this week in food & drink

VESELKA: THE RAINBOW ON THE CORNER AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

Documentary traces multigenerational history of Veselka, including father and son Tom and Jason Birchard

VESELKA: THE RAINBOW ON THE CORNER AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD (Michael Fiore, 2023)
Village East by Angelika
181-189 Second Ave. at 12th St.
Opens Friday, February 23
veselka.com
www.angelikafilmcenter.com/villageeast

Watching Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World is like having two meals, the first a solid lunch, the second a complex, emotional dinner.

Michael Fiore wrote, directed, produced, and edited the film, which starts by telling the fascinating history of the beloved restaurant, opened by Ukraine immigrants Wolodymyr and Olha Darmochwal as a candy store on the southeast corner of Second Ave. and Ninth St. in 1954. It expanded over the years to a full-service restaurant as it was handed down to Wolodymyr’s son-in-law, Tom Birchard, and then Tom’s son, Jason. Cinematographer Bill Winters follows Jason and his employees greeting customers and working in the back office and kitchen, where they make five thousand varenyky (pierogi) a day, three thousand latkes (potato pancakes) a week, and fifty-two hundred gallons of borscht a year.

“Jason Birchard has a hunger to feed people like his father and grandfather before him,” narrator David Duchovny explains. “But the feeding goes beyond food itself. Food should unite us, and it can transport us.” Duchovny grew up in the area; his paternal grandfather was from Ukraine, his paternal grandmother from Poland.

Jason initially was not interested in following in his father’s footsteps, but stuff happened. “I’ve worn many hats here as the proprietor of Veselka,” Jason, who has worked at the eatery since he was thirteen, says. “I never really envisioned a long-term future here in the business. And with the onset of the war, some days I need to give a little extra love to my Ukrainian staff, who have been unsure of what the future holds.”

In the first half of the film, we are introduced to Mrs. Slava, who fries the latkes; grillmen Dima Prach and Ivan; Jason’s nephew Justin, who oversees business development; pastry chef Lisa; potager chef Arturo; short order cook Max; operations manager Vitalii Desiatnychenko; muralist Arnie Charnick; and the pierogi ladies. Everyone is considered family at Veselka, from the employees to the customers. “The way that they treat people personally is a direct reflection about what makes this place so special,” Lisa says.

During the pandemic, Veselka, which means “rainbow” in Ukrainian, turned to outdoor dining; in one poignant scene, Jason and Ukrainian consul general to New York Oleksii Holubov can only shrug as Mayor Adams, eating borscht, pays more attention to the cameras outside than to Jason’s pleas for Hizzoner to support the restaurant industry.

But everything got more complicated on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine; the second half of the film focuses on Jason’s efforts to help his staff, most of whom have relatives in Ukraine, some of whom are determined to stay, others considering coming to America. Several male employees feel guilty for not returning to Ukraine to join the fight. For every person who shares their personal story, another chooses not to because it’s too painful. Veselka collects donations of clothing and other goods and raises money through borscht sales and its World Central Kitchen Ukraine Bowl.

Dima wants to bring his mother and aunt, who are twins, and his father and uncle to the United States. Vitalii is trying to get his mother out of Ukraine but agonizes when he cannot get in touch with her for days. The Ukrainian national baseball team comes to Coney Island to play charity games against the NYPD and FDNY. Charnick designs a new mural celebrating Ukrainian strength. Jason puts off expansion plans in order to help the community. Employees gather to watch news reports and speeches by Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. New York governor Kathy Hochul stops by to find out what she can do.

Veselka began life as a neighborhood candy store opened by Ukrainian immigrants

Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World is a testament to the human spirit, a vivid depiction of a community in action, showing how individuals can make a difference in difficult times. Jason is an inspiration, a mensch who doesn’t believe in the word no; he has an inner drive to do what’s right for others. He feeds people’s souls and their stomachs.

Ryan Shore’s score can get treacly, but David Sanborn’s sax solos lift the music. Fiore (Floyd Norman: An Animated Life) captures the essence of Veselka, which is the heart of the Ukrainian community in New York City and a vital part of the East Village. The film is especially poignant as the war enters its second year and the US Congress is taking its time deciding whether to send more funding to Ukraine.

Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World opens February 23 at Village East, just a few blocks from the restaurant, making your choice of where to eat before or after the movie that much easier. The 7:05 screenings on Friday and Saturday will be followed by Q&As with Fiore and Tom and Jason Birchard.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

THE IMMERSIVE COFFEE CANTATA EXPERIENCE

Christine Lyons, Bernard Holcomb, and Philip Cokorinos star in The Immersive Coffee Cantata (Dan Wright Photography)

THE IMMERSIVE COFFEE CANTATA EXPERIENCE
The Lost Draft
398 Broome St. between Lafayette & Mulberry Sts.
February 14-25, $40
osopera.org
thelostdraft.com

I have never been a coffee drinker. In fact, I have not had a sip of any type of java in more than forty years. But On Site Opera’s (OSO) latest site-specific production, The Immersive Coffee Cantata, is my kind of cuppa.

Coffee first made its way into Germany around 1670. In 1735, composer Johann Sebastian Bach and poet and librettist Christian Friedrich Henrici, known as Picander, teamed up for Coffee Cantata (Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211), a tasty tale of a father who insists his daughter give up coffee if she ever wants to get married.

OSO, which has staged shows at Wave Hill, at a barbecue market, in a soup kitchen, and on board ships at the South Street Seaport, this time moves into the Lost Draft coffee shop in SoHo, which, in its mission statement, explains, “Art is an expression that can never be perfected. It is indefinite, ever-evolving. Artists reveal the highest versions of themselves when they are lost in their work. There is no final draft. There is only the draft that best represents you as an artist. And what artist doesn’t love coffee? That is the inspiration behind the Lost Draft. A creative space for creative people who love coffee.”

The Lost Draft is a long, narrow shop with the counter on the left and small tables on the right. On each table are several empty coffee cups, two boxes of popcorn, and freshly baked cookies that you can start on while the four-piece band warms up. (If you’re lucky, you’ll get the scrumptious passion fruit red velvet delights along with the chocolate espresso cookie.) You can also take a coffee quiz by scanning the QR code on the card on your table.

The Immersive Coffee Cantata takes place in the Lost Draft coffee shop in SoHo (Dan Wright Photography)

The show begins with Joe, the barista and narrator (tenor Bernard Holcomb), advising us, “If you’ll pipe down, and put your phones on mute, / You’ll overhear a family dispute: / Here comes Herr Schlendrian, / His daughter Lieschen close behind. / He’s about to lose his mind — / Or maybe it’s already gone.”

Schlendrian (bass-baritone Philip Cokorinos) enters, upset that his daughter, Lieschen (soprano Christine Lyons), is late and never listens to him. When she finally arrives, he yells at her, “You stubborn child, don’t drink that gritty mixture!,” but she declares, “My whole world floats in a cup or mug, / Revolving around Heaven’s true wonder drug / Thirsty for nectar from above. / Coffee, coffee: I’ve got to have it, / And it’s such a victimless habit. / Coffee is my liquid love!”

The sweet new libretto by Geoffrey McDonald, who also did the lovely orchestrations, quickly makes it clear that coffee is a stand-in for a man; fathers usually complain about a daughter’s choice in partners, but soon Schlendrian is checking the online matchmaking site Duetto to find Lieschen an acceptable future husband. Among the stickers on the back of Lieschen’s laptop is one of the iconic New York Greek coffee cup.

“Marital bliss: / Father, I want true love’s kiss! / Yes, a spouse! / Raise a family, buy a house!” she sings. “But I want a worthy suitor, / One who treats me like a queen. / I’ll agree to quit caffeine, / If you’ll serve as my recruiter!” And off they go, determined to make their dreams come true, demonstrated by a clever use of large and small paper coffee cups.

Schlendrian (Philip Cokorinos) is concerned for his daughter’s future in The Immersive Coffee Cantata (Dan Wright Photography)

During the forty-five-minute presentation, the actors and staff pour three tastings, Mama Mina, Kahawa Chungu, and the Queen’s Cup, the last also available in a go-cup. Meanwhile, the score is performed in a near corner by members of the American Modern Ensemble, featuring Valeriya Sholokova on cello, Nikita Yermack on violin, John Romeri on flute and recorder, and Dan Lippel on guitar, not all instruments Bach intended, but it works.

The Immersive Coffee Cantata is the first production under new OSO artistic director Sarah Meyers, who helms the show with an intimate, friendly touch. Cofounding general and artistic director Eric Einhorn, who stepped down at the end of last year, was chosen as one of Lieschen’s potential suitors in an earlier performance.

Met Opera veteran Cokorinos is terrific as the concerned father who wants only the best for his daughter, his face bold and expressive. Holcomb is welcoming as the amiable Joe, and Lyons is charming as Lieschen, who is forced into choosing between mocha and a man. Cokorinos’s diction is impeccable; you might have to refer to the online libretto for certain lines sung by Holcomb and Lyons, both of whom have exceptional voices.

My only quibble with the show is that it’s too short; I wanted to spend more time with the cast and crew, if not with the coffee itself.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

GEOFF SOBELLE: FOOD

Geoff Sobelle enjoys quite a meal in Food (photo by Stephanie Berger)

FOOD
BAM Fisher, Fishman Space
321 Ashland Pl.
November 2-18, $20
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
www.geoffsobelle.com

In his 1825 book Physiology of Taste or Meditations on Transcendental Gastronomy, French lawyer and culinary expert Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, “Tell me what you eat and I shall tell you what you are,” which eventually morphed into the simpler, more familiar phrase “You are what you eat.”

If that is true, I have genuine concerns for theater artist Geoff Sobelle.

The Brooklyn-based Sobelle is back at BAM’s appropriately named Fishman Space — yes, seafood is on the menu — with Food, his latest foray into magical storytelling that includes HOME and The Object Lesson. But getting a ticket might be harder than reserving a table at one of the city’s hottest restaurants.

The eighty-minute piece might feed your hunger for unique and unusual entertainment, but it won’t satisfy your stomach; no food or drink is served, although it will be seen, sniffed, and touched. But Sobelle will satiate your appetite for pure, unadulterated pleasure with the show, in which he reimagines the concept of “farm to table” as he explores humanity’s overconsumption and preference for capitalism at the expense of the natural environment.

Sobelle is an ingenious storyteller, incorporating unexpected props, analog technology, and audience participation into his presentations. Food unfurls around a large dinner table with fancy place settings, evoking both Judy Chicago and Luis Buñuel; ten audience members are seated on each of three sides, with several rows of traditional rafters behind them. Above the table is a large chandelier made of recycled plastic kitchen items, including bottles, cups, knives, spoons, and containers.

Geoff Sobelle pours wine in ingenious solo show Food (photo by Stephanie Berger)

Sobelle appears about fifteen minutes before the official start time, speaking with the ushers and scouting the crowd for potential contributors. He begins the evening with a meditative session asking the audience to close their eyes and imagine themselves back in the primordial ooze from which life emerged, all the way through to the current age, where human greed is on the verge of destroying the planet.

He then pours wine for those sitting at the table and gives several people menus; he brings each a plate with a microphone on it and takes their orders. The menus contain prompts that kick off food-related shtick that is very funny while also making salient points about where our food comes from and how and where we eat it. For example, when the person next to me ordered a baked potato, Sobelle planted seed pieces in dirt and then pulled the potato from the mound, wrapped it in aluminum foil, held a lit match under it, and had our side of the table pass the “hot potato” to the expectant orderer.

Some of the prompts ask the audience member to describe a favorite meal and how to make it, leading to some exquisitely detailed recipes related off the cuff. As I hungrily listened to these descriptions, my mind raced, wondering what I would say if Sobelle brought the microphone to me.

A significant portion of the enjoyment of the show relies on the improvisatory skills of the audience, which will of course change every night. Judging from photos I’ve seen of what Sobelle has eaten at other performances — I don’t want to give anything away, but he does devour a rather unique meal, one that is beyond awe-inspiring and far from mouthwatering — his menu changes each evening as well, a commentary on gluttony of all sorts, not just comestibles.

Sobelle accomplishes various tricks and sleight-of-hand with frequent collaborator Steve Cuiffo, an illusionist who revealed his lifelong relationship with magic in Lucas Hnath’s A Simulacrum. Also contributing to the warm and intimate atmosphere of fun and fascination are lighting designer Isabella Byrd and sound designer Tei Blow. Sobelle codirects the show with Lee Sunday Evans, who has helmed such unique theater pieces as Dance Nation, Intractable Woman: A Theatrical Memo on Anna Politkovskaya, and Sobelle’s HOME, in which dancers and designers build a house onstage and move in.

A chandelier of recycled plastic hangs over an immense dinner table in Food at BAM (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Once Sobelle is finished with his “meal,” he transforms the table into something else entirely and takes off on another narrative into the past, with a series of surprises that are simply dazzling and filled with amazement. Again, I don’t want to spoil it, but I do have to admit that one particular object, a well-known holiday toy, took me back to my childhood, as did a discussion of diners. Suddenly I was ten years old, ordering the twin-cheeseburger platter and asking my father if, like him, my “potato and vegetable” side dishes could be French fries and French fries. Sobelle’s show goes from the macro to the micro, revealing the who, what, where, when, and how behind the cultivation, acquisition, consumption, and cost of food and other items, making us question their impact on the health, and wealth, of our nation.

But a final word of caution: You are probably better off eating before the show than after, as the environmental cost of food will have a deep-seated effect on your appetite.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

MAUM MARKET / HANGAWI KOREAN FESTIVAL

MAUM MARKET / HANGAWI KOREAN FESTIVAL
Market: Saturday, September 9, Denizen Bushwick, 123 Melrose St., free with advance RSVP, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm
Festival: Sunday, September 10, Samsung 837, 837 Washington St., free with advance RSVP, 1:00 – 7:00
www.koreanculture.org

In celebration of Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving and harvest festival that honors the ancestors, and the seventieth anniversary of the ROK-US Alliance, the Korean Cultural Center New York (KCCNY) is presenting the Hangawi Korean Festival on September 10 at Samsung 837 in the Meatpacking District. From 1:00 to 7:00, there will be talks, panel discussions, arts and crafts, food tastings, fashion, workshops, and more. The day before, on Friday, September 9, the MAUM Market will make its New York debut as a one-day-only pop-up in Denizen Bushwick at 123 Melrose St. Maum, which means “heart and mind,” will feature fifty AAPI artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs participating in maker and business spotlights, including Grace Nyugen, Hwa Joong Kim, Hannah Lee, Alice Jun, Hana Jun, Ryan Kim, and Sungmee Cho. Below is the full schedule for the Hangawi main stage; be sure to wish everyone 추석 잘 보내세요 (chuseok jal bonaeseyo).

Kickoff Panel, with Kevin D. Kim, NYC Department of Small Business Services, and Michael Cheonsoo Kim, executive director of KCCNY, 1:00

Cookbook Authors, with Hooni Kim (My Korea: Traditional Flavors, Modern Recipes). Sohui Kim (Korean Home Cooking), James Park (Chili Crisp: 50+ Recipes to Satisfy Your Spicy, Crunchy, Garlicky Cravings), and Jennifer Ban (Rice Blossoms: Modernized Korean Desserts), moderated by Irene Yoo, 2:00

Beauty & Fashion, with Wonny Lee, Erica Choi, and Grace Chi Nguyen, moderated by Terrence Kim, 3:00

Food & Drink, with Ryan Kim, Hannah Bae, and John Limb, moderated by Madeline Park, 4:00

Gallery Artists, with Ho Jae Kim, Jane Yang-D’Haene, and Yoona Hur, moderated by Diana Lee, 5:00

Restaurants, with Wesley Sohm, Jae Lee, Ahris Kim, and Esther Choi, moderated by Matt Rodbard, 6:00

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

HARLEM WEEK: A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM AND MORE

Who: Uptown Dance Academy, the Gospel Caravan, IMPACT Repertory Theatre, Mama Foundation’s Sing Harlem! Choir, Bishop Hezekiah Walker & Choir, Ray Chew & the Harlem Music Festival All-Star Band featuring Nona Hendryx, more
What: Annual Harlem Week celebration
Where: U.S. Grant National Memorial Park, West 122nd St. at Riverside Dr.
When: Sunday, August 13, free, noon – 7:00 pm (festival runs August 9-16)
Why: One of the centerpieces of Harlem Week is “A Great Day in Harlem,” which takes place Sunday, August 13, as part of this annual summer festival. There will be an international village with booths selling food, clothing, jewelry, and more, as well as live music and dance divided into “Artz, Rootz & Rhythm,” “The Gospel Caravan,” “The Fashion Flava Fashion Show,” and “The Concert Under the Stars.” Among the performers are the Uptown Dance Academy, the Gospel Caravan, IMPACT Repertory Theatre, the Sing Harlem! Choir, and Bishop Hezekiah Walker & Choir. In addition, Ray Chew & the Harlem Music Festival All-Star Band, featuring Nona Hendryx, will perform a tribute to the one and only Tina Turner, who died in May at the age of eighty-three; Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Miriam Makeba, and Tito Puente will also be honored.

The theme of the forty-ninth annual Harlem Week is “Be the Change: Hope. Joy. Love.”; it runs August 9-16 with such other free events as the panel discussion “Climate & Environmental Justice in Harlem: Storms, Heat & Wildfires,” A Harlem SummerStage concert, Senior Citizens Day, the Uptown Night Market, the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run & Walk & Children’s Run, “Choose Healthy Life Service of Renewal and Healing,” Great Jazz on the Great Hill in Central Park with Wycliffe Gordon and Bobby Sanabria, Imagenation Outdoor Film Festival screenings of Beat Street with DJ Spivey and Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes, a Youth Conference & Hackathon, Economic Development Day, an Arts & Culture Broadway Summit, Harlem on My Mind Conversations, a Jobs & Career Fair, and more. “We continue to build a stronger, more united Harlem, radiating hope, joy, and love throughout our beloved city,” Harlem Week chairman Lloyd Williams said in a statement.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

KAREN FINLEY: COVID VORTEX ANXIETY OPERA KITTY KALEIDOSCOPE DISCO

Karen Finley performs latest show at the Laurie Beechman Theatre (photo by Max Ruby)

COVID VORTEX ANXIETY OPERA KITTY KALEIDOSCOPE DISCO
The Laurie Beechman Theatre
West Bank Cafe, 407 West Forty-Second St. between Ninth & Tenth Aves.
Select Saturdays through June 24, $27 general admission, $39 reserved VIP seating (plus $25 food and drink minimum), 7:00
www.westbankcafe.com
spincyclenyc.com

In such works as Shut Up and Love Me, Deathcakes and Autism, Written in Sand, Make Love, Unicorn Gratitude Mystery, and Sext Me If You Can, Chicago-born, New York–based performance artist, musician, poet, author, and activist Karen Finley has explored such topics as AIDS, rape culture, suicide, rampant consumerism, politics, censorship, 9/11, sexual and societal taboos, and the power of art in deeply personal ways that have included chocolate, honey, yams, and nudity. In her latest show, Covid Vortex Anxiety Opera Kitty Kaleidoscope Disco, continuing on Saturday nights through May 6 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre, Finley turns her attention to the coronavirus pandemic, focusing on trauma, loss, loneliness, Zoom, masks, and human connection.

Finley takes the stage to rapturous applause, wearing a hazmat suit and dancing to the 1976 disco hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” with Thelma Houston singing, “I can’t survive / I can’t stay alive, / without your love, oh baby.” She proceeds to deliver thirteen poem-monologues from behind a microphone and music stand. To her right is a rack of sequined costumes, where she changes between each number, putting on different masks, shawls, boas, and dresses. To her left is a screen divider with mask-scarves draped over it; sparkling glitter and sequins are everywhere. At the back of the stage is a screen on which are projected news reports, advertisements, video of New Yorkers cheering and banging pots and pans for health-care workers, and, primarily, still photos of pages from old books (encyclopedias, science texts, religious doctrine), music scores, calendars, and magazines she has written over in black marker, including such phrases as “It will get worse before it gets worse,” “It’s called war porn,” and “There is no happy ending.”

For sixty-five minutes, Finley rails against racial injustice, Zoom gatherings, the Catholic church, school shootings, anti-abortion laws, the fatigue and exhaustion the lockdown brought, and the closing of St. Vincent’s. She finds much-needed respite in baking and watching videos of interspecies love and friendship (complete with sing-along).

“Can I just pretend this isn’t happening?” she asks. “Oh grief / Here we go again / Oh loss / I am your constant companion,” she says. Addressing the goddess Venus, she demands, “Provide and support our empowerment / to transform this hate with all our creative imaginative strength / and change this oppressive senseless system forever.” When she opines, “I will try my best today / even in the smallest ways,” it is tentative as she battles despair and sorrow. A segment showing gay men dancing in a club asks us to look at how we viewed AIDS and how we view the coronavirus in what she calls her “Zoom Disco.”

Karen Finley prepares to bake while TV experts discuss hand washing (photo by Max Ruby)

But Covid Vortex Anxiety Opera Kitty Kaleidoscope Disco is often as funny as its title. “I do not want to have a Zoom family reunion,” she proclaims. Asking a stranger on an elevator to put on a mask, Finley says, “The mask is your friend / Really, it is a very friendly mask. Trust me.” Making a cake, she declares, “Give me amaranth flour liberty or give me breath!” Watching a pair of experts discuss hand washing, she acknowledges, “Turns out none of us really knew how to wash our hands / We were doing it all wrong.” Referencing how we dressed during the lockdown, she states, “You do not know where you are / What day it is / What day you are on / What planet you are on / When you changed your clothes / Before or after Tiger King? / How long you have been wearing . . . anything . . . or nothing!”

Finley herself gained notoriety for occasionally wearing nothing onstage; we attended the show with two longtime fans, one of whom had poured honey over Finley’s naked body during one interactive performance. But this time around, the edible items remained on the table, as there is a $25 food and drink minimum in addition to the ticket price.

The production has a DIY feel to it; when Finley is done with an item of clothing, she just tosses it to the floor, the projections are not exactly HD, and a large prop at center stage blocks the bottom of the screen so all the words are not always legible, depending on where you’re sitting. (The technical director is JP Perraux, with sound by Jasmine Wyman; Becky Hubbert is the costume and prop consultant, and the production design is by Violet Overn, Finley’s daughter.)

Don’t expect a polished sheen, but that is a significant part of the show’s charm. Finley plays off the audience, which is in her corner every step of the way. The night I went, she was upset that she forgot a veil for her penultimate piece, “Eulogy,” and asked the crowd to give her a moment to prepare herself psychologically; she was warmed by shouts of encouragement and proceeded with a replacement for the veil as she related, “So many have left us — / the loss and the sorrow of never having a place to mourn. / Here is our eulogy for the lost and left. . . . Let us heal / Let us restore / Let us love / Let us forgive.”

With Covid Vortex Anxiety Opera Kitty Kaleidoscope Disco, Finley once again explores difficult, controversial topics while helping us all heal, restore, love, and forgive.

JAN TILLEY: EXCERPTS FROM JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR

EXCERPTS FROM JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR
The Cutting Room
44 East 32nd St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Friday, April 7, $40.35, $25 food & beverage minimum per person, 7:30
212-691-1900
thecuttingroomnyc.com
www.jantilley.com

Right after the two Passover seders and before Easter Sunday, rock & roll guitarist and singer Jan Tilley offers a holiday spectacular on Good Friday, an evening of songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1971 Broadway smash, Jesus Christ Superstar. Tilley, the cofounder of the Rude Girls and an early portrayer of Krzysztof in Hedwig & the Angry Inch, has led several special concerts at the Cutting Room and will next revive her portrayal of Jesus from last year, with vocalist Lisa McQuade as Judas, singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Rachelle Garniez as Mary Magdalene, and singer and actor Joe Dettmore as Simon Zealotes, Pontius Pilate, and King Herod. The band consists of Tilley with Roger Lipson, Tim Brannigan, Paul Leschen, and Junior Pauls, ready to kick some ass on such songs as “What’s the Buzz/Strange Thing, Mystifying,” “Everything’s Alright,” “Heaven on Their Minds,” “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” and “King Herod’s Song.”

Jan Tilley brings their rock-and-roll take on Jesus Christ Superstar back to the Cutting Room on Good Friday (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

If you haven’t seen Tilley rock out before at their Time Capsule 1970s/’80s shows and Heart tribute, you’re in for a treat. And with Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera closing on April 16 and his Bad Cinderella living up to its title, this is unquestionably the best Sir Andrew gig in town. (Even Ted Lasso is getting in on it all, making two Jesus Christ Superstar references in its first three episodes of season three.) Tickets are $40.35, with a $25 food and beverage minimum; the menu includes latkes in addition to burgers, salads, tacos, pizzas, and fish.