[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.]
enero 2020
i spent much of december watching daniel kitson at st. ann's (a total of six times, roughly 15 hours), and his new work, keep, marks, in many ways, a significant departure. he's still very much the "befuddled old professor bear type", whose linguistic virtuosity and humanist misanthropy are uniquely charming, but keep, much like a short series of disagreements presented here in chronological order (which sadly did not come to new york), is much darker, eschewing the emotional immediacy of it's always right now, until it's later and the theatrical bravura of analog.ue(which remains a masterpiece). while avoiding those qualities (a quite deliberate refusal, i'd argue), keep's narrative artifice-edifice becomes (at least seemingly) much clearer much sooner than before, and its resolution lacks the joyful surprise of the earlier works (another deliberate refusal, to the exasperation of some). i'll admit being a bit flummoxed after the first performance, but, like all the audiences i saw it with (and much to kitson's credit), i'd enjoyed it immensely. the more i've seen and thought about it, the more awed i am by what he's accomplished, for keep is, ultimately, a profound—both artistically and philosophically—exploration of (and exercise in) parafiction and decreation.
even without comparison to kitson, the other theater i saw in december was rather disappointing. the inheritance, while probing some timely issues and posing some earnest questions about lgbtq identity, culture, and history, was horribly unfocused and woefully unnuanced. west side story, whose artistic dream team had me hoping for a miracle, was nothing extraordinary, not for anyone whose seen van hove's work off broadway (granted, that was largely not the audience in the theater), except as an insult to anne teresa de keersmaeker's (who should follow cady noland's example and disown the work) talent.
fortunately, the rest of what i managed to catch was great. sö percussion are always a joy to see (and west side story's producers would do well to take note of how diverse and enthusiastic the sold-out house was), and moma's screenings of derek and blue and leviathan underscored just how important their film collection is to both the museum and the city. little joe, which earned the best actress prize at cannes, is as unsettling as it is restrained, a film whose horrors haunt you long after it ends.
the new year gets off to a strong start, thanks, as always, to the annual apap conference that motivates january's surfeit of festivals and showcases:
theater + performance: january is the month to binge on theater, as there's a lot of international and innovative work on stage across the various festivals (e.g., fear in the western world and slow sound of snow at exponential festival, "the eagle and the tortoise" at ferus festival, not i by samuel beckett and the truth has changed at under the radar) and houses (e.g., america dreaming: lovelust + disasterdrag at cherry lane; cezary goes to war, ich kann nicht anders, and the transfiguration of benjamin banneker at la mama, or, an astronaut play and really, really gorgeous at the tank, how to load a musket at 59 e 59). two favorites, the wooster group (with a pink chair (in place of a fake antique))at skirball) and richard maxwell (with queens row) are on this month. other shows that i'd really like to catch include devices of torture at the tank, white feminist at ars nova, i love white men at caveat, and bad husband //\\ bad homo at dixon place (which also hosts one of the best titles on this month's calendar).
music: the annual winter jazz fest and prototype festival offer more than enough reasons to shake off that post-holiday inertia and take on the city. the latter, along with on-site opera's das barbecü, also offers propositions for opera's future that the met would do well to take seriously. "broken silence" at the dimenna center, "trailblazers: pioneering women composers of the 20th century" at lincoln center, and "trail of tears continuum 1492–2020" at roulette all feel politically urgent as we start the new year. other shows that have my interest piqued vividly illustrate the richness of our local musical offerings, ranging from the medieval to the contemporary: sequentia and beowulf, new york baroque incorporated, dvořák's symphony no. 9 (which sparked my interest in classical music as a kid), time for three, jeffrey palmer and irena portenko, decoda, and agnes obel.
film: both moma's the contenders and momi's curators' choice 2019 series, which are great chances to catch up before the awards season, wind up during the first weeks of the month, just as two more much-lauded films from cannes, beanpole and les miserables, arrive. the chilean experimental film showcase at anthology and the bernard-henri levy films at the quad are high on my list this month, along with the queer film series at moma and black women film series at film forum. other noteworthy films and series include american indies, 1980-1989 at moma, it's the nineties, stupid! at anthology, invisible life at lincoln center, and citizen k and colonel redl at film forum.
dance: the month's apap-oriented offerings also include dance showcases at new york live arts, the flea (where gabrielle revlock is also presenting an intriguing pair of works), 92y, and joe's pub. the two shows i'm most interested in, though, come at the end of the month: matthew bourne's swan lake at city center and melinda ring's strange engagements at danspace project. (if this month seems a bit slim in the dance department, don't worry; there's a lot more coming later this season)
art: because i've made such minimal progress on my list of shows to see (though a culture-vulture friend's upcoming visit should help), the only things i'm adding right now are the museum shows highlighted by artnet, the gallery shows picked by artforum's critics, the wooster group show at carriage trade, and blank forms' inaugural exhibition at its new space. next month will bring a new crop of shows in both the galleries and museums, followed by more fair frenzy in march.
there is, as always, much more below, and you want to add some culture to anyone's new year's resolutions, you can do so by signing them up here.
abrazos,
p
diciembre / december1-3: royal (theater)
1-4: up close festival (theater)
1-7: what she said: the art of pauline kael (film)
1-8: the contenders (film)
1-11: judgment day (theater)
1-12: curators' choice 2019 (film)
1-19: american utopia (performance)
1-19: greater clements (theater)
1-19: sing street (theater)
1-26: the thin place (theater)
1-: grand horizons (theater)
2-19: show me love international teen cinema (film)
2-: the exponential festival (performance, theater)
3-4: bad husband //\\ bad homo (theater)
3-4: varla jean merman: a star is bored (performance)
3-12: term of art (theater)
3-18: wild dogs under my skirt (theater)
3-: advocate (film)
3-: invisible life (film)
4: koyaanisqatsi (film)
4: paul ryan destroyed; or my anus is uninsured (performance)
4-26: or, an astronaut play (theater)
5: dad in a box (performance)
6: the civilians: jacob brandt – hang on (theater)
6-8: broken silence (music)
7: ensemble connect (music)
7: marta pereira da costa (music)7: nysff 2019 best of the fest (film)
7-12: reflections on native voices (performance, theater)
7-14: the bong show: the films of bong joon ho (film)
8: jeffrey palmer, countertenor; irena portenko, piano (music)8-12: sex tape + nuptial blitz (dance)
8-13: live artery (dance, performance)
8-14: system k (film)
8-15: colonel redl (film)
8-16: mephisto (film)
8-18: winter jazz fest (music)
8-19: under the radar festival (theater)
8-25: devices of torture (theater)
8-25: queens row (theater)
8-25: the conversationalists (theater)
8-: paris (theater)
9: a play for the living in a time of extinction (theater)
9: jonas mekas: dance program (film)
9-11: aki sasamoto: phase transition (performance)
9-11: embodiment project and odc / dance (dance)
9-12: constellations (theater)
9-16: confidence (film)
9-19: modern maori quartet: two worlds (music)
9-19: prototype festival (music)
9-22: to save and project: the 17th moma international festival of film preservation (film)
9-: boom (theater)
10: 92y harkness dance center artists in residence: shaired show and more! (dance)
10: ferus festival (music, performance)
10: the wagging craze (performance)
10-11: bad husband //\\ bad homo (theater)
10-11: i was born but… (film)
10-11: there was a father (film)
10-11: william parker: trail of tears continuum 1492–2020 (music, performance)
10-12: dance showcase 2020 (dance)
10-16: earth (film)
10-19: not i by samuel beckett (theater)
10-: bernard-henri lévy x 4 (film)
10-: directorfest (theater)
10-: inherit the viper (film)
10-: les miserables (film)
10-: the woman who loves giraffes (film)
11: kayleigh decker, mezzo-soprano; madeline slettedahl, piano (music)
11: the living record collection’s bigmouth strikes again: the smiths show (performance)
11-13: the contours of heaven (theater)
11-26: how to load a musket (theater)
11-: the confession of lily dare (theater)
11-: timon of athens (theater)
12: 2020 dance-mopolitan encore series (dance)
12: 92y harkness dance center artists in residence: shaired show and more! (dance)
12: ensemble connect (music)
12: robert aiki, aubrey lowe, todd barton, and rachelle rahmé (music, performance)
12-: medea (theater)
13: string orchestra of brooklyn: afterimage (music)
13: the living record collection’s bigmouth strikes again: the smiths show (performance)
13: time for three: mavericks (music)
13-15: rosa feola & iain burnside (music)
13-: america dreaming: lovelust + disasterdrag (theater)
14: beethoven's cello sonatas (music)
14: chão (film)
14: ferus festival (music, performance)
14: white feminist (performance)
14-: dracula (theater)
14-: frankenstein (theater)
15: beethoven's cello sonatas (music)
15-21: dvořák's symphony no. 9 (music)
15-22: spare rib (theater)
15-25: distances smaller than this are not confirmed (performance)
15-28: citizen k (film)
15-28: new york jewish film festival (film)
16: agnes obel (music)
16: don flemos (music)
16-18: aki sasamoto: phase transition (performance)
16-19: cezary goes to war (theater)
16-19: ich kann nicht anders (theater)
16-19: the year of the solar eclipse (theater)
17: agnes obel (music)
17: festival of tatar song (music)
17-18: jazz across the americas: argentina (music)
17-19: magic agency chapter 4: bro-tox (theater)
17-19: the naked fog (film)
17-26: slow sound of snow (theater)
17-: black women: trailblazing african american performers & images, 1920 – 2001 (film)
18: moritz von oswald: akklamation / antenes / britton powell (music)
19: sequentia (music)
20: peter murphy – greatest hits: the peter murphy residency at lpr (music)
21: alexander boldachev, harp (music)
21: peter murphy – mr. moonlight (bauhaus set): the peter murphy residency at lpr (music)
22: decoda (music)
22: lucas debargue, piano (music)
22: rufus wainwright: songs that built me (music)
23: “the people’s revolt”: a showcase of new chilean experimental cinema (film)
23: benjamin bagby, voice and anglo-saxon harp (music)
23: just the right height / drumloop (music)
23: peter murphy – tribute to david bowie (night 1): the peter murphy residency at lpr (music)
23: scott johnson with contemporaneous (music)
23: severe clear (theater)
23: the pre-war ponies (music)
23-: a pink chair (in place of a fake antique) (theater)
23-: american indies, 1980-1989 (film)
23-: really really gorgeous (theater)
23-: the transfiguration of benjamin banneker (theater)
23-: you are under our space control (theater)
24: benjamin hochman, piano & friends (music)
24: focus 2020 | trailblazers: pioneering women composers of the 20th century (music)
24: le vent du nord & de temps antan (music)
24: peter murphy – tribute to david bowie (night 2): the peter murphy residency at lpr (music)
24-26: i love white men (performance)
24-28: god in three persons and a brief history of the residents (film, performance)
24-: doctors jane and alexander (theater)
24-: zombi child (film)
25: a body in the o (performance)
25: kronos quartet (music)
25: marin alsop conducts brahms (music)
25: new york baroque incorporated (music)
26: it's the nineties, stupid! (film)
26: the new york diaries of jonas mekas (film)
26-: das barbecü (music)
27: nels cline: from cage to cunningham (music)
27-31: focus 2020 | trailblazers: pioneering women composers of the 20th century (music)
28: international contemporary ensemble; jörg widmann, conductor and clarinet (music)
28: paul galbraith, guitar (music)
28-: “now we think as we fuck” queer liberation to activism (film)
28-: mr. toole (theater)
29: anna webber (music)
29: unitard: badassy! (performance)
29-30: book of my mother (theater)
29-: beanpole (film)
30: bach sonatas (music)
30: jonas mekas: warhol / factory program (film)
30: stephe cooper & ensemble (music)
30-31: britten and elgar (music)
30-: matthew bourne’s swan lake (dance)
30-: melinda ring: strange engagements (dance)
31: alvin curran: shofar rags xxl (music)
31: cowboy junkies (music)
31: mimesis ensemble (music)
31-: the devil probably: a century of satanic panic (film)
31-: the traitor (film)