emergency fundraiser for actors affected by the Covid-19 crisis—you can make a donation at broadwaycares.org.
Watch Broadway classics like Cabaret for free on YouTube These days you may be wondering, “What good is sitting alone in your room?” You can get a very direct answer on YouTube by watching the 1993 version of Cabaret, featuring Alan Cumming in his breakout role. Other star turns worth checking out for free are Bernadette Peters and Mandy Patinkin in American Playhouse‘s 1986 broadcast of Sunday in the Park with George; Carol Burnett in 1964’s Once Upon A Mattress; Nell Carter in a 1982 broadcast of Ain’t Misbehavin’; Lauren Bacall in 1973’s Applause; Gregory and Maurice Hines in 1980’s Eubie!; and Ethel Merman and Frank Sinatra in 1954’s Anything Goes.
Jason Alexander sings on Twitter While most people know Jason Alexander as George from Seinfeld, he got his big break on Broadway in a Stephen Sondheim musical (Merrily We Roll Along). He recently went on Twitter to sing a song from the show that got him interested in theater, Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin. The beautiful ballad, “With You,” has a message of love and support we can all use today.
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NYC-Arts Top Five Picks: November 06 – November 12
Interesting. Unusual. Uniquely NYC. Highlights of this week’s top events include Weeping Willows, Liquid Tongues, Women to the Fore, Asia Society’s Triennial and more. Get the NYC-ARTS Top Five in your inbox every Friday and follow @NYC_ARTS on Instagram or @NYCARTS on Twitter to stay abreast of events as they happen.
Asia Society Triennial: We Do Not Dream Alone
Asia Society and Museum
Manhattan / Tue, Oct 27, 2020 – Sun, Jun 27, 2021
The inaugural Asia Society Triennial, a festival of art, ideas, and innovation, is slated to run October 27, 2020 through June 27, 2021. This first edition of the Asia Society Triennial, titled “We Do Not Dream Alone,” is composed of a multi-venue exhibition, interdisciplinary panels, forums, and performances. The Asia Society Triennial takes place at venues throughout New York City, including Asia Society, David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, the Park Avenue Malls at East 70th …
Women to the Fore
Hudson River Museum
Westchester / Fri, Sep 18, 2020 – Sun, Jan 03, 2021
True to its title, “Women to the Fore” gives voice and space to more than forty female-identifying artists, spanning one hundred and fifty years. This exhibition—drawn from the Hudson River Museum’s permanent collection as well as loans from regional artists, galleries, and collectors—focuses on the rich diversity and range of expression in a group of artists working in paintings and drawings, prints and photographs, collage, and sculpture. While some artists are internationally recognized, a strong …
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Virtual Film Festival 2020
Manhattan / Sat, Oct 24, 2020 – Tue, Nov 17, 2020
The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series — the first Academy Qualifying Film Festival devoted to women filmmakers — will present an exciting three-week season of films dedicated to love and activism. Starting with the official virtual kick-off on Saturday, October 24th and ending on through November 17, 2020, film lovers will enjoy live lecture series talks, workshops and a fun closing night Filmmakers Awards celebration featuring DJ Thelma Ramsey! “COVID-19 shouldn’t take away …
Weeping Willows, Liquid Tongues
Sean Kelly Gallery
Manhattan / Thu, Nov 05, 2020 – Sat, Dec 19, 2020
This is Shahzia Sikander’s first exhibition in New York City in nine years. “Weeping Willows, Liquid Tongues” is an expansive, in-depth look into Sikander’s recent work, featuring the artist’s dynamic large-and-intimately-scaled drawings, a captivating new single channel video-animation, luminous, intricate mosaics and her first ever free-standing sculpture. Shahzia Sikander takes classical Indo-Persian miniature painting as the point of departure for her work. From premodern beginnings to contemporary influences, it is precisely this historical continuum and its continuous …
Broadway Close Up 2020
Kaufman Music Center
Manhattan / Mon, Oct 26, 2020 – Mon, Dec 07, 2020
Kaufman Music Center’s “Broadway Close Up” series moves online this fall with three intimate lecture-concerts exploring the lives, careers and music of three of musical theater’s most fascinating figures: Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), Dorothy Fields (1904-1974) and Stephen Schwartz (b. 1948). Their stories bring to life the rich history of the American musical and its evolution from comedy revues to sophisticated, fully-realized musical plays. Hosted by Theater@Kaufman Director Sean Hartley and filmed in Merkin Hall, these one-hour performances pair lively and informative lectures with performances …
New York magazine is biweekly these days and every issue has a wonderful section, “The Culture Pages,” which includes a “To Do” list – 25 things to see, hear, watch, and read. Here are my favorites from the current issue (Oct.28-Nov.11).
Opera
The Ghosts of Versailles
Featuring a young Renée Fleming.
In 1991, the Metropolitan Opera made its long-awaited return to contemporary opera after 25 years of wallowing in the past. It did so with a work that wallowed in the past. Long gestating, theatrically dazzling, sumptuously cast, wildly expensive, and ambivalently reviewed, John Corigliano’s romp through 18th-century styles made a splash, popped up again a few years later, and then vanished from the company’s repertoire. Fortunately, the broadcast, first televised in 1992, is still around to stream. —Justin Davidson
metopera.org, October 31.
Dance
State of Darkness
Seven solos.
It’s been more than 30 years since dancer and choreographer Molissa Fenley first performed her fiercely concentrated State of Darkness, set to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Now she’s spent the summer coaching (from a distance) seven dancers, all from different companies with different styles, each of whom gives the work a distinctive stamp. The series, streamed from the Joyce Theater, concludes with successive turns by Lloyd Knight, Cassandra Trenary, and Sara Mearns. —Justin Davidson
joyce.org, through November 1.
Opera
Threepenny Opera
In two parts.
Weill and Brecht’s grit-crusted “play with music” was built to fit just about any stage or even no stage at all. The start-up company City Lyric Opera has found a way to adapt it to technology and separation, without stinting on theatrical effect, for a two-week run. —J.D.
citylyricopera.org, October 29 to November 15.
Art
Leilah Babirye
Powerful sculptures.
Leilah Babirye is one of the strongest artists to have emerged in the past five years. Her ceramic, wood, metal, and found-object sculptures and assemblages pack optical punches and deliver dollops of passion, power, material intelligence, spiritual wisdom, off-the-wall humor, and almost revolutionary ancestral identity politics. She’s taking back whole swaths of art history, deploying stolen tropes, remaking visual history, and remembering the past in medium-size objects that all possess talismanic dignity and tenderness. —J.S.
Gordon Robichaux, 41 Union Square West, through November 22.
Theater
Complete Works: Table Top Shakespeare
All the men and women merely silverware.
In 2018, British experimental troupe Forced Entertainment visited New York with its sweetly brilliant object-theater series Table Top Shakespeare: In each episode, an actor retells a condensed version of one of Shakespeare’s plays, “casting” the parts with various bits and bobs like teapots or pepper grinders. I caught the ensemble’s Antony and Cleopatra — the Egyptian queen was a gilded bit of crockery — and it absolutely knocked my saltcellar off. Now, with kitchen tables among the few sanctioned performance spaces, the company has begun streaming a domestic version of the series, making every miniature play available for free. A new one appears online each night; all told, there are 36. Collect ’em all. —Helen Shaw (Sept.17 – Nov.15)
*This article appears in the October 26, 2020, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
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NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 