[note: many, if not most, of these links may no longer be working, but such is the nature of the digital. hopefully, the url and context are enough to help you find any further information you want. if not, feel free to contact me, and i’ll try to help.]
marzo 2015
¡hola, difus@s!
despite the record cold (which kept me from cruising the galleries), february was a fine month for theater, and much of the best has been extended through march—so get your tickets posthaste.
the civilians’ pretty filthy at abrons and the gobsquad’s western society at skirball were terrific complements. both were set in southern california and took as their subjects contemporary media production and our relationship with it. based on ethnographic interviews with various actors, directors, and producers, pretty filthy was a remarkably thorough and thoughtful exploration of the porn industry, genuinely compassionate (with those interviewed) and trenchantly critical (of the social hypocrisy surrounding the industry). western society, conversely, was an almost two-hour exegesis on a practically unseen 3-minute youtube clip from a suburban karaoke birthday party; obviously, the show hinged on repetition, a constant replaying (and reenacting) of the clip that involved audience participation, monologues from troupe members, and some whip-smart improvised banter among them. if that structure sounds tedious, i certainly feared it would be, but the cumulative effect (each repetition slightly different, positing a new layer of associations and meanings) was utterly transcendent.
structural repetition was similarly integral to the events at new york theatre workshop, a two-person play supported by a different local choir each night. the pattern (a series of dialogues between neve macintosh, whose character remained constant, and clifford samuel, whose character kept changing), however, wasn’t as immediately apparent, leaving the audience the piece the story together with each repetition—to terrifically engaging effect. the narrative deftly wove together issues of violence, religion, xenophobia, and queer identity without compromising its focus or emotional impact. mr. samuel (a fantastic actor) seemed overextended in the role, with his different characters not distinctly rendered. in contrast, james lecesne’s characters (and there are many!) in his one-man the absolute brightness of leonard pelky at dixon place are so vitally and distinctly embodied that he seems to channeling rather than acting. his talent is simply astonishing. the narrative itself may be less structurally ambitious than the events, but it’s just as powerful a portrayal of lives riven by hate-fueled violence. (if you need further convincing, mr. isherwood’s gorgeous review in the new york times should do the trick.) soho rep’s an octoroon was every bit as engaging and thought-provoking as i’d been told; the “shock” moment in the fourth act, though, wasn’t as effective as, say, the glenn ligon backdrop in kyle abraham’s when the wolves came in. nevertheless, the show is a must-see.
among the month’s other highlights, the iceman cometh at BAM was grueling and bleak—in a good way—a devastating portrayal of personal paralysis and chemical dependency. an evening with diana ross really felt like an “event” (not, mind you, a “scene”), with such an enthusiastic turn-out from all over the city. the kings theater is a spectacular venue, too, so you should find a something to see there just for the space. on the opposite end of the musical spectrum, stockhausen’s stimmung at carnegie hall was mesmerizing, and the mahler chamber orchestra and leif ove andsnes’ second program at carnegie hall was riveting (how i wish leif had been douglas gordon’s collaborator on the park avenue armory installation!). rocco was good but left me wanting to see some really great dance, which seems hard to find this spring. hard to be a god was the most visceral film i’ve ever seen, and i desperately wish susan buck-morss would tackle it, leviathan, and faust in something like her “visual empire.”
(because this boletín is an avocational endeavor, i prefer not to spend time on the negative, but i would be woefully remiss if i didn’t warn you against seeing charles mee's big love at signature theater. the show is abominable in every imaginable way—horribly written, terribly directed, politically and intellectually offensive, and worse. even the set design, which is great, becomes offensive for being put in the service of a production that should never have made it from the page to the stage…its trajectory should have been from the page to the bin…though, really, it should have been aborted before ever hitting the page.)
while march isn’t quite as packed as the prior months, we’re hardly lacking for worthwhile options:
art: this week brings the armory show, the art show, and many other fairs (art on paper, independent, moving image, new city art fair, pulse, scope, spring/break, (un)scene, volta, et al.), which also bring out strong gallery shows. the on kawara show at the guggenheim is the perfect alternative to the fair frenzy—rigorous, quiet, dense, and (if you give it the time it deserves) deeply moving. also at the guggenheim is paul chan’s nonprojections for new lovers. the björk show at moma and the triennial at the new museum are both drawing some (delightfully) scathing reviews, but both are certain to draw serious crowds. i definitely want to check out the the wael shawky show at ps1, the quixote tapestries at the frick, and the paul rand show at the museum of the city of new york.
music: the two music events to which i’m most looking forward come at the end of the month; max richter plays le poisson rouge for two nights, and the metropolitan museum presents “palm sunday, 1190, chartres: a performance” in the cloisters. between now and then, roulette has an evening of classical arab music, lincoln center has new music from nordic countries and a john adams premiere, issue project room presents the nakatani gong orchestra at the green room, the nyu symphony presents a program including stockhausen at skirball, and the foundry theater begins is one-month run of living here, a troubadour show staged in living rooms across the city.
theater + performance: as noted earlier, both an octoroon and the absolute brightness of leonard pelkey are continuing through this month. see them (and every brilliant thing, which also closes this month). social security at the bushwick starr is high on my list (and highly recommended by a discerning friend), as are richard maxwell and the new york city player’s the evening at the kitchen and aaron landsman’s running away from the one with a knife at the chocolate factory. for the really adventurous, la mama presents a festival of performance from new zealand, and skirball presents remote new york: a pedestrian-based live art experience.
film: the audience for the newly remastered version of grey gardens showing at film forum should be as fascinating to watch as the film itself. the film society at lincoln center’s "rendez-vous with french cinema" always has a quality line-up, and one of the highlights from last year’s series, eastern boys, is back for one week only (don’t miss it!). the “cuba: golden 60s” series at BAM looks terrific and timely; last year, i caught memories of underdevelopment at anthology, where this month’s installment of the white cube / black box series looks especially good (warhol, serra, jonas!). capping off the month is the premiere of the kidnapping of michel houllebecq, which i can’t wait to see (i’m not a devoted fan, but quite like him).
dance: reggie (regg rock) gray and peter sellars’ flexn will be at the park avenue armory, and though i don’t know much about this style of dance, i have full faith in sellars’ directorial ability; his st. matthew passion last fall was transcendent (and one of the two best engagements with that space ever—the other was the series of final merce cunningham performances). robert swinston resurrects merce cunningham at the joyce, which will be worth seeing if you haven’t seen merce’s work performed live before (even if this initiative seems patently contrary to cunningham’s wishes). or how i became an ice princess at dixon place could be really good (or just the opposite), but i’ll probably take a chance on it, along with wild space dance and liz gerring dance company.
closing
more listings across all these categories follow, and, if you’ve got any recommendations to add, let me know!
abrazos,
p
marzo / march
1-5: young bodies heal quickly (film)
1-14: social security (theater)
1-15: the iceman cometh (theater)
1-22: the events (theater)
1-28: the nether (theater)
1-28: james lecesne: the absolute brightness of leonard pelkey (theater)
1-28: an octoroon (theater)
1-29: every brilliant thing (theater)
1-: placebo (theater)
1-: josephine and i (theater)
1-: the nomad (theater)
1-: hamilton (theater)
2-: d. w. griffith (film)
4-12: eastern boys (film)
4-: the feast (theater)
5: composer portraits: augusta read thomas (music)
5: tony conrad and charlemagne palestine (music)
5-7: sara mearns & rashaun mitchell / sterling hyltin & jodi melnick: dance dialogues (dance)
5-15: judgment on a gray beach (theater)
6: bassam saba ensemble classical arab music (music)
6-7: amy evans: the champion (theater)
6-8: vicky shick dance: pathétique, miniatures in details (dance)
6-12: grey gardens (film)
6-15: rendez-vous with french cinema (film)
7: kronos quartet (music)
7: contact!: new music from nordic countries (music)
9-29: des bishop: made in china (theater)
10-15: compagnie cndc-angers / robert swinston (dance)
10-28: aaron landsman: running away from the one with the knife (theater)
11-: living here (music, theater)
12: alfredo jaar (art)
12-14: beethoven, berlioz, and adès (music)
12-28: richard maxwell and the new york city players: the evening (theater)
12-29: new zealand performance festival new york (performance)
13-15: martha graham dance company (dance)
14: white cube / black box (film)
14: bilster pact concert (music)
15: the meeting* hosted by justin sayre (performance)
15: fun home on broadway with allison bechdel (theater)
15-29: remote new york: a pedestrian-based live art experience (theater)
16: elias string quartet (music)
16: medea blitz (theater)
17: or how i became an ice princess (dance, performance)
18: ariel quartet's beethoven cycle (music)
18: nakatani gong orchestra (music)
19-21: rebecca serrell cyr: assemblage (dance)
19-21: kodo one earth tour: mystery (theater)
19-: david greenspan: i'm looking for helen twelvetrees (theater)
20-22: sally silvers: actual size (dance)
20-31: cuba: golden 60s (film)
20-: iowa (theater)
21: eighth blackbird (music)
22-29: the tallest tree in the forest (theater)
24-: the wooster group: cry, trojans! (theater)
24-: buzzer (theater)
25: handel’s resurrection oratorio (music)
25: max richter: the leftovers and infra (music)
25-: flexn (dance)
25-: the kidnapping of michel houllebecq (film)
26: wild space dance: carried away (dance)
26-28: alan gilbert conducts "petrushka" and john adams’s world premiere (music)
26-29: robert whitman: swim (theater)
27: edward henkel's movementtalks: real men dance—we’ve come a long way baby (dance)
28: les delices: myths & allegories (music)
28: palm sunday, 1190, chartres: a performance (music)
29: the string orchestra of brooklyn: string theories (music)
29: nyu symphony: german masterworks (music)
31-: liz gerring dance company: glacier (dance)