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enero 2015
¡feliz año, difus@s!
december always feels like the shortest and longest month, between the holiday frenzy (another holiday party?) and the end-of-year panic (the year’s already over?!), but, as far the arts were concerned, it was definitely long on quality, if a bit short on excellence…at least in the theaters and the galleries where i spent much of my time.
punk rock was a finely written high school drama with a throughly committed (and obviously quite talented) young cast, but it didn’t offer any real insights, just familiar (which is not to say unworthy) themes in the latest (youth) style…perhaps that was the point (teens! they’re just as monstrous as adults!), but enda walsh's misterman covered similar territory with much greater depth three years ago. tamburlaine, parts 1 and 2 was, similarly, good—though much more ambitious—but not as great as i was hoping. as an historical artifact, it’s fascinating (especially as commentary on the globalization of trade and the religious confrontations it produced) and certainly worth scholarly attention. this production (the first in new york in six decades, i understand…and now i understand why) did little to bring out its contemporary relevance. i’m glad i saw it, but i left hoping its return to the stage would inspire some young director to do a more radical reworking, say, with putin as tamburlaine and erdoğan as bajazeth…
justin vivian bond’s star of light! an evening of bi-polar witchy wonder might not have been as radical a take on the holidays as kiki & herb would have done, but v’s (the preferred gender-neutral pronoun) sensibility is not entirely kiki’s, which is perfectly laudable. by turns twisted and sincere (sincerely twisted and twistedly sincere), the show was like a well-balanced holiday cocktail, but it did feel a bit less cohesive than september’s reprise of love is crazy; to be fair, christmas is a much harder holiday to work with than valentine’s day. nevertheless, v is always worth watching.
a similarly irreverent and yet loving holiday show, joey arias’ christmas with the crawfords was a terrific romp through camp classics (which i appreciated all the more for having only recently seen many of the movies referenced, from sunset boulevard to mildred pierce to mommie dearest). most striking, at least for me, was how vastly different this (now classic? am i that old?) drag was from the “new drag” on rupaul’s drag race. christmas with the crawfords, for all its levity, had much deeper sense of history and politics and a much sharper, smarter sense of humor than anything i’ve seen on rupaul’s drag race (my viewing has, admittedly, been quite limited). maybe every generation gets the drag it deserves…
lypsinka’s revival of her classics the boxed set and the passion of joan crawford was more than any generation could claim to deserve. so, so much more than drag, these shows are among the best experimental theater i’ve seen. in their deft play with film soundtracks and recorded interviews, ingeniously stitched together into hour-long shows, they share the sensibility of, say, the wooster group’s hamlet and offer a trenchant exploration of the interplay between media (and celebrity) and identity (and gender). both shows were immaculately produced, with gorgeous sets and spectacular lighting. the third part of the trilogy was charming in places but ultimately disappointing; john oppression’s own stage persona isn’t nearly as developed as his alter ego’s, but, as a companion piece, i’m glad to have seen it…once. i’d happily see the other two shows a dozen more times.
every brilliant thing just got extended through the end of march, so i’ll definitely be seeing it another few times. it’s a one-man show about depression, dealing with his mother’s as a child and dealing with his own as an adult. heavy material, indeed, but johnny dunahoe’s touch is so light and his performance is so tender that the show never feels lugubrious or overwrought. but it never shies away from the difficulty of its subject, and that combination of grace and integrity is all too rare (in and out of the theater). the work involves a great deal of audience participation, which i generally hate, but his handling of it is uniquely (and admirably) gentle and generous. i went early in the run, and i imagine it will only get better over time—and will likely change considerably depending on the audience. see this show. buy your tickets now.
among the month’s other highlights, the jack quartet delivered a phenomenal performance of annie gosfield’s work, new and old, at roulette. anyone interested in new music should check out their calendar and follow them around town. the tallis scholars were, as always, sublime in the miller theater’s early music series; they’ll be performing more this year, too. dv8 physical theatre’s new work, john, has them in fine form; the national theatre’s filming of the live performance is playing at BAM this month, so i’ll catch it again and write more next month. the gallery shows i saw in chelsea (over a dozen) were all strong, but two were particular stand-outs. the juan muñoz show that opened at marian goodman in midtown runs through this month and is a must-see; his sculptures are haunting and (especially in the third floor gallery) heart-breaking. the greer lankton show at participant was a marvel of archival research and curatorial moxie; her work was so prescient that it still feels incredibly vital. the douglas gordon installation at the park avenue armory was as gorgeous in its simplicity as it was complex in its engineering; as much as i’d have like to see it fill up, i couldn’t muster the interest to see helene grimaud’s performance (largely because all the press made her sound like a high-brow tori amos, so much gushing about her “physical” technique, her synesthesia, and her love of wolves…and, frankly, i have very limited interest in such “virtuosity”). the schiele portraits show at the neue galerie was just beautiful, well worth waiting in line to see.
while many of us are nursing our holiday hangovers (“dryuary” is a thing), the performing arts calendar is absolutely lit this month, thanks to apap. below’s a short list to help get you through the month.
theater + performance: the public theater brings its annual sampler of international theater, its under the radar festival, of which taylor mac’s epic song cycle is part. abrons arts center hosts its american realness festival, and this year’s line-up looks much better than the last (e.g., miguel gutierrez’s age & beauty parts 1 and 2, keith hennessey’s bear/skin). la mama queers things up with squirts 2015: new voices in queer performance, and ps122 adds its own coil festival 2015 to the mix. grimly handsome piques my interest (the title alone!), as does dave gorman’s powerpoint presentation.
dance: the american realness festival at abrons is also featuring work by two choreographs i admire, tere o’connor (sister and undersweet) and jack ferver (night light bright light). i missed faye driscoll last year, so i’m thrilled danspace project is reprising her thank you for coming: attendance. i’m even more excited to see john jasperse’s within between (one of the most riveting dance pieces i saw last year) back for one night at new york live arts. though i’m not a huge ballet fan, the enchanted wanderer at BAM could be terrific.
music: i still have deep misgivings about beth morrison projects (and this whole trend of producers putting their names before the artists they’re “presenting”), but this fall’s the difficulty of crossing a field (which was phenomenal) and alex ross’ year-end comments (in which the met gets the upbraiding it deserves) have convinced me to give this year’s prototype festival a chance. both the aging musician (with the jack quartet) and kansas city choir boy (courtney love!!!) look promising; in fact, the whole line-up looks pretty good. several string quartets are playing around this month: the jack quartet, the ariel quartet, caliber string quartet, the st. lawrence quartet, etc. sufjan stevens’ cowboy-themed music-film, round-up, plays BAM, and sarah cahill puts on a “piano party for terry riley at 80” at le poisson rouge. at the end of the month, steve reich and steven sondheim get together for conversation and performance at lincoln center.
film: in addition to director-focused series (orson welles at film forum, david cronenberg at IFC, aleksei guerman at anthology, and ruben östlund at the film society), we have an actress-centered series (julianne moore!!!) at the museum of the moving image, whose first look 2015 series should also be excellent. ida made many critics’ “best of” lists and rightly so; if you missed it (or want to see it again), the 92y is screening it with the director.
art: in addition to the juan muñoz show at marian goodman (which i’ll definitely see again…and probably again), “the contract” at essex street and “assenting voices: agitprop from north korea” are two shows i want to catch before they close at the end of the month…along with the museum shows i still haven’t seen (matisse and sturtevant at moma, ofili at the new museum, struth at the met, etc.).
¡muchas gracias! for making this past year of “pablo difuso” so much fun, and, for those of you for whom excess is a year-round (rather than strictly holiday) pursuit, below is a full list of picks for the month.
abrazos,
p
enero / january
1-: cronenberg (film)
1-: every brilliant thing (theater)
1-4: les ballets trockadero de monte carlo (dance)
1-14: leviathan (film)
1-: orson welles (film)
1-4: tears become… streams become… (art)
2-4: the shell-shocked nut (dance)
2-: winners and losers (theater)
4: reel pieces with annette insdorf: screening of "ida" with director pawel pawlikowski (film)
6-10: bodytraffic (dance)
6-9: faye driscoll: thank you for coming: attendance (dance)
6-17: sorry robot (theater)
7-11: doug elkins choreography, etc. (dance)
7-17: half straddle: ancient lives (theater)
7-11: o jardim (theater)
7-12: rude world (dance)
7-17: the blind date project (theater)
7-18: under the radar festival (theater)
8-23: american realness festival (performance)
8: beth gill: new work for the desert (dance)
8-10: circus now: international contemporary circus exposure (performance)
8-15: kansas city choir boy (music, theater)
8: lea bertucci: the cepheid variations (music)
8-17: the scarlet ibis (opera, theater)
8-11: toxic psalms (opera, theater)
8-17: youarenowhere (performance)
9: bomb benefit party: jen rosenblit / ariana reines / 75 dollar bill (dance, music)
9-18: first look 2015 (film)
9-: gertrude stein: the tmt lab (theater)
10-: james lecesne: the absolute brightness of leonard pelkey (theater)
10: john jasperse: within between (dance)
11-13: aging magician (music, theater)
11: beethoven, kodály, and dvorák (music)
11-14: grimly handsome (theater)
11: timur and the dime museum (music, theater)
11: ubu sings ubu (performance)
12-17: juilliard chamberfest 2015 (music)
13-18: brickman brando bubble boom (theater)
13-25: taylor mac: a 24-decade history of popular music, 1900 – 1950s (music, performance)
14: from a to b via c (dance)
14-22: in case of no emergency: the films of ruben östlund (film)
14-25: julianne moore (film)
14-17: sunken cathedral (music, performance)
14: the enchanted wanderer (dance)
14-16: zoe i juniper: beginagain (dance)
15-17: bob feldman: saxophone (theater)
15: late night rose (music)
15: string theory: ame • del sol quartet • jack quartet • publiquartet • delta david gier (music)
15-17: verdi's requiem (music)
16: jack quartet plays elliott carter, amy williams, andrew greenwald and david liptak (music)
16-22: joy of man's desiring (film)
16-25: squirts 2015: new voices in queer performance (performance)
17: ariel quartet's beethoven cycle (music)
17: william parker and the tone motion theater (music)
18: the meeting* hosted by justin sayre (performance)
19: king: a film record… montgomery to memphis (film)
20-31: dave gorman’s powerpoint presentation (performance)
20-: hamilton (theater)
20-: let the right one in (theater)
20-25: sufjan stevens: round-up (music)
21: angela hewitt and anne sofie von otter (music)
21: synth nights: ben vida with tyondai braxton & amirtha kidambi (music)
22-31: brer rabbit: the opera (work-in-progress) (opera)
22: calidore string quartet (music)
22-: cedars (theater)
22: gary hoffman & david selig: french cello sonatas (music)
22-24: mari meade dance collective / project 44 (dance)
22-: moriah evans, social dance 1–8: index (dance)
22-: titus andronicus (theater)
23-24: beasts of the southern wild: screening + live film score wordless music orchestra & lost bayou ramblers (film, music)
23: gidon kremer (violin) and daniil trifonov (piano) (music)
23-: the golden toad (theater)
24: dv8 physical theater: john (dance)
24: from al-andalus to the americas: an odyssey of spanish song (music)
24: st. lawrence string quartet (music)
25: the amphion quartet (music)
26: "glass & blood": concert works from the bloodiest film scores by philip glass (music)
28: miranda july in conversation with host lena dunham (art)
28: shai wosner and the parker quartet: the schubert effect 1 (music)
28-: timbuktu (film)
29: a pound of flesh: exploring qualities of mercy when encountering "the other” (theater)
29-31: fresh tracks (dance)
29: interpretations: string noise (conrad harris & pauline kim) // bozzini quartet (music)
29: sarah cahill: a piano party for terry riley at 80 (music)
29-30: state of affairs (performance)
30-: daniel léveillé danse: solitudes solo (dance)
30-: films by aleksei guerman (film)
30-: hard to be a god (film)
30-: mama rose (theater)
30-: the civilians: pretty filthy (theater)
31: jordi savall leads juilliard415: in the charm of nature (music)
31: reich and sondheim: in conversation and performance (music)