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febrero 2017
¡hola, difus@s!
amid the new year’s disturbing political actions and the heartening public response, one of the most resonant and moving works i found was actually from june 2008, but it was released as a recording a few days before the inauguration: daniel kitson’s the impotent fury of the privileged. the show is stylistically quite simple, a straightforward monologue (none of the meta-theater of analog.ue or mouse: the persistence of an unlikely thought), but as a rigorous exploration of anger, compassion, and the politics of everyday life and as an object lesson in critical self-reflexivity, it is, quite frankly, required listening. if you’d like some reading to accompany that listening, i’d recommend the intercept’s guide to action, verso books’ the anti-inauguration: building resistance in the trump era, messages to the democratic party from robert reich and van jones, a few reflections on the obama administration and legacy (cornel west’s, gary younge’s, ronald brownstein’s), and trump: anatomy of a monstrosity.
the prototype festival presented at least two strong arguments for why the metropolitan opera is like the democratic party, i.e., a gerontocracy so beholden to wealthy donors, so tone deaf and out of touch that it’s speeding towards terminal irrelevance. breaking the waves may not have surpassed its source material, but it arguably equalled it. anatomy theater, while falling a bit victim to beth morrison’s understanding of “gersamkunstwerk” as “middle-brow overproduction,” started with a spare, riveting first act, followed by a somewhat broad (but engrossing) middle section that finally turned deeply philosophical, raising some heady questions about science and knowledge, good and evil. still a work in progress and not part of prototype, the life and death(s) of alan turing was a fine biographical work and definitely something i look forward to seeing as a full production—ideally as a double-header with the pet shop boys’ alan turning opera, a man from the future.
the new year in theater got off to a reasonably good start. philipe quesne’s la melancholie des dragons was the best of the three works i saw; it was simple, tender, and beautiful with lots of low-fi stagecraft magic and some supple, subtle acting. he shares a sensibility with geoff sobelle and gob squad, which i enjoy immensely. bela pinter and company’s our secrets was lively and imaginative, and it took on some very difficult issues, at least one of which i wish had been plumbed with more nuance and courage than we’ve already seen in little children (while that may be a high bar, i believe theater can do more here). the beauty queen of leenane is a terrific play, and druid is an amazing company…but aisling o’sullivan’s performance (which, yes, was generally good) kept the show from reaching the dark depths i’d expected from seeing (and loving) the walworth farce.
among the rest of the month’s gleanings, pavel zustiak’s custodians of beauty and bastard (the painted bird: part 1) at la mama both had some gorgeous passages but never cohered into compelling dance works. everybody knows…elizabeth murray and the 100 years show at film forum were wonderful portraits of two incredible artists. i also saw toni erdmann again at film forum and am even more impressed with its depth, subtlety, and humor.
february’s a short month, but, artistically, it’s quite promising:
performance + theater: given how much i adored here lies love, i’m especially excited for david byrne and alex timbers’ new collaboration at the public theater, joan of arc: into the fire. richard maxwell & new york city players’ good samaritans at abrons is my other top priority for theater. i saw the wooster group’s the town hall affair in workshop last year and highly recommend it; it continues their practice of interrogating media and history, and the issues central to this work are particularly resonant today. geoff sobelle’s the object lesson was a delight at bam two years ago, so see it now if you didn’t then. (one note of caution: i am a bit dubious about david neumann’s listing as director because his i understand everything better was atrocious.) other shows i’ve got my eye on include escaped alone (which has my more devoted theater friends buzzing), hi-fi | wi-fi | sci-fi, and chiflón: el silencio del carbón.
dance: batsheva dance company returns to bam with last work. their choreographer, ohad naharin is the subject of the documentary mr. gaga playing there, at film forum, and at the film society at lincoln center. the film society is also presenting its annual “dance on camera” series, and bam is screening in the steps of trisha brown. more on-stage performances to look for include richard alston company with the shanghai quartet, douglas dunn and dancers, andrea kleine, and wendy whelan with brian brooks and brooklyn rider.
music: i’m finally catching kim david smith’s “morphium kabarett” this month, for which “lavender songs” would seem a fitting complement. bridget everett & the tender moments have been on my to-see list for a while, too, so their show at joe’s pub is also a priority. the hat: when arendt meets heidegger sounds like exactly my kind of opera, and if you’re not going to washington to see champion (i am!), you can catch parts of it in the guggenheim’s works & process series. both okkervil river and buffy sainte-marie play the appel room as part of lincoln center’s american songbook series, which is the most consistently inspired and relevant part of their programming. having not been to turkey in far too long, i’d love to relish in a bit of nostalgia with the ahmet erdogdular classical turkish music ensemble at carnegie hall.
film: raoul peck’s james baldwin documentary, i am not your negro, opens at the beginning of the month and is my top film priority. art is…the permanent revolution at moma and “disruptive film: everyday resistance to power” at anthology are also high on my must-see list. film society has two excellent series, “a tribute to andrzej wajda" and “film comment selects”, and bam has another, “one way or another: black women’s cinema, 1970 – 1991”.
art: in addition to the picabia show at moma and the pettibon show at the new museum, i’d like to catch the velázquez portraits and “picturing math” shows at the met and “fast forward: painting from the 1980s” at the whitney. of the gallery shows currently on, sergei eisenstein at alexander gray associates, louise bourgeois at cheim & read, “we need to talk” at petzel, kader attia at lehmann maupin, phoenix lindsey-hall at victori + mo are what i most want to see. (next month is armory week, so i’m keeping the art list very focused this month.)
as always, the full calendar follows, and you can add anyone you’d like to the mailing list here.
abrazos,
p
february / febrero
1: no holds barred (dance)
1-4: last work (dance)
1-4: porto (theater)
1-5: david’s friend (theater)
1-5: the beauty queen of leenane (theater)
1-9: staying vertical (film)
1-12: orange julius (theater)
1-16: mr. gaga (dance, film)
1-: autocratic for the people: an unpresidented series of star-spangled satires (film)
1-: show & tell (film)
1-: the lure (film)
1-: the object lesson (performance, theater)
2: invisible anatomy: transfigure (music)
2: morphium kabarett (music, performance)
2: skúli sverrisson – sería (music)
2-4: douglas dunn & dancers: antipodes (dance)
2-5: mix 29: new york queer experimental film festival (mix)
2-5: richard alston dance company with the shanghai quartet (dance, music)
2-12: hi-fi | wi-fi | sci-fi (theater)
3: jordi savall and hespèrion xxi: gateway to the east: the millenarian venice (music)
3: okkervil river (music)
3: the pedro giraudo tango ensembles with special guest sofia tosello (music)
3-4: ipsa dixit (music, performance)
3-4: tammy/lisa from misery to meaning (performance)
3-7: dance on camera (dance, film)
3-23: one way or another: black women’s cinema, 1970-1991 (film)
3-: i am not your negro (film)
3-: this is everything: gigi gorgeous (film)
4: lavender songs; a queer weimar berlin cabaret with jeremy lawrence (music, performance)
4: the hat: arendt meets heidegger (music, theater)
4-5: beyond cassavetes: lost legends of the new york film world (1945-70) (film)
4-25: the town hall affair (theater)
6: an evening with laida lertxundi (film)
6: music in situ: venetian music in its artistic context (art, music)
6-8: art is…the permanent revolution (film)
7: manhattan chamber players: a year in gabriel fauré’s life: a love story (music)
7-8: bridget everett & the tender moments (music, performance)
7-12: ballet de lorraine (dance)
8: venetian voices: the splendors of san marco (music)
8-11: radiolovefest (performance)
8-25: tiny little band: your hair looked great (world premiere) (theater)
8-25: richard maxwell & new york city players: good samaritans (theater)
9: manhattan chamber players: a year in gabriel fauré’s life: a love story (music)
9: song exploder live - a conversation with sleigh bells (music)
9-11: andrea kleine: my dinner with andrea: the piece formerly known as torture playlist (dance)
9-11: raúl de nieves and colin self: the fool (music, performance)
9-16: kedi (film)
9-16: tribute to andrzej wajda (film)
9-26: calderon’s two dreams (theater)
10: josiah cuneo: the paper dance (dance, music, performance)
10-12: in the steps of trisha brown (dance, film)
10-12: paz encina (film)
10-12: tape (theater)
10-14: valentine’s day massacre 2017 (film)
10-19: riot antigone (theater)
10-: turning page (theater)
11: jim jennings & friends (film)
11: kronos quartet (music)
11: loren connors, isobel sollenberger, steve dalachinsky (music, performance)
11: state change (performance)
11-13: let’s misbehave: the sensational songs of cole porter (music)
11-14: valentine’s night (music)
12: jordi savall and hespèrion xxi: musica nova: ricercari, canzone, sonate e danze veneziane (music)
12: joseph houston + aisha orazbayeva: for john cage (music)
12: washington national opera: champion by terence blanchard (music)
13: american contemporary music ensemble (acme) (music)
13: three songs about lenin (film)
14: broken senses: broken luv (film)
14: il pomo d'oro: lovers' passions: agony and ecstasy (music)
14-19: martha graham dance company (dance)
14-: joan of arc: into the fire (music, theater)
14-: sweeney todd (theater)
15: jonathan biss, brentano string quartet (music)
15: justin vivian bond: late for love (music, performance)
15-17: disruptive film: everyday resistance to power (film)
15-19: a man of good hope (music, theater)
15-26: escaped alone (theater)
16: mario de vega / celia lopez (performance)
16: mauro (part of "if you can screen it there: premiering contemporary latin american cinema”) (film)
16: works & process rotunda project: michelle dorrance (dance)
17: new works by diaz de leon, fineberg, eckardt (music)
17: tenet: the secret lover: women in 17th-century italy (music)
17: the ahmet erdogdular classical turkish music ensemble (music)
17: venice baroque orchestra (music)
17-19: darker: celebrating leonard cohen (film, music)
17-23: film comment selects (film)
17-: the light years (theater)
18: ambrose akinmusire & kool a.d. with mivos quartet (music)
18: elias string quartet (music)
18-19: el pueblo: searching for contemporary latin america (film)
21: fast forward (dance)
21: picnic cantata / dinner at eight (music)
22: american string quartet with salman rushdie, narrator (music)
22-25: anna azrieli: dance face (dance)
22-26: the seventh annual american human beatbox festival (performance)
23: buffy sainte-marie (music)
23: jonathan biss, brentano string quartet (music)
23: kweendom (performance)
23: the necks 30th anniversary: solo performances (music)
23-25: benjamin kimitch: vaulted branches (dance)
23-25: chiflón, el silencio del carbón (theater)
24: the complete etudes with maki namekawa (music)
24: the necks 30th anniversary performance (music)
24-25: new york theatre ballet (dance)
24-28: heathcliff, it's me: adapting wuthering heights (film)
24-: gimme shelter: hollywood north (film)
24-: paraguay remembered (film)
25: the necks 30th anniversary: timeline (music)
25: the voice of melody (music)
25-26: dominique dubosc (film)
26: new york philharmonic ensembles (music)
27: terry riley’s “in c”, presented by darmstadt essential repertoire (music)
28: broken senses: kinesthetic history (film)
28-: wendy whelan / brian brooks / brooklyn rider (dance)