[note: some, maybe 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.]
febrero 2025
¡hola, difus@s!
at least culturally, this year’s off to a good start (that is, in the very narrow sense of what i’ve seen so far). peter watkins’ la commune (paris, 1871) was the first thing i saw, and, wow, did it set a high bar for the rest of the year. the film is an extraordinary / experiment in radical history, critical reflection, and collective art-making that has only gained resonance and relevance in the 25 years since its release.
one of la commune (paris, 1871)’s central concerns, media/tion, ran through much of what i saw last month: 2073 (an urgent documentary wrapped in speculative fiction), the antiquities (formally elegant and analytically astute), famehungry (an inquiry into the status of performance art in an age of tiktok), grand theft hamlet (which probes the possibilities of virtual—and communal—theater), and metropolis (whose earnest message our society has yet to heed).
i only caught a little of last month’s festival theater, but old cock (under the radar) and gwyneth goes skiing (international fringe encore series) were such a delight. the former began as a charmingly comic absurdist monologue and then added layers of critique, taking on nationalist myth-making (and tourism) and authoritarian violence (including a video avatar of former dictator salazar). the latter was both deadpan and camp, with deftly integrated audience participation and certainly the most fun i’ve had since oh, mary! (and much, much more affordable!). tangential to the festival circuit, buildings i & ii was well worth revisiting.
film: the feature i’m most excited about this month is universal language, followed closely by notes on displacement, fox and his friends, and paint me a road out of here. for those of you working through the oscar ballot (which i’m happy to see drawing more from the festival circuit), be sure to catch the collections of nominated animated and live action short films. some series worth looking are “pioneers of african american cinema,” “wild at heart: willem dafoe,” “conjuring nosferatu: robert eggers presents,” and the justice film festival.
music: national sawdust has two shows that i’m very interested in this month: and we, each and “dark sky” (featuring music by kaija saariaho and caroline shaw, composers i’ve long admired). other new music concerts worth considering include theatre of voices, “impuls respons,” john zorn and laurie anderson, and “max roach at 100.” if you’re looking for early and classical music, check out “kings of the earth and queen of heaven,” julliard415 and yale schola cantorum, bruckner’s string quintet, and aryeh nussbaum cohen and john churchwell. also of note are justin vivian bond (always worthwhile!), leila hassan and bergsonist, and afro dominicano.
performance + theater: i had no idea what i was walking into when i saw quartett in 2009, but i bought a ticket to see it again as soon as i got home. thus, i’m thrilled that skirball is presenting mary said what she said at the month’s end. i also really enjoyed jerry lieblich’s mahinerator and so am eager to see the barbarians. among the other shows i have my eye on are the all-father / hypnagogia, beckett briefs, curse of the starving class, the great privation (how to flip ten cents into a dollar), the misanthrope, on the evolutionary function of shame, sumo, touch, and unsuccessful (la consagración de nadie).
dance: i probably like akram khan more as a dancer than as a choreographer, but i’m very excited to see his gigenis: the generation of the earth. other shows that have my interest piqued are florentina holzinger, hernan cornejo and grupo cadabra, john scott dance and mel mercier, and nycb’s “balanchine + wheeldon” and “all stravinksy” programs.
art: while continuing to work through last month’s list of museum shows, i’m also hoping to see a number of current gallery shows by american artist, camille henrot, cory arcangel, theresa duncan, and oliver payne, flint jamison, ian miyamura, julius eastman & glenn ligon, louise nevelson, nicole eisenman, noah davis, paul mpagi sepuya, and richard misrach—as well as the outsider art fair.
we’ve got even more to explore in the calendar below, and do feel free to share this with anyone you’d like by signing them up here.
un abrazo,
p
febrero / february
1: italian insanity (music)
1: spanish journey (music)
1-2: agency for the lost (theater)
1-2: beatrice rana plays mendelssohn (music)
1-2: building my casa (theater)
1-2: compagnie hervé koubi (dance)
1-2: exponential festival 2025 (music, performance, theater)
1-2: harry connick jr: a celebration of cole porter (music)
1-2: milk thot (performance)
1-2: new combinations (dance)
1-2: the fire this time festival (theater)
1-2: the whisper of the waves (theater)
1-4: all stravinsky (dance)
1-4: the draw (theater)
1-6: swept away… by an unusual destiny in the blue sea of august (film)
1-6: weegee's camera magic (film)
1-7: io//odio (theater)
1-8: famehungry (theater)
1-8: symphony of rats (theater)
1-9: i’m assuming you know david greenspan (theater)
1-9: in pour taste: a comedy wine tasting experience (theater)
1-9: local singles (theater)
1-9: radio downtown: radical '70s artists live on air (theater)
1-9: wandering women (film)
1-15: pecking order (theater)
1-16: a knock on the roof (theater)
1-16: dear jack, dear louise (theater)
1-16: grief camp (theater)
1-16: shelly & lovelace never met (theater)
1-16: the shine challenge (theater)
1-23: pioneers of african american cinema (film)
1-23: the antiquities (theater)
1-: beckett briefs (theater)
1-: frederick wiseman: an american institution (film)
1-: henry iv (theater)
1-: music city (theater)
2: bruckner's string quintet (music)
3: marina santo, natsumi sasabe, ivvy (dance)
4: a thousand billion dollars (film)
4: aristo sham, piano (music)
4: beethoven quartet cycle iv (music)
4-: curse of the starving class (theater)
4-: dakar 2000 (theater)
4-: grangeville (theater)
5: seong-jin cho, piano (music)
5-8: all balanchine ii (dance)
5-8: drawing lessons (performance)
5-8: larry ochs (music)
5-8: scat!... the complex lives of al & dot, dot & al zollar (theater)
5-9: camille a. brown & dancers (dance)
5-9: conjuring nosferatu: robert eggers presents (film)
5-9: girlking/girlgenius (theater)
5-9: justin vivian bond: woo girl miracles (music)
5-16: urinetown (theater)
5-22: slamdance garage (theater)
6: and we, each (music)
6: anthony mcgill, clarinet; emanuel ax, piano (music)
6: black belt eagle scout (music)
6: brandon ross (music)
6: calidore string quartet (music)
6: dreamcrusher: music makes me high (music)
6: francesco corti: harpsichord suites (music)
6: jean cocteau (film)
6: leila hassan / bergsonist (music)
6: lisa streich (music)
6-8: the 40 year old orphan (theater)
6-8: the laundry play (theater)
6-9: innovators & icons (dance)
6-9: minors: a realization of the american dream (theater)
6-9: the van gogh shogh (theater)
6-23: luv! short play festival (theater)
6-23: no reservation (performance)
6-: winter one-act festival (theater)
7: bill frisell: in my dreams (night 1) (music)
7: claudia acuña, vocals (music)
7: flight into egypt: sidra bell (dance)
7: george xiaoyuan fu, piano (music)
7: kate eberstadt’s heaven on earth (music)
7-10: cut edge collective 10-minute play festival (theater)
7-20: a woman is a woman (film)
7-26: wild at heart: willem dafoe (film)
7-: armand (film)
7-: b*tchcraft (theater)
7-: paint me a road out of here (film)
8: bill frisell: in my dreams (night 2) (music)
8: meltdown (music)
8: musical daydreams (music)
8: owls (music)
8: safe space (music)
8: the westerlies (music)
8-22: a letter to lyndon b. johnson or god: whoever reads this first (theater)
8-: counterbalance (theater)
9: custom of the coast concert performance (music)
9: holger falk with nuovo aspetto (music)
9: theo bleckmann: 12 easy songs (music)
10: ensemble connect (music)
10: hream (dir. geoffrey hug) & space lady (dir. sophia feuer) (film)
10: juilliard orchestra conducted by ruth reinhardt (music)
10-12: justice film festival (film)
11: beau-père (film)
11: history's persistent voice (music)
11: impuls respons (music)
11: lunar new year (music)
11: theatre of voices (music)
11-: after endgame (theater)
12: composer spotlight: jessie montgomery (music)
12: dark sky: music by kaija saariaho, caroline shaw, andrew yee, & more featuring susanna phillips, christopher allen/fourth wall ensemble, and yee (music)
12: isaiah collier & william parker (music)
12: janáček's pohadka for cello and piano (music)
12: the all-father / hypnagogia (performance)
12-15: akhram khan (dance)
12-15: uri caine (music)
12-16: balanchine + wheeldon (dance)
12-16: john scott dance and mel mercier: begin anywhere (dance)
12-16: my brother jake (theater)
12-: next stage festival (theater)
13: arensky & rimsky-korsakov (music)
13: aryeh nussbaum cohen, countertenor; john churchwell, piano (music)
13: big lazy (music)
13: brentano string quartet (music)
13: kings of the earth and queen of heaven (music)
13: orchestra of st. luke’s (music)
13: pedrito martinez (theater)
13: the bric film festival (film)
13: the loneliness of either, or: a requiem for joan of arc (music)
13-14: 2025 soloduo dance festival (dance)
13-14: my first vagina (theater)
13-15: the last time i saw caileigh (theater)
13-18: canellakis conducts messiaen and la mer (music)
13-: ghosts (theater)
14: flight into egypt: m. lamar (music)
14: jinkx monsoon (music)
14: magos herrera 25 discography anniversary (music)
14: martha wash: love & conflict (music)
14: new amsterdam symphony orchestra (music)
14: steve paxton: a video amble (dance)
14-15: florentina holzinger: tanz (dance)
14-20: notes on displacement (film)
14-: oscar nominated shorts 2025: animation (film)
14-: oscar nominated shorts 2025: live-action (film)
14-: the barbarians (theater)
14-: universal language (film)
15: invoke (music)
15: jackson-pratt: the microscope’s slide: live painting music no. 8 (for t.m.) (performance)
15: john zorn & laurie anderson duo (music)
15: rasika: beyond the bounded territories (music)
15: the scouts of america (theater)
15-16: infiltrators / mutasalilun (film)
15-22: off we go (поехали!) (theater)
15-: safe house (theater)
16: ny phil ensembles at merkin (music)
17: the misanthrope (theater)
18: hagen quartet (music)
18: lily love me (film)
18-23: anima animal (dance)
19: franck vigroux & werktank, amma ateria, michael foster & strings feat. shelley hirsch (music)
19: sonatenabend (music)
19: yuja wang, piano; víkingur ólafsson, piano (music)
19-22: matthew shipp (music)
19-23: the six paths (theater)
19-: juliet: a revenge comedy (theater)
19-: on the evolutionary function of shame (theater)
19-: swan lake (dance)
20: a singer must die: a tribute to leonard cohen (music)
20: chogun (music)
20: ensemble connect (music)
20: juho pohjonen (music)
20: juilliard orchestra conducted by louis langrée (music)
20: leo chang (music)
20: the knights (music)
20-22: rouvali conducts prokofiev and shostakovich (music)
20-23: queen of the mist (music)
20-23: twelfth night (theater)
20-: sumo (theater)
20-: touch (theater)
21: charanga 76 (music)
21: juilliard415 with yale schola cantorum (music)
21: max roach at 100: tyshawn sorey trio & sandbox percussion (music)
21: qiujiang levi lu (卢秋江): metanoia (performance)
21-23: energy of delusion: keith sanborn (film)
21-: art spiegelman: disaster is my muse (film)
21-: compensation (film)
21-: tales from the new yorker (film)
22: juilliard415 with yale schola cantorum (music)
22: monsieur periné (music)
22: pizza guy 8 (film)
22: rafiq bhatia with chris pattishall (music)
22-24: konstantin krimmel, baritone; ammiel bushakevita, piano (music)
23: american brass quintent (music)
23-: emily dickinson: star-crossed employee (theater)
24: haydn’s string quartet op. 76, no. 1 (music)
25: concerto copenhagen (music)
25: f as in fairbanks (film)
25: mendelssohn's piano trio no. 2 (music)
25-: georgia and the butch (theater)
25-: tango after dark (dance)
25-: we had a world (theater)
25-: wounded (theater)
26: juilliard jazz orchestra | the shanghai suite (music)
26: liederabend (music)
26: lucian ban & mat maneri – transylvanian folk songs reimagined (music)
26-28: arturo o’farrill and the afro latin jazz orchestra (music)
26-: hilary hahn, brahms & blomstedt (music)
26-: sugarcraft (theater)
26-: the great privation (theater)
26-: wendy eisenberg (music)
27: dave guy (theater)
27: julliard chamber orchestra (music)
27: moi-même (film)
27: motion (film)
27: sonic spectrum iii (music)
27: third coast percussion (music)
27: tiler peck & hilary hahn (music)
27: whitney johnson – fiat, featuring greg fox (music)
27: zosha warpeha: shadow (performance)
27-: african odyssey (performance)
27-: i'm repeating myself (theater)
27-: mary said what she said (theater)
27-: oo-ga-la reimagined (the fred holland and ishmael houston-jones 1983 duet danced into the 21st century) (dance)
27-: unsuccessful (la consagración de nadie) (theater)
28: afro dominicano: drums from around the world (music)
28: ami dang, bookworms, madeline stepien (fka pent) (music)
28: daymé arocena (music)
28: fox and his friends / faustrecht der freiheit (film)
28: jake blount (music)
28: juilliard historical performance chamber music series (music)
28: klara (music)
28: vienna philharmonic (music)
28-: a streetcar named desire (theater)