[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.]
junio 2019
¡hola, difus@s!
may got off to a rough start, performance-wise, but ended with some of the best work i’ve seen this year. boots riley’s “art and civil disobedience” at the shed was an epic hot mess; not only was he woefully underprepared (though he did admit as much in the concluding discussion with jelani cobb), but his thoughts on labor and politics were puerile at best (think angsty adolescent regurgitates sparknotes’ marx), which was a colossal disappointment given how funny and incisive his sorry to bother you was. (note to anyone waxing marxist about labor, especially in the arts: please get a handle on immaterial labor, cf., lazzarato, hardt, and terranova.) by comparison, romeo castellucci’s democracy in america fared much better but was still disappointingly inert, even though some of its tableaux were mesmerizing. castellucci, like jan fabre, suffers from the lack of constraint (and restraint) that success has brought, rendering the work under-thought and over-produced. much more rigorous in content and form was the wooster group’s since i can remember, an extraordinary exercise in meta-theater, memory, and reflexivity. the elegiac turn near the end was achingly poignant as an argument about the political capacity (or lack thereof) of contemporary theater—and that definitely informed my experience of numbness, chapter 2, which was, on the whole, impressive but ultimately limited. though musical theater isn’t my preferred genre, i am a huge fan of dave malloy, exponentially more so (were that possible!) after octet, a trenchant (and delightful) critique of our online obsessions. the cast is incredible, the set and lighting design are genius, and the writing is brilliant. i’m ecstatic that signature theatre has committed to producing two more of his shows, and i can’t wait to see them.
on screen, the month’s offerings were more consistently satisfying, with some thoughtful political (meeting gorbachev, the silence of others) and art (walking on water, the proposal—which make a profound study in contrasts) documentaries and some fine french features (non-fiction, a very french take on social media that, while enjoyable, pales in comparison to octet, and the classic last year at marienbad). both frieze new york and the whitney biennial exceeded my (admittedly guarded) expectations; i wish i’d been able to spend more than one day at frieze, and i’ll definitely be returning to the whitney biennial for an extended visit or two soon.
as depressed as i am to be missing aus licht in the netherlands, there’s plenty here to console and inspire us as we enter summer, including the multi-disciplinary river-to-river and vision festivals.
music: john corigliano’s symphony no. 1, a memorial to those lost to aids, starts off this month of terrific new music, much of it pride-related. as one, prisoner of the state, outcast at the gate, and stonewall provide the best array of contemporary opera we’re likely to see until next year’s prototype festival. i’m also extremely excited for everything that happened and would happen at the park avenue armory because goebbel’s stifters dinge was a particularly formative experience for me. despite their potential hipster appeal, both “play-play: a toy / piano concert” and “k-factor: an orchestral exploration of k-pop” have my interest piqued. other shows of note include kristín anna, face the music, global american chamber music, “epilogues and epitaphs” (in the catacombs of brooklyn’s green-wood cemetery!), and concerts focusing on music from azerbaijan, armenia, the arab world, mexico, ukraine, and west africa.
film: i’m thrilled that this month brings us a new feature from carlos reygadas, our time, as well as a much-needed retrospective of his work, and another favorite director, jim jarmusch, has both a new film (which was well-received at cannes) and a retrospective. apropos pride, film forum presents paris is burning —whose influence cannot be overstated and whose controversy remains all-too-relevant—while ifc screens its lesser-known but equally compelling predecessor, the queen. the quad has a series of queer german film (which includes such iconic films as fassbinder’s querelle and ottinger’s madame x: an absolute ruler) and an important historical documentary before stonewall (for more pre-stonewall context, i highly recommend the mattachine podcast), dixon place screens the 1995 feature stonewall, metrograph presents “films of pride and protest: stonewall at 50," and cinema village hosts the lavender scare. other films and series worth looking into include “northern ireland: battle of images," “open roads: new italian cinema 2019," bam cinemafest, the chambermaid, and the edge of democracy. i also really, really want to catch werewolf ninja philosopher because camp is so this season, even if it still needs explaining.
performance / theater: most of what i’m looking forward to on stage this month is lgbtq-focused, especially cabin at bushwick starr, strange loop at playwrights horizons, and the "pride plays" series at rattlestick. among la mama’s month-long “stonewall 50” program, both 13 fruitcakes and contradict this! a funeral for heroes interest me (mostly for their historical explorations), as does global gay (as an opportunity to revisit some more critical work on lgbt politics and tourism). also quite politically charged but well worth seeing is underground railroad game, which i caught during its initial run at arsnova (whose annual ant festival features a people's history of silicon valley, which feels quite timely). other shows worth looking into are feral at 59e59, jack of cups at the flea, nomad motel at the atlantic, fairviewat theatre for a new audience, pathetic at abrons, and dragon spring phoenix rise (a fascinating mix of collaborators, to be sure) at the shed.
dance: though the dance season is winding down here in the city, there’s still much to see. bam has a trio of intriguing shows: doug varone and dancers, ballet british columbia, and compagnie 111. the joyce hosts pilobolus and maria kochetkova. new york live arts showcases the work of women choreographers and an all-male company. symphony space and abrons arts center highlight new and emerging choreographers, as does dixon place through its “moving men," “fast forward," and “8 in show" programs.
art: hito steyler’s drill at the park avenue armory is what i’m most eager to see (though i do want to get through her duty free art first), after the stonewall-related shows at the brooklyn museum, leslie-lohman museum, and grey gallery. public art fund’s installation of felix gonzalez-torres’ untitled billboard delights me to no end—i only wish it were going to be up for longer. i have to see corita kent’s show at andrew kreps before it closes. other shows i’ll try and get to this month are “surrealism in mexico” at di donna, yuji agematsu at miguel abreu, jean-luc moulène at sculpturecenter, and bruno gironcoli at clearing.
there’s even more below in the full calendar, and feel free to share this newsletter with all divers and sundry here.
abrazos,
p
junio / june
1: 53 movements (dance)
1: hadar ahuvia: the dances are for us (dance)
1: john corigliano’s symphony no. 1 (music)
1: justin sayre’s night of a thousand judys: a benefit performance for the ali forney center (performance)
1: land of fire (music)
1: michael praetorius: dances from terpsichore (1612) (music)
1: nightcap: curated by john corigliano (music)
1: youssou ndour (music)
1-: a strange loop (theater)
1-2: chunky in the heat (music)
1-2: fighting mad: german genre films from the margins (film)
1-2: georgia horns (music)
1-2: irwin winkler – a life in movies: stories from 50 years in hollywood (film)
1-2: messiah (performance)
1-2: reich richter pärt (music)
1-2: the films of dominik graf (film)
1-4: punk lust: raw provocation (film)
1-8: as one (music)
1-8: butterflies (theater)
1-8: cabin (performance)
1-8: jack of cups (theater)
1-8: julia reichert: 50 years in film (film)
1-9: feral (theater)
1-13: jim jarmusch (film)
1-13: the hour of liberation: decolonizing cinema, 1966-1981 (film)
1-15: madame lynch (theater)
1-15: northern ireland: battle of images (film)
1-15: underground railroad game (theater)
1-16: octet (theater)
1-16: proof of love (theater)
1-23: nomad motel (theater)
1-23: the secret life of bees (theater)
1-30: dying city (theater)
2: kristín anna: i must be the devil (music)
2-: fairview (theater)
3: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 7: rainforest + if the dancer dances (dance, film)
3: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 8: merce cunningham, a legacy of dance (dance, film)
3-9: everything that had happened and would happen (music, performance)
3-13: you never touched the dirt (theater)
3-27: ant fest 2019 (performance, theater)
4: inti figgis-vizueta, bergrún snæbjörnsdóttir, and niloufar nourbakhsh (music)
4: moving men (dance)
4: nick dunston: la operación (music)
4: out-takes from the life of a happy man (film)
4-8: purcell: dido and aeneas (music)
4-12: new songs now (music, theater)
4-30: handbagged (theater)
5: badassy (performance)
5: ensemble connect (music)
5: global american chamber music (music)
5-8: in the sea of heaven (dance)
5-8: in the shelter of the fold / epilogue (dance)
5-16: little shop of horrors (theater)
5-23: pathetic (theater)
6: interpretations: string noise | the string trio of new york (music)
6: kahvë: the turkish coffee therapy session (performance)
6: okonkwo weeps in exile: nicholas dawson (bookworms), the negro subversive, rafael sanchez, don mckenzie (music)
6: songs from the stonewall jukebox (music)
6-7: we may never dance again® (dance)
6-8: global gay (performance)
6-8: prisoner of the state (music)
6-8: triptych (eyes of one on another) (music)
6-12: open roads: new italian cinema 2019 (film)
6-14: camera obtrusa: the action documentaries of kazuo hara (film)
6-20: home movies: filmmakers document their families (film)
7: choro das 3: celebrating the legacy of roberto burle marx (music)
7: the philadelphia orchestra (music)
7: under the subway video art night (art, film)
7: young choreographers festival (dance)
7-11: the films of william raban (film)
7-20: losing it at the movies: pauline kael at 100 (film)
7-20: nureyev (dance, film)
7-22: open (theater)
7-29: the great novel (theater)
7-: the last black man in san francisco (film)
7-: the lavender scare (film)
8: best of les dance showcase (dance)
8: machiko ozawa tango duo (music)
8: the string orchestra of brooklyn: music of kline, spears, and eastman (music)
8-13: natural transgressions: the films of carlos reygadas (film)
8-: [veil widow conspiracy] (theater)
9: inside out: lacunae (music)
9: videofilia (and other viral syndromes) / videofilia (y otros síndromes virales) (film)
10: face the music: critical mass with claire chase & tri-centric foundation (music)
10: international contemporary ensemble, the city of tomorrow & nick demaison (music)
10: merce cunningham centennial, pgm 9: the collaborators: cage, cunningham & rauschenberg (dance, film)
11-15: women / create! a festival of dance (dance)
11-16: vision festival 2019 (art, dance, film, music)
11-29: pilobolus (dance)
12: concerts in the parks – central park (music)
12-23: bam cinema fest (film)
13: concerts in the parks – cunningham park (music)
13: malik djoudi and halo maud (music)
13: unzipped (film)
13-15: ballet british colombia (dance)
13-16: 13 fruitcakes (performance)
13-20: human rights watch film festival 2019 (film)
14: concerts in the parks – prospect park (music)
14: leonard bernstein centennial finale concert: ‘dybbuk’ and ‘fancy free’ (world premiere of new orchestrations)(music)
14: outcast at the gate (music)
14-16: jinkx monsoon & major scales: the ginger snapped (performance)
14-16: the sky socialist (film)
14-26: ermanno olmi (film)
14-27: paris is burning (film)
14-: our time (film)
14-: the dead don't die (film)
15: a night of tarab with yousef shamon & tarab ensemble (music)
15: jennifer walshe & wobbly (music)
15: the bullfighter and the lady (film)
15: the gifts of time (film)
15: theaterjam (theater)
15: wifey (theater)
15-16: the sky socialist: environs and out-takes (film)
15-19: the adventures of ken jacobs across the 3rd dimension (film)
16-21: maria kochetkova (dance)
16-30: leap and the net will appear (theater)
18: alex weiser: state of the jews (music)
18: fast forward (dance)
18-29: river-to-river festival (art, dance, performance)
19: kishi bashi “omoiyari” intimate album release show (music)
19-29: king philip’s head is still on that pike just down the road (theater)
19-: collision/coalition (art, film)
19-: the edge of democracy (film)
20: barton hartshorn (music)
20: cecilia lopez: red (music)
20: k-factor: an orchestral exploration of k-pop (music)
20: tori scott: making america gay again! (performance)
20-22: crossroads (dance)
20-22: espæce (dance)
20-22: peter stathas dance (dance)
20-24: pride plays (theater)
20-29: contradict this! a birthday funeral for heroes (performance)
20-: drill (art)
20-: prison images: incarceration and the cinema (film)
21: play-play: a toy/piano concert (music)ç
21: very peak summer solstice: fana fraser, jasmine gibson, annie heath, sokunthary svay (music)
21-22: selected experimental and animated works from the women’s film preservation fund (film)
21-22: wifey (theater)
21-27: queer kino (film)
21-28: stonewall (music)
21-: before stonewall (film)
21-: billboard (film)
21-: ever after (film)
21-: the command (film)
21-: toni morrison: the pieces i am (film)
22: stonewall – 1995 (film)
22: ukrainian bandurist chorus of north america presents the centennial concert series (music)
22-: dragon spring phoenix rise (theater)
23: selections from the 365 day project (film)
23: sona jobareth (music)
24: jack moves benefit concert hosted by dave malloy (music)
24-26: epilogues and epitaphs (music)
25: lesbopalooza: 25th anniversary show (performance)
25: softboarding: medium shred (performance)
26: 8 in show (dance)
26: directorgy (theater)
26: simon hanes & tredici bacci (music)
26-30: justin vivian bond is your auntie glam in gay for the gods! (music, performance)
26-: ice factory (theater)
26-: the chambermaid (film)
27: discovogue (music)
27: julia adolphe & stephanie fleischmann's "a barrel of laughs, a vale of tears" (music)
27: koki nakano + ¿que vola? (music)
27: new chamber music / songs (music)
27-29: 10 hairy legs (dance)
27-29: ykr: decoded (performance)
28: anaïs maviel: time is due (music)
28: charmaine lee: laminals ii with victoria shen (music)
28: homenaje a vicente fernandez (music)
28-: the queen (film)
28-: werewolf ninja philosopher (film)
29: elissa cassini, violin & ashley bathgate, cello (music)
29: faraj aybad and his orchestra (music)
29: kokdu: a story of guardian angels (film)
29: happy birthday, doug! (theater)
29-30: films of pride and protest: stonewall at 50 (film)
30: areni choir: komitas & his heirs (music)
