[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.]
abril 2019
hola, difus@s!
since i’m a few days behind on getting this out, i’ll keep the editorial content brief (and the copy-editing admittedly rushed). among the best of last month were five easy pieces, an incredibly cerebral and viscerally unsettling exploration of childhood, power, politics, and representation, and transit, in which christian petzold's deliberate temporal indeterminacy underscores how most period productions are products of aesthetic lassitude—simply defaulting to the text’s time of production—and / or intellectual cowardice—avoiding the question of the text’s contemporary relevance. equally excellent were 3 faces (another brilliant creation by jafar panahi) and justin vivian bond (everyone should see mx. v whenever they can). among the rest, hubbard street dance company’s performance of ohad naharin’s greatest hitswas good (though i wish their technique were more polished), and isabelle huppert was, as always, engrossing, but underserved by florian zeller’s script. southern promises wasn’t quite as trenchant as an octoroon but still packed a serious punch. batsheva dance company are incredible, but venezuela is not among naharin’s best. 55 shades of gay: balkan spring of sexual revolution and ash is purest white must be quite meaningful in their local contexts but lose much outside them. spring / break art show was a surprisingly enjoyable fair while the armory show felt pretty perfunctory; matthew barney's new work was worth the trip to new haven. theatre of voices presented a terribly disappointing treatment of pärt and an underwhelming premiere of lang.
there’s plenty of promising work on this month’s calendar:
dance: this month’s calendar is particularly strong for dance. the merce cunningham centennial events hit their peak with “night of 100 solos” at bam, “merce cunningham celebration” at the joyce, a cunningham tribute as part of stephen petronio’s “bloodlines” at skirball, a film program at anthology film archives, and a new documentary at the quad. kyle abraham’s company is also on stage at skirball this month, rama vaidyanathan and sujata mohapatra present classical indian dance at symphony space, and ballet star natalia osipiova performs at city center. other shows of note include ursula eagly at danspace, attractor at the joyce, and the la mama moves! dance festival.
music: ivo van hove’s production of diary of one who disappeared at bam and anne carson’s norma jean baker of troy promise to be two of the month's most dramatic music events. other personal favorites performing include the jack quartet at the morgan, dawn upshaw at national sawdust, and levy lorenzo and peter evens at roulette. piano aficionados should take note of marianne schroeder’s performance (courtesy of blank forms) at st. peter’s episcopal church and herenowhear piano duo’s concert at the dimenna center for classical music, the “great pianists on film” series at lincoln center, and evgeny kissin’s performance at carnegie hall. other shows that have my interest piqued are the george crumb birthday celebrations (parts 1 and 2) at lincoln center, modernmedieval trio of voices at the cloisters, launeddas master luigi lai at the stone (whose programming this month is generally terrific), “garcia lorca – muse and magician”at the kaufman center, "rosa parks: pure love, a oratorio of seven songs" at the kitchen, and mary prescott at roulette.
film: claire denis’ new film, high life, is at the top of my must-see list, and bam’s retrospective is a great introduction for those unfamiliar with her (and a treasure trove for those of us who are). dogman, sauvage / wild, and under the silver lake all generated significant buzz at cannes last year, so i’m delighted they’re finally hitting our screens. among this month’s series, “total kaurismäki show” at metrograph is, alongside the denis series, the most essential; for documentaries, this year’s edition of "art of the real" at film society and "documentary in dialogue: werner herzog" are well worth delving into. among the other series and films on offer, i’m curious about “jammin’ gears: truckers on film” (not least because of the changing demographics of trucking in america), “the anarchic cinema of věra chytilová,” black mother, long day’s journal into night, and rafiki.
performance / theater: thaddeus phillips’ 17 border crossings is at new york theatre workshop; i found it quite charming at bam a few years ago and imagine it has taken on more depth since, especially in the current political climate. towards the end of the month, several promising new shows are opening: grief is the thing with feathers at st. ann’s (because cillian murphy and enda walsh are a potent combination), curse of the starving class at signature theatre, lockdown at rattlestick, passage at soho rep, and every brilliant thing at the flea. other shows that are on my list to catch are justin sayre’s ravenswood manor at joe’s pub, rumblings of a coming storm at dixon place, and anjna swaminathan at roulette.
art: i have a long list of museum shows i want / need to see, and at the top of that list are nancy spero at moma ps1, nari ward at the new museum, and robert mapplethorpe at the guggenheim. i’m really looking forward to art after stonewall: 1969-1989 at the leslie-lohman museum at the end of the month (the countdown to stonewall’s 50th begins!) and want to catch "circus of books" at fierman and "fire" at company (despite my serious reservations about much of ryan mcnamara’s work). columbia has anne hamilton speaking (i’ve heard her before, and she’s quite thoughtful), as well as two of lynette wallworth’s ar and vr works, which look interesting, and anohni has a multi-disciplinary exhibition at the kitchen. other shows i’m hoping to see this month are 1963 - boxing match, revisited at castelli, aki sasamoto at bortolami, alexandre arrechea at nara roesler, alice neel at david zwirner, christina forrer at luhring augustine, isaac julien at metro pictures, and neo rauch at the drawing center.
the full calendar below has even more to see, and you can share this letter with anyone you'd like by signing them up here.
abrazos,
p
abril / april
1-7: new directors new films (film)
1-7: now my hand is ready for my heart: intimate histories (performance)
1-7: the fat lady sings (theater)
1-9: strange desire: the films of claire denis (film)
1-11: total kaurismäki show (film)
1-14: eh dah? questions for my father (theater)
1-14: i carry your heart (theater)
1-18: southern promises (theater)
1-15: migrations: the making of america (music)
1-20: june is the first fall (theater)
1-20: life sucks (theater)
1-20: the lehmann triology (theater)
1-28: julius caesar (theater)
1-: the cradle will rock (theater)
2: scheiss book: 6 words for my condition (performance)
2: under exposed (dance)
2-3: yotam silberstein quartet featuring john patitucci (music)
2-6: paola prestini (music)
3: iranian female composers association in collaboration with hypercube ensemble: another birth (music)
3: peterloo (film)
3: those girls (performance)
3-6: more problems with form (dance)
3-6: natalia osipova’s pure dance with david hallberg (dance)
3-6: ota yamazaki / fluid hug-hug : darkness odyssey part 3: non-opera, becoming (dance)
3-7: cinekink (film)
3-9: wall (film)
3-18: francesco rosi’s christ stopped at eboli (film)
3-21: jammin' gears: truckers on film (film)
4: interpretations: thomas buckner performs michael byron, steed cowart, christian dachez, james ilgenfritz, and roscoe mitchell (music)
4: jesse blumberg & simon martyn-ellis (music)
4: liederabend (music)
4: spoiled (performance)
4-5: fluẋẋ (work-in-progress) (performance)
4-6: a.i.m. (dance)
4-6: diary of one who disappeared (music)
5: a midsummer night's dream (theater)
5: aizuri quartet: intricate machines (music)
5: galina ustvolskaya’s 12 preludes and piano sonatas 1 – 6 performed by marianne schroeder (music)
5: new amsterdam symphony orchestra: exploring central europe (music)
5: three centuries (music)
5-6: danceafrica 2019 performances (dance)
5-14: soundtrack of america (music)
5-: blowin' up (film)
5-: high life (film)
5-: peterloo (film)
5-: the biggest little farm (film)
6: herenowhear piano duo (music)
6: mark dover and jeremy ajani jordan as port mande (music)
6: ying liu: playdate (performance)
6-7: mary shelley's frankenstein (theater)
6-: all our children (theater)
6-: norma jeane baker of troy (music, theater)
6-: reich richter pärt (music)
7: a midsummer night's dream (theater)
7: américa (film)
7: jeremy gill (music)
7: love letters (dance)
7: mass in blue: the music of will todd (music)
7: new york philharmonic ensembles (music)
7: no narratives (art, film)
7: scheiss book: 6 words for my condition (performance)
7: the santa fe opera: the thirteenth child by poul ruders and becky and david starobin (music)
7-14: havana film festival new york (film)
8: celebrating the culture of disability through film (film)
8: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 1: merce cunningham: a lifetime of dance (dance, film)
8-20: what price hollywood (film)
9: an evening with launeddas master luigi lai (music)
9: artemis string quartet (music)
9: scheiss book: 6 words for my condition (performance)
9: the choreographer's carnival (dance)
9: xime (film)
9: yasujirō ozu's dragnet girl with live score by coupler (film)
10: amoc (music)
10: chamber ensembles (music)
10-11: the mason brothers quintet (music)
10-18: the anarchic cinema of věra chytilová (film)
10-23: sauvage / wild (film)
10-28: onassis festival: democracy is coming (dance, music, performance, theater)
11: american composers orchestra (music)ç
11: felipe salles (music)
11: peter oundjian conducts the juilliard orchestra (music)
11-13: glory! (theater)
11-13: klezmer for beginners (performance)
11-13: mahler's symphony no. 6 (music)
11-13: mata: 21st festival of new music (music)
11-13: stephen petronio company (dance)
11-13: ursula eagly: our epithelium (dance)
11-14: lincoln kirstein and film culture (film)
11-21: bach & bleach (theater)
11-: 17 border crossings (theater)
12: madsen minax, max hamel, reagan holiday (performance)
12: mannes orchestra (music)
12: st. luke’s chamber ensemble + adam rosenblatt (music)
12-13: ofertório (music)
12-21: babylon (film)
12-: dogman (film)
12-: long day's journey into night (film)
12-: wild nights with emily (film)
13: great pianists play beethoven (film, music)
13: great pianists play chopin (film, music)
13: modernmedieval trio of voices (music)
13: rumblings of a coming storm (performance)
13-21: infradestruction! (aka when infrastructure attacks) (film)
14: dawn upshaw (music)
14: elliott carter / jack quartet (music)
14: george crumb at 90: part 1 (music)
14: we are not princesses (film)
15: from shtetl to stage: a celebration of yiddish music and culture (music)
15: if the dancer dances (dance, film)
15: levy lorenzo & peter evans (music)
15: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 2: 498 3rd ave. (dance, film)
15-16: bridget everett and the tender moments (music)
15-16: hilma by benjamin staern and mira bartov with fredrik and mette af klint (music)
16: dan tepfer (music)
16: fast forward (dance)
16: george crumb at 90: part 2 (music)
16: jonas mekas tribute screenings: lost lost lost (film)
16: night of 100 solos: a centennial event (dance)
17: music for brass (music)
17: sonatenabend (music)
17-20: kaneza schaal (theater)
17-21: merce cunningham centennial (dance)
17-21: scrambled porn (theater)
17-: lockdown (theater)
18: david t. little (music)
18: laurie berg & bessie mcdonough-thayer: ez pass (music)
18: lindsay packer: call and response: depth of field with melanie maar (performance)
18-19: golden motors (work-in-progress) (music, performance)
18-20: glory! (theater)
18-26: documentary in dialogue: werner herzog (film)
18-28: art of the real (film)
18-: blks (theater)
19-21: black mother (film)
19-26: nelson pereira dos santos (film)
19-: hail satan? (film)
19-: rafiki (film)
19-: red joan (film)
19-: triologies (film)
19-: under the silver lake (film)
20: "the colorado", a tribute to water (film, music)
20-: grief is the thing with feathers (theater)
21-: attractor (dance)
22: atlantic theater company: the secret life of bees by lynn nottage, duncan sheik, and susan birkenhead (theater)
22: publiquartet (music)
23: bridget everett and the tender moments (music)
23: diderot string quartet (music)
23: ogjb quartet: oliver lake, graham haynes, joe fonda, barry altschul (music)
23: sam reider & human hands (music)
23-: curse of the starving class (theater)
23-: passage (theater)
24: a devouring part one (theater)
24: chamber ensembles (music)
24: garcía lorca — music & magician (music)
24: malika zarra (music)
24: nadah el shazly, afuma (music)
24: profiled: a comedy show about racial profiling (performance)
24-25: brahm's symphony no. 4 (music)
24-27: kaneza schaal (theater)
24-27: self portraits (performance)
24-: downtown urban arts festival (performance, theater)
24-: roberto gavaldón: night falls in mexico (film)
25: beat circus (music)
25: itzhak perlman, violin, & evgeny kissin, piano (music)
25: late night rose (music)
25: rose studio concert (music)
25-26: lady in the dark (music, theater)
25-27: a shared evening of work by tendayi kuumba & samita sinha (dance)
25-27: wynton marsalis and ken burns: country music (music)
25-27: zvidance: on the road (dance)
25-: la mama moves! dance festival (dance)
26: 21st century choreographers (dance)
26: laura ortman / david watson & special guest (music)
26: yanira castro | a canary torsi : live feed in-process - last audience (dance)
26-27: glory! (theater)
26-28: big green theater (theater)
26-28: rosa parks: pure love. an oratorio of seven songs (music)
26-30: queen of diamonds (film)
26-: be natural: the untold story of alice guy-blaché (film)
26-: if the dancer dances (dance, film)
26-: numbness: chapter 2 (theater)
26-: the battle of richmond hill (theater)
27: brahm's symphony no. 4 (music)
27: dancing the gods: rama vaidyanathan & dancers (dance)
27: gould plays bach (film, music)
27: our history, our future: a celebration for winds (music)
27-28: justin sayre: ravenswood manor (performance)
27-: every brilliant thing (theater)
28: anjna swaminathan’s woven: entangled memorabilia (performance)
28: dancing the gods: sujata mohapatra & musicians (dance)
28-29: reid bartelme and harriet jung design dialogues with isaw's the ancient world and the ballets russes (dance)
29: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 3: assemblage (dance, film)
30: brahm's symphony no. 4 (music)
30: jonas mekas tribute screenings: in between: 1964-68 (film)
30: mary prescott: songs between life and death (music)
30: orchestra of st. luke's: mendelssohn the prodigy (music)
30-: octet (theater)