[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.]
diciembre 2019
¡hola, difus@s!
november was a bit truncated, not only by the thanksgiving holiday but by technical conditions that interfered with much of what may well have been the best work i saw. a feral audience member forced us to leave the great tamer midway through the performance (but the usher and house manager's handling of the situation was an object lesson in responsive professionalism). the lack of seating at weirdo night new york city was an unpleasant surprise (maybe the space shouldn't be called an "auditorium"?), but the performances were terrific (christeene and dynasty handbag were amazing as ever, and like a villain was a revelation). the acting and staging in history of violence were phenomenal, but my seating selection and low vision made the surtitles a bit challenging (there's a lot of work to be on making these more accessible). more than compensating for those frustrations, pain and glory is one of almodóvar's best films ever, and atlantics is a deeply satisfying and promising first feature (both perhaps, more deserving of parasite's palme d'or). ensemble basiani's "unifying voices" and nate wooley's seven storey mountain vi were moving concerts (in very different ways), and perfume genius' musical talent and on-stage charisma made a hypnotic show out of some very so-so choreography.
this issue’s short lists (below) are, admittedly, very holi-gay because (1) this season always gets me a little sentimental and (2) all i want for christmas this year is an end to (smug) pete buttigieg’s campaign. the argument that a “model of conventional, bourgeois gay domesticity” represents any kind of meaningful political progress makes absolutely no sense to me. his ascendance is less a function of america’s (purported) lgbtq acceptance than of his innocuousness to the social and economic hegemony. to quote lisa duggan, “it is a politics that does not contest dominant heteronormative assumptions and institutions but upholds and sustains them while promising the possibility of a demobilized gay constituency and a privatized, depoliticized gay culture anchored in domesticity and consumption.” if only we had politicians capable of delivering anything close to sacha baron cohen’s recent address to the adl…
fortunately, this month, when we need a break from the bleakness of the political landscape, we have plenty of places to find warmth, wit, hope, and beauty.
theater + performance: if you see only one show this month, please let it be daniel kitson’s keep at st. ann’s warehouse: “…about the compromise of a full life and the burden of a full heart and how it’s impossible to know where looking back will lead. about the task of being who we are without denying who we’ve been. about the importance of regret and the possibility of hope and the delusional idea of starting again…” i have seen him perform over 30 times now and should be over halfway to 40 after this run. apart from kitson-fangirling, i’m curious about bedlam’s production of the crucible, the cloudbusters’ medea / britney (not least because i missed spears: the gospel according to britney), and the civilians’ trapt. i saw elements of oz at montclair state a few years ago and definitely recommend it now that it’s on at skirball. among the holi-gay offerings i’d like to catch between kitson shows are meow meow, the gmhc holiday cabaret, “dyke the halls: a dyking out holiday spectacular,” “a murray little christmas,” and justin vivian bond’s new year’s eve show.
music: there's a ton of great music on stage this month, whether you're looking for holiday fare or avoiding it. helga davis performs at joe's pub, sö percussion plays carnegie hall, magnetic fields wind up their residency at symphony space, lucy shelton sings at national sawdust, and john zorn's heaven and earth magick is on at roulette. i'm also particulary interested in "tain't nobody's business if i do – songs from gay harlem" at the kaufmann music center. among the holiday-themed shows of note are ute lemper's "weimar holiday" and the crossing's performance of david lang's the little match girl passion at the met museum, roomful of teeth and caroline shaw's rotunda holiday concert at the guggenheim, the tallis scholars' "sacred interpretations," canadian brass' holiday show at national sawdust, and new york holiday choristers at the morgan.
film: three more much-discussed films from cannes arrive this month, and i want to see them all: portrait of a lady on fire, little joe, and a hidden life (on the occasion of which both metrograph and museum of the moving image are presenting terrence malick series). i also want to catch in fabric, clemency, and chinese portrait. if you've missed this fall's earlier screenings, sátántángo is getting a few more at lincoln center (and, yes, i'm sorely tempted to see it again). among the month's worthwhile series are "the wonders: alice and alba rohrwacher" and "public imaginations: a survey of documentary form" at moma, "veredas: a generation of brazilian filmmakers" at film at lincoln center, "trinh t. minh-ha" and "we tell: fifty years of participatory community media" at anthology, and the african diaspora film festival.
dance: if the nutcracker is a holiday essential for you, both time out and mommy poppins have comprehensive listings of all the versions playing, some of which look quite fun. (alas, we have no performances of the hard nut this year.) pam tanowitz's collaboration with simone dinnerstein is on at the joyce. new york live arts and lincoln center both present showcases of new work, and dixon place hosts its monthly "crossing boundaries" and "moving men" showcases. also of interest for dance enthusiasts is the screening of cunningham at film at lincoln center.
art: my main priority this month is hitting the museum and non-profit circuit to see all the shows i've still not caught, among which are hans haacke, alvin baltrop, agnes denes, on our backs: the revolutionary art of queer sex work, vija celmins, and the last knight. other shows i really hope to see this month before they close are torkwase dyson, helen frankenthaler and robert motherwell, john chamberlain and donald judd, walead beshty, paul p., james cohan gallery's 20th anniversary show, lee quiñones, philip buehler, ebony g. patterson, and mary corse.
as always, a full calendar follows, and you can gift this to anyone you'd like (for free!) by signing them up here.
abrazos,
p
diciembre / december
1: new york philharmonic string quartet & daniil trifonov, piano (music)
1: reverend billy & the church of stop shopping: earth riot (music, performance)
1: julliard chamber music recital (music)
1-4: relentless invention: new korean cinema, 1996–2003 (film)
1-5: atlantics (film)
1-5: the cave (film)
1-5: vision statement: early directorial works (film)
1-8: the young man from atlanta (theater)
1-8: moments of grace: the collected terrence malick (film)
1-14: einstein's dreams (theater)
1-15: african diaspora film festival (film)
1-15: black exhibition (theater)
1-15: the underlying chris (theater)
1-20: anna karenina: a riff (theater)
1-22: halfway bitches go straight to heaven (theater)
1-22: nylon fusion: the listening room and ray gun sayonara (theater)
1-29: the crucible (theater)
2: tori scott: vodka is the reason for the season (performance)
2-3: puppet parlor (theater)
2-23: martin scorcese: four tales over four decades (film)
3: an evening of indian classical music (music)
3: ensemble connect (music)
3: moving men (dance)
3: daniil trifonov performs scriabin (music)
3: bach's goldberg variations (music)
3-8: barbershop chronicles (theater)
4: baroque storytelling (music)
4: salon séance for benjamin britten (music)
4: akhnaten (music)
4-5: puppet blok (theater)
4-7: a.d. & colored (dance)
4-8: in fabric (film)
4-8: amahl and the night visitors (music)
4-15: in blue (theater)
4-19: keep (theater)
4-22: the cinema of gender transgression: trans film (film)
4-23: the wonders: alice and alba rohrwacher (film)
4-: portrait of a lady on fire (film)
5: bright sheng (music)
5: charmaine lee: laminals iii with tyshawn sorey & ikue mori (music)
5: julliard chamber music recital (music)
5: frances white | elizabeth brown (music)
5-7: bronfman and beethoven (music)
5-7: the dialogues of the travelers (theater)
5-11: empty metal (film)
5-21: the straights (theater)
5-: judgment day (theater)
6: diaspora songs (music)
6: phyllis chen (music)
6: stefan jackiw, violin & mahan esfahani, harpsichord (music)
6: modern whitney (performance)
6: the tragedy of dido (theater)
6: helga davis: some things (music)
6: the music of sylvano bussotti (music)
6-7: the meeting* hosted by justin sayre: chairman's choice (performance)
6-8: medea / britney (theater)
6-11: veredas: a generation of brazilian filmmakers (film)
6-21: trinh t. minh-ha (film)
6-: knives and skin (film)
6-: little joe (film)
6-: the disappearance of my mother (film)
7: a century of percussion (music)
7: cyrus chesnut quartet (music)
7: lúnasa: christmas from ireland (music)
7: magnetic fields (music)
7: orpheus chamber orchestra & carolin widmann, violin (music)
7: akhnaten (music)
7: gamelan kusuma laras with i.m. harjito | music and dance of java (music)
7-8: elements of oz (theater)
8: new york korean traditional marching band (music)
8: vienna boys choir (music)
8: reverend billy & the church of stop shopping: earth riot (music, performance)
8: corelli's christmas concerto (music)
9: the anagram ensemble: i looked at the eclipse by james ilgenfritz & sarah krasnow (music)
9: lúnasa: christmas from ireland (music)
9-15: international human rights arts festival (dance, performance, theater)
10: behzod abduraimov, piano (music)
10: bridget kibbey (music)
10: puppet blok (theater)
10: nath ann carrera (music)
10: judith berkson and ordinary affects (music)
10-15: pam tanowitz + simone dinnerstein (dance)
11: sheku kanneh-mason, cello, and isata kanneh-mason, piano (music)
11-14: after summer… (performance)
11-15: irish arts center winter solstice celebration (music)
11-15: spring (performance)
11-15: new dances edition 2019 (dance)
12: tain't nobody's business if i do – songs from gay harlem (music)
12: the gothic archives (music)
12: political circus: why democracy is f*cked (and what to do about it) (performance)
12: puppet blok (theater)
12: lindsay packer: call and response: echolocation with fan letters (performance)
12: liederabend (music)
12: collapsible shoulder big band (music) 12: julián de la chica — solo piano (music)
12-13: speech (theater)
12-14: a very meow meow holiday show (performance)
12-17: we tell: fifty years of participatory community media (film)
12-30: public imaginations: a survey of documentary form (film)
13: eric owens, bass-baritone & jeremy denk, piano (music)
13: mackenzie melemed, piano (music)
13: moya brennan: an irish christmas (music)
13: bach's brandenberg concertos (music)
13: kinds of kings (music)
13-14: fresh tracks 2019 - 2020: auditioned works (dance)
13-15: young world (dance, music, performance)
13-15: shared evening: garnet henderson and anna peretz rogovoy (dance)
13-19: cunningham (dance, film)
13-21: malick: the first four films (film)
13-22: chinese portrait (film)
14: tallis scholars (music)
14: ute lemper: weimar holiday (music)
14: jandek (music)
14: ricardo romaneiro x liquid light lab : a christmas past (film, music)ç
14: john zorn: heaven and earth magick (music)
15: joyce didonato and yannick nézet-séguin (music)
15: reverend billy & the church of stop shopping: earth riot (music, performance)
15: the gmhc holiday cabaret (music, performance)
15: lucy shelton (music)
15-16: rotunda holiday concert with roomful of teeth and caroline shaw (music)
16: dyke the halls: a dyking out holigay spectacular (performance)
16: the civilians: stacey rose – trapt (theater)
16: canadian brass 50th anniversary holiday show (music)
16: brandon lopez: sun burns out your eyes (music)
17: crossing boundaries (dance)
17: remy le boeuf’s assembly of shadows (music)
17-21: handel's messiah (music)
18: ethel (music)
18-21: a murray little christmas (performance)
18-22: big band holidays (music)
19: handel's messiah (music)
19-21: nut/cracked (dance)
19-22: gaz (performance)
19-22: closing night (theater)
20: a frank and ella christmas (music)
20: book of ragas: indian jazz and the new american songbook (music)
20: new york holiday choristers (music)
20: the handel + haydn society: christmas with the strads (music)
20-: grand horizons (theater)
21: carnival of the animals (music)
21: the crossing: the little match girl passion (music)
21: phill niblock: 6 hours of music and film (music)
22: blue heron (music)
22: reverend billy & the church of stop shopping: earth riot (music, performance)
23: music from five centuries (music)
25: sátántangó (film)
25-: the song of names (film)
25-: the 21st annual animation show of shows (film)
25-: what she said: the art of pauline kael (film)
26: patricia brennan’s moch (music)
26-31: sandra bernhard: sandy's holiday extravaganza – a decade of madness and mayhem (performance)
27: sátántangó (film)
27-: clemency (film)
27-: up close festival (theater)
28: kwanzaa fest (music)
30: sátántangó (film)
31: justin vivian bond: out with the old (performance)
