02.15.06
2. Lincoln and Washington downtown
3. Slavery on the Upper West Side
4. Select films and Harlem music at Lincoln Center
5. South African multimedia art in Midtown
TWI-NY TICKET ALERT: See below for your chance to win free concert tickets!
Volume 5, Number 37
February 15—March 1, 2006
Send all comments, suggestions, reviews, and questions to Mark Rifkin
at admin@twi-ny.com.
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Site Design/Subway Photo:
Fred Gates Design, New York.
twi-ny/frg
— Ira Berlin, SLAVERY IN NEW YORK, companion book to exhibit at the New-York Historical Society
twi-ny/mdr
Abe sits proudly in Midtown office building that bears his name
The Lincoln Building
60 East 442nd St. at Vanderbilt Ave.
Admission: free
http://www.thelincolnbuilding.com/history.phtml
In the lobby of this 1930 neo-Gothic tower designed by J.E.R. Carpenter, Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States, boldly sits next to the American flag. If the pose looks familiar, it’s because this bronze sculpture was the model Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) used when designing the somewhat larger version in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, the site carefully chosen by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to deliver his "I have a dream" speech. Lincoln sits sternly on a square chair, his right hand firmly gripping the armrest, his left fist clenched, his jacket flowing; his right foot juts out ever so slightly, his sharp gaze staring straight ahead. On the marble walls by the nearby entrance to the subway station are a pair of famous quotes from the Great Emancipator, from his Gettysburg Address and second inaugural address. Among sculptor French’s other famous subjects cast in bronze are General Ulysses S. Grant, the Marquis de Lafayette, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
455 Fifth Ave. at 40th St.
Closed Sunday
Admission: free
212-340-0833
http://www.nypl.org/branch/central/mml
http://www.nypl.org/events/branchevents.cfm?location=121
Through April 14 Art Wall on Third: The Library Painting, by Mia Enell
Tuesday, February 21 Four Flowers in Art: Lily, Carnation, Iris, Rose, with botanist Deidre Larkin of the Cloisters, 6:30
Wednesday, February 22 How to Talk to Your Cat, lecture with Carole Wilbourn, 6:30
Monday, February 27 The Library Dialogue, Mia Enell in conversation with curator William Stover, 6:30
Tuesday, February 28 Author @ the Library: Carol Hebald, SPINSTER BY THE SEA, 6:30
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George Washington faces his troops at Union Square
Union Square Park
Broadway to Fourth Ave. between 14th & 17th Sts.
Admission: free
212-360-1311
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=9743
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/press_releases/press_releases.php?id=18632
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=12322
On the north side of Union Square Park, the national historic landmark at the "union" of the old Bloomingdale Road and Bouwerie Lane, under a patch of trees, stands a tall, dark Abraham Lincoln, facing out at the crowd — and George Washington in the near distance. Henry Kirke Brown’s 1869 statue features our sixteenth president, his right hand on his chest, his cloak draped around him. (Lincoln originally stood in the southwest corner where Gandhi now resides.)
At the south end of the park, site of numerous post-9/11 gatherings and protests, stands Brown’s sculpture of George Washington atop his horse. He’s depicted with his right hand reaching out to the future of America and blessing the troops, as he is shown at the moment he and his men have just recaptured New York from the British on November 25, 1783, known as Evacuation Day. (This equestrian statue was dedicated in 1865, the year of Lincoln’s assassination.) The Massachusetts-born Brown (1814-86), who worked in Albany and Brooklyn, also designed the Lincoln statue in Prospect Park. Among his other subjects were Henry Clay, Major General Nathanael Greene, and De Witt Clinton.
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Broadway at 14th St.
212-529-8766
Although one of us never drinks coffee, the other can’t get enough. No fan of conformity, uniformity, ubiquity, and badly roasted coffee, she’s always in search of a good cup of java — and has found one at this popular orange truck outside Virgin Records in Union Square. A family operation, the Mud Truck started serving its own unique blend of coffee and style in March 2001 and is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary as the "antiestablishment coffee machine of choice." Its street-side window dispenses a deeply flavorful brew, never burned, never stale, always heavenly, while happily blasting tunes from Neil Young to Sly Stone to Outkast and more. Be sure to check out the excellent dreads on the girl who works weekends. You can also get some food to go with your Joe at the Mud store at 307 East Ninth St. between First & Second Aves.
Neil Young sings from the heart in Jonathan Demme’s poignant concert film
— Neil Young, "One of These Days," as performed in NEIL YOUNG: HEART OF GOLD (Jonathan Demme, 2006)
Regal Union Square Stadium 14
850 Broadway at 13th St.
Tickets: $10.75
212-253-6266
http://www.heartofgoldmovie.com
In March 2005, less than a week before a scheduled operation for a brain aneurysm, Neil Young headed to Nashville, assembled friends and family, and in four days recorded one of the best — and most personal — albums of his storied career, PRAIRIE WIND. On August 18, he had recovered enough to put on a poignant show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, captured on film by Jonathan Demme (whose previous music-related works include Talking Heads in STOP MAKING SENSE, Robyn Hitchcock in STOREFRONT HITCHCOCK, and videos by the Pretenders and Bruce Springsteen). The concert film begins with brief interviews with band members as they prepare for the show; Demme does not harp on Young’s health but instead focuses on the music itself and the warming sense of a family coming together. And what music it is. Using an ever-changing roster of participants, including Emmylou Harris, wife Pegi Young, steel guitarist Ben Keith, keyboarist Spooner Oldham, bass player Rick Rosas, the Nashville String Machine, the Fisk University Jubilee Singers, the Memphis Horns, and others, Young goes song by song through PRAIRIE WIND (skipping only the Elvis tribute "He Was the King"), a moving album (review below) written by a man looking death squarely in the face. (Pegi Young points out that it was like Neil’s life flashing before his eyes.) Young introduces several songs with stories about his recently deceased father, growing up on a chicken farm, his daughter’s departure for college, and Hank Williams, whose guitar Young plays. (He also does a few songs on a Steinway.) Cinematographer Ellen Kuras (ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, NO DIRECTION HOME: BOB DYLAN) gets up close and personal with Young, zooming in for extended shots of his face, his eyes peeking out from under his cowboy hat.
Following the main set, Young journeys through his past, playing reflective acoustic numbers that nearly all deal with aging and death. He starts off all alone with the 1968 Buffalo Springfield classic "I Am a Child," which begins, "I am a child / I’ll last a while." In "Harvest Moon," he notes that "It’s getting late"; in "Old Man," the fifty-nine-year-old Young says, "Old man, take a look at my life / I’m a lot like you"; he duets with Harris while proclaiming, "Old King sure meant a lot to me / but that hound dog is history"; and when he kicks off "Heart of Gold" with "I wanna live," it takes on a very different meaning. He acknowledges the late Nicolette Larson before doing a great version of "Comes a Time," featuring seven guitars, and looks back much further in introducing Ian Tyson’s "Four Strong Winds," in which he proclaims, "But our good times are all gone / And I’m bound for moving on." He remembers long-lost friends when he sings, "I hit the city and I lost my band / I watched the needle take another man / Gone, gone, the damage done." Finally, the show is over, the auditorium is empty, but Young has one last song left in him, "The Old Laughing Lady" from his eponymously titled 1968 solo debut; Demme and Kuras put us on the stage alongside him as Young plays a shattering version of the song, his hat off for the first time, with the credits rolling. Long may he run.
Four days before his scheduled operation for a brain aneurysm, Neil Young headed to his favorite Memphis hotel and faced his mortality with friends, family, and a six-string acoustic guitar. In that short span, he wrote and recorded the bulk of this remarkable collection of ten tunes with musical support from his wife, Pegi, Crazy Horse’s Ben Keith, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, hornman Wayne Jackson, guest vocalist Emmylou Harris, and others. The intimate, deeply personal songs, which appear on the album in the order they were produced, look to both the past and the future; on the gorgeous opening number, "The Painter," Young sings, "It’s a long road behind me / It’s a long road ahead / If you follow every dream / You might get lost." In the politically minded "No Wonder," he laments, "Tick tock / The clock on the wall / No wonder we’re losin’ time." He sends a farewell "message of love" to Pegi in "Falling off the Face of the Earth," and in the horn-laden, upbeat "Far from Home" he declares, "Bury me out on the prairie / Where the buffalo used to roam / You won’t have to shed a tear for me / ’Cause then I won’t be far from home." But it’s hard not to shed a tear on the sweet "Here for You" when he opines, "When the winter comes to your new home / With the snowflakes falling down / Then you can come back and be with me / Just close your eyes and I’ll be there."
He also sings about fading dreams, his father, and Elvis while wailing away on his harmonica, stomping the blues, and strumming "This Old Guitar," which is intrinsically part of him. On the last song, the gospel-tinged "When God Made Me," the only one that was completed after the successful operation, Young has religion on his mind as he asks, "Did he give me the gift of compassion / To help my fellow man?" PRAIRIE WIND is one of the most compassionate, personal, moving, and, ultimately, uplifting albums you will ever hear, a gift from a man ready to accept death — but not ready to say goodbye.
Virgin Megastore
52 East 14th St. at Broadway
Admission: free, donations encouraged
212-598-4666
http://www.virginmegamagazine.com/default.asp?vms=7
Wednesday, February 15 DJ Cam spins, 6:00
Thursday, February 23 Billionaire Boys Club, 6:00
33 East 17th St. at Union Square
Admission: free
212-253-0810
Monday, February 20 John Hope Franklin, MIRROR TO AMERICA: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN, 7:00
Center for Jewish History
Forchheimer Auditorium
15 West 16th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
917-606-8200
Wednesday, February 22 Image of Holocaust and Germany in Hollywood Movies, with Larry Suid, 7:00
Thursday, February 23 The Struggle for Soviet Jewry in American Politics, with Dr. Fred Lazin, $10, 6:00
Tuesday, February 28 YU Museum Film Series: I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE (Michael Gordon, 1951), $10, 7:00
New-York Historical Society
A portrait of Caesar (1732-1852), a slave who outlived three slave masters on the Nicoll estate in Bethlehem, NY, before he died at the age of 115
New-York Historical Society
2 West 77th St. at Central Park West
Closed Mondays; open holiday Monday, February 20
Through March 26
Admission: $10 for adults, free for children twelve and under
212-873-3400
http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibits.html
http://www.slaveryinnewyork.org
One of New York City’s dirtiest little secrets is busted wide open at this illuminating exhibit about the history of slavery from the time of the Dutch through much of the nineteenth century. Through portraits, maps, official records, restrictive laws, newspaper ads and articles, trading books, paintings, furniture, decorative arts, and other wide-ranging artifacts, supplemented by such multimedia presentations as interactive kiosks and video installations, "Slavery in New York" reveals how the greatest city in the world was built, in large part, by slaves brought over from Africa. In the 1770s, about forty percent of city households had slaves; among the landmark buildings they constructed were Fraunces Tavern, where slave owner George Washington gave his farewell address to his troops. There’s a lot to read in these galleries, but it’s all worth it, from ship logs to writings on the Great Negro Plot of 1741, from ads trying to track down runaway slaves to a coroner’s inquest, from Great Britain’s offer of freedom for those slaves who joined the Redcoats to New York’s offer of land to people who forced their slaves to join the Revolution, from Manumission Society records seeking emancipation to detailed maps and time lines.
New-York Historical Society
Scrubwoman, painting by Baroness Hyde de Neuville, 1822
The displays are divided into nine major sections, including "The Atlantic Slave Trade and New York City," "The Tightening Vise of Slavery in British Colonial New York," "Free Blacks in New York’s Public Life," and "Forgetting and Rediscovering Slavery in New York," none of which were chapters in any of our school textbooks. As the struggle continued, blacks began to appear in paintings, free schools were set up, and black-owned newspapers started; near the end of the exhibit, a handful of successful blacks are celebrated, men and women who against all odds managed to carve out a life for themselves, their families, and the generations to come. You’ll be absolutely shocked at much of what you see — and amazed that you’re only learning about it now. As you leave the galleries, don’t miss the facsimile of Abraham Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation in the hallway, complete with cross-outs and other edits.
New-York Historical Society
Through March 19
http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibits.html
The small gallery at the top of the steps on the second floor is dedicated to this remarkable display, tracing the life of a ten-year-old girl named Priscilla who was taken from her home in Sierra Leone in 1756 and made a slave on a South Carolina plantation. Edward Ball, author of SLAVES IN THE FAMILY, discovered that his ancestors were the ones who owned Priscilla, and he was able to locate a living descendant of hers, Thomalind Martin Polite, who made the trip back to Sierra Leone to meet her long-lost relatives. Bring a few tissues with you just in case.
New-York Historical Society
Thomas Cole, "The Course of Empire: Consummation," 1836
Through February 19
New-York Historical Society
http://www.nyhistory.org/exhibits.html
Paintings by the likes of Asher B. Durand, Albert Bierstadt, George Washington portraitist Gil Stuart, George Henry Boughton, and Thomas Worthington Wittredge fill this large gallery, but the real star of the show is Thomas Cole’s always impressive "Course of Empire," five works ("The Savage State," "The Pastoral State," "Consummation," "Destruction," and "Desolation") that follow the rise and fall of the Roman Empire — and seem frighteningly relevant today.
New-York Historical Society
http://luceweb.nyhistory.org/luce/luceweb
On the fourth floor of the New-York Historical Society is a huge rotating display of more than forty thousand artifacts -- a historical cornucopia of bronze sculptures, furniture, weapons, political buttons, board games, Tiffany lamps, coins, pipes, canes, silverware, clocks, toys, pottery, model fire engines, and so much more. If you’re going with a group of children, make sure you get the Luce Center teachers guide, which is free. Currently, there is a spotlight on the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin.
New-York Historical Society
First-floor auditorium
Free with museum admission of $10
212-485-9205
Wednesday, February 15
through
Friday, March 24 Actor Charles Turner reads from NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, Tuesdays through Fridays at 12 noon
New-York Historical Society
First-floor auditorium
Saturdays at 12 noon & 2:00, Sundays at 2:00 & 4:00
Free with museum admission of $10
Pregistration required: 718-817-8747
http://www.nyhistory.org/programs.html
Saturday, February 18 Songs of Solomon
Sunday, February 19 Riverside Inspirational Choir
Saturday, February 25 The Newtones
Sunday, February 26 Harlem Opera Theater
New-York Historical Society
212-485-9205
http://www.nyhistory.org/programs.html
Thursday, February 23 Ben Franklin and His World: Celebrating 300 Years -- Ben Franklin and His Science: Stealing God's Thunder, with Philip Dray, $12, 6:30
Friday, March 3 Slavery in New York: An Evening with Toni Morrison, $12, 6:30
Saturday, March 4 Slavery in New York: The Fisk Jubilee Singers, $25, 7:00
Tuesday, March 7 Audubon’s Aviary: Birds Can Save the World, with John Fitzpatrick, $12, 6:30
Thursday, March 9 History and Current Affairs -- We the People: Active Liberty and the American Constitution, with Stephen Breyer, Akhil Reed Amar, and Benno C. Schmidt Jr., $12, 6:30
Wednesday, March 15 Good Boss, Bad Boss? Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, with Malachy McCourt, $12, 6:30
Friday, March 17 Birdwatch: Nature’s Music, with David Amram, Kevin Twig, John DeWitt, and Adam Amram, $25, 7:00
Tuesday, March 21 American Trailblazers -- At Canaan’s Edge: America in the King Years 1965-1968, with Taylor Branch, $12, 6:30
Thursday, March 23 American Trailblazers -- The Solitude of Self: Thinking About Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with Vivian Gornick, $12, 6:30
Thursday, March 30 History and Current Affairs -- The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln, with Sean Wilentz, $12, 6:30
New-York Historical Society
2 West 77th St. at Central Park West
Tickets: $25
Pregistration required: 718-817-8747
http://www.nyhistory.org/programs.html
Monday, March 13 The Sanctified Landscape: Art, Literature, and the Emergence of a Preservationist Ethos in the Hudson Valley, 1820-1850, with David Schuyler, 6:30
Monday, April 3 International Romanticism and the American Landscape, with Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, 6:30
Macy’s Herald Square, eighth floor
151 East 34th St. at Broadway
Admission: free
212-494-3827
Wednesday, February 15 Special reception for "Slavery in New York" satellite exhibit, with Charles Turner reading from NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, Deryck Fraser, Louise Mirrer, and Cynthia Copeland, 6:00
Wednesday, February 15
through
Friday, February 17 Exhibit continues on the eighth floor
Joan Vitale/Mayor’s Photo Unit
Mayor Ed Koch bring New York City back in 1989
Thirteen/WNET New York
Friday nights at 9:00
http://www.thirteen.org/nyvoices
Friday, February 24 Emmy-winning series focuses on Black History Month with a special look at "Slavery in New York" at the New-York Historical Society and "New York Comes Back: Mayor Ed Koch and the City" at the Museum of the City of New York as well as a profile of Maurice Sendak about his collaboration with Tony Kushner, BRUNDIBAR and COMEDY ON THE BRIDE, hosted by Rafael Pi Roman
twi-ny/mdr
Alexander von Humboldt looks out on the AMNH
Naturalists Gate
Central Park West at 77th St.
http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=11943
Gustav Blaeser’s bust of Alexander von Humboldt, the influential German scientist, explorer, and naturalist, was originally installed at the Central Park entrance at 59th St. and Fifth Ave. in 1869, but it was moved in 1981 to the more appropriate Naturalists Gate entrance across the street from the American Museum of Natural History. Seen here with receding, curly hair, pursed lips, and a content, intent stare, von Humboldt traveled extensively in South America and even Siberia, and, on his only visit to the United States, befriended Thomas Jefferson. He documented his scientific journeys in the five-volume set KOSMOS. Sculptor Blauser is perhaps best known for his "Athena Protects the Young Hero" 1854 statue in Berlin.
twi-ny/mdr
Don’t miss Funky Bees mural at IS 44 flea market
IS 44 Indoor / Outdoor Market
Columbus Ave. between 76th & 77th Sts.
Open Sundays 10:00 — 5:15
Open Saturdays beginning March 18
Admission: free
212-239-3025
http://www.greenfleamarkets.com
Sponsored by the IS 44 Parents Association, this block-long flea market has all the usual suspects: clothing, jewelry, furniture, candles, old appliances, textiles, antiques, lamps, artwork, and plenty of bizarre odds and ends, as well as an organic food section (with Martin’s Pretzels) and an indoor part with more delicate objects. The market helps raise funds for the school, so try to buy something while you’re there, even if it’s just an apple. Be sure to check out the cool, colorful Funky Bees mural in the parking lot, featuring wicked tags and awesome bees in sneakers.
Aoi Miyazaki as Hana in Shinji Aoyama’s ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTANI?
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
February 15-28
Tickets: $10
212-496-3809/212-875-5600
http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/showing/fcselects06.htm
This year’s collection of international fare selected by Film Comment magazine includes treats from Greece, China, Japan, Sri Lanka, Chile, France, Ireland, America, Hong Kong, Mexico, Switzerland, Iran, Austria, and Kyrgyzstan, by such renowned and up-and-coming directors as Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Stanley Kwan, William Eggleston, Wang Xiaoshuai, and Masahiro Kobayashi. The fest also pays tribute to the always fascinating Raul Ruiz as well as Elaine May. (This might be blasphemy, but May’s directorial debut, ISHTAR, is not nearly as bad as you’ve heard. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s very good either. But on February 26, May and husband Mike Nichols will be on hand to talk about her career prior to a screening of the famous Warren Beatty / Dustin Hoffman flop.)
Wednesday, February 15 EVERLASTING REGRET (Stanley Kwan, 2005), 4:00
Wednesday, February 15 STRANDED IN CANTON (William Eggleston, 1974/2005), 6:30
Wednesday, February 15 BATTLE IN HEAVEN (Carlos Reygadas, 2005), 9:30
Thursday, February 16 Spotlight on Raul Ruiz: LA DOMAINE PERDU / THE LOST DOMAIN (Raul Ruiz, 2004), 1:30
Thursday, February 16 SHANGHAI DREAMS (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2005), 3:45
Thursday, February 16 ONE NIGHT (Niki Karimi, 2005), 9:00
Friday, February 17 ONE NIGHT (Niki Karimi, 2005), 1:00
Friday, February 17 ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTANI? (Shinji Aoyama, 2005), 5:00
Friday, February 17 SHANGHAI DREAMS (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2005), 9:00
Saturday, February 18 Spotlight on Raul Ruiz: DIÁS DE CAMPO / DAYS IN THE COUNTRY (Raul Ruiz, 2004), 1:00
Saturday, February 18 SARATAN (Ernest Abdyshaparov, 2005), 2:45
Saturday, February 18 WORKINGMAN'S DEATH (Michael Glawogger, 2005), 4:45
Saturday, February 18 ISOLATION (Billy O'Brien, 2005), 9:30
Saturday, February 18 Spotlight on Raul Ruiz: LA DOMAINE PERDU / THE LOST DOMAIN (Raul Ruiz, 2004), 7:15
Sunday, February 19 ISOLATION (Billy O'Brien, 2005), 2:00
Sunday, February 19 KINETTA (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2005), 4:00
Sunday, February 19 ELI, ELI, LEMA SABACHTANI? (Shinji Aoyama, 2005), 6:00
Sunday, February 19 EVERLASTING REGRET (Stanley Kwan, 2005), 8:15
Monday, February 20 SHANGHAI DREAMS (Wang Xiaoshuai, 2005), 1:00
Monday, February 20 EVERLASTING REGRET (Stanley Kwan, 2005), 3:30
Monday, February 20 KINETTA (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2005), 6:00
Tuesday, February 21 Spotlight on Raul Ruiz: LA DOMAINE PERDU / THE LOST DOMAIN (Raul Ruiz, 2004), 2:15
Tuesday, February 21 ISOLATION (Billy O'Brien, 2005), 4:30
Tuesday, February 21 WORKINGMAN'S DEATH (Michael Glawogger, 2005), 6:30
Tuesday, February 21 BASHING (Masahiro Kobayashi, 2005), 9:00
Wednesday, February 22 BASHING (Masahiro Kobayashi, 2005), 1:00 & 9:30
Wednesday, February 22 KINETTA (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2005), 2:45
Wednesday, February 22 SARATAN (Ernest Abdyshaparov, 2005), 4:45
Thursday, February 23 Spotlight on Raul Ruiz: DIÁS DE CAMPO / DAYS IN THE COUNTRY (Raul Ruiz, 2004), 2:30
Thursday, February 23 Digital Short Films by Three Filmmakers (Masahiro Kobayashi, 2005), 4:30
Friday, February 24 SARATAN (Ernest Abdyshaparov, 2005), 1:00
Friday, February 24 THE FORSAKEN LAND (Vimukthi Jayasundara, 2005), 3:10 & 7:35
Friday, February 24 LOFT (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005), 5:20
Friday, February 24 Digital Short Films by Three Filmmakers (Masahiro Kobayashi, 2005), 9:45
Saturday, February 25 Focus on Elaine May: A NEW LEAF (Elaine May, 1971), 2:00
Saturday, February 25 Focus on Elaine May: THE HEARTBREAK KID (Elaine May, 1972), 4:15
Saturday, February 25 KEKEXILI: MOUNTAIN PATROL (Lu Chuan, 2004), 7:00
Saturday, February 25 LOFT (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2005), 9:00
Sunday, February 26 An Evening with Elaine May: ISHTAR (Elaine May, 1987), preceded by a conversation between Mike Nichols and Elaine May, $85, 7:00
Sunday, February 26 Focus on Elaine May: THE HEARTBREAK KID (Elaine May, 1972), 1:00
Sunday, February 26 Focus on Elaine May: MIKEY AND NICKY (Elaine May, 1976), 3:15
Tuesday, February 28 Focus on Elaine May: A NEW LEAF (Elaine May, 1971), 1:00
Tuesday, February 28 Focus on Elaine May: MIKEY AND NICKY (Elaine May, 1976), 3:15
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
40 Lincoln Center Plaza between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Admission: free
212-870-1630 / 212-642-0142
http://www.nypl.org/research/calendar/prog/lpa/plistlpa2.cfm
http://www.communityworksnyc.org
Through Thursday, April 13 Featuring the photography of Ruth Morgan
Jazz at Lincoln Center
60th Street & Broadway
Cover charge: $30 ($15 for Upstarts! Mondays) unless otherwise noted
Food & beverage minimum: $10 at tables, $5 at bar
212-258-9595
http://www.jalc.org/dccc/c_calendar.asp
Wednesday, February 15
through
Sunday, February 19 Stretchin’ the Ivories Festival, with Cyrus Chestnut, the Eric Reed Duo, and more
Saturday, February 18 The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, with JazzSabrosan at 1:00 and Opus Oboken Hip Hop Ensemble at 3:00, free
Monday, February 20 Upstarts! with the Juilliard Jazz Ensemble and Weseda University High Society Jazz Band
Tuesday, February 21
through
Sunday, February 26 Stretchin’ the Ivories Festival, with Evergreens -- The Music of Cedar Walton: Eric Reed Quartet plus special guests
Saturday, February 25 The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad, with Alejandro Aviles at 1:00 and Agora at 3:00, free
Monday, February 27 Stretchin’ the Ivories Festival: Upstarts! with Akiko Grace
Tuesday, February 28
through
Sunday, March 5 Stretchin’ the Ivories Festival, with the Cyrus Chestnut Quintet featuring Mark Whitfield
1972 Broadway at West 66th St., Lincoln Triangle
Admission: free
212-595-6859
Thursday, February 16 Rachel Shteir, STRIPTEASE, 7:00
Thursday, February 23 Sarah Dunant, IN THE COMPANY OF THE COURTESAN, 7:00
Monday, February 27 Mary Kent, SALSA TALKS! 7:00
The Juilliard School of Music
Peter Jay Sharp Theater
155 West 65th St.
Tickets: $20
212-769-7407
http://www.juilliard.edu/asp/calendar/calendar.asp
Wednesday, February 22
through
Sunday, February 26 World premiere of centennial commissions by Adam Hougland, Jessica Lang, and Alan Hineline, with music by Christopher Rouse, Pete Wyer, and Jerome Begin, performed by the Juilliard Dance Ensemble and the Juilliard Orchestra
Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery
William Kentridge, "9 Drawings for Projection," 1989-2003
MoMA Film
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
February 15-20
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
http://moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2006/Kentridge.html#1
http://publicartfund.org/pafweb/projects/05/kentridge/kentridge-05.html
Last summer there were two special screenings of South African multimedia artist William Kentridge’s complete Soho Eckstein series, in Prospect Park and Central Park. As darkness took over the first night, a movie screen descended and Brooklyn was treated to pianist Jill Richards, the Sontonga Quartet, trumpeter Adam Howard, and vocalist Tumelo Moloi performing Philip Miller’s thrilling score composed for Kentridge’s remarkable films. Now MoMA will be showing the full work, from 1989’s JOHANNESBURG, 2nd GREATEST CITY AFTER PARIS through 2003’s TIDE TABLE, in which Kentridge, bringing his unique charcoal drawings to life, tells the story of industrialist Soho Eckstein and common man Felix Teitlebaum -- who is having an affair with Mrs. Eckstein -- amid the economic, social, political, and racial upheaval of twentieth-century South Africa. Kentridge’s work follows a sort of stream of consciousness, so don’t expect a linear narrative and overheated messages. Instead let the complex images just drift you away, like the tide in the final film.
Marian Goodman Gallery
Drawing from "Preparing the Flute," collage stage setting, 2005
Marian Goodman Gallery
24 West 57th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves., fourth floor
Closed Sunday and Monday
Through February 25
Admission: free
212-977-7160
http://www.mariangoodman.com/mg/nyc.html
Multifaceted South African artist William Kentridge’s latest project is an international tour of his rather unique production of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE. Approximately fifty charcoal and pastel drawings that served as the basis for his set design and accompanying animation are on display in the main North Gallery and the smaller North Viewing Gallery, turning them into a sort of "chambre noir." The pieces include studies of clouds and trees, of an Egyptian temple and birds flapping their wings, of curtains and eyes, and of a Durer-like rhino and the Queen of the Night. But the highlight is a twenty-minute film that brings the drawings to life, set to the music of Mozart, whose 250th birthday is being celebrated all over the world. The black-and-white film is shown on a specially designed multipaneled box, with both front and rear projection. Relax, grab a seat, and watch the whole thing; it’s worth it. Kentridge’s version of THE MAGIC FLUTE is scheduled to come to BAM next spring. While at the Marian Goodman Gallery, be sure to wind your way to the South Gallery in the very back, where you’ll find Finnish multimedia artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila’s fourteen-minute, four-screen projection THE HOUR OF PRAYER, in which a beautiful actress tells a moving story about her missing dog.
New York City Center
130 West 56th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tickets: $30-$65
212-581-1212
http://www.citycenter.org/events/event_detail.cfm?event_code=FLA06
Wednesday, February 15
through
Sunday, February 19 Andalucia Lounge, featuring pre-concert events, tapas, and Spanish wines, for ticket holders only
Wednesday, February 15 Gala Flamenca, with Merche Esmeralda, Javier Baron, Soledad Barrio, and Rafael Campallo, directed by Manolo Marin, $40-$200, 7:30
Thursday, February 16 Nuevo Ballet Español, 8:00
Friday, February 17
and
Saturday, February 18 Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia, 8:00
Sunday, February 19 Compañia Antonio El Pipa, 7:00
Tourneau TimeMachine
12 East 57th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Admission: free
212-758-7300
http://www.tourneau.com/Tourneau/Main/Catalog/Brands/Omega.aspx
http://www.omegawatches.com/index.php?id=321
If you get as obsessed with the Olympics as we do – especially with sports in which time plays a factor (skiing, speed skating, hockey,luge) – you might get a kick out of this small exhibit of the history of Omega-brand clocks and watches affiliated with the Olympics. (Omega has been the official timekeeper of the Olympics since 1932.) In addition to classic watch designs, this gallery includes vintage Olympic posters and film footage that meshes Olympic sports with time.
Grace Potter & the Nocturnals rehearsing their original brand of soul
Canal Room
285 West Broadway at Canal St.
Friday, February 17, with special guest Willy Dailey, 8:00
Tickets: $13 in advance, $15 at the door
212-941-8100
http://www.canalroomlive.com/calendar.html
http://www.indie911.com/grace-potter
Vermont-based Grace Potter has said that she likes to surprise herself, and she’ll certainly surprise you with her invigorating, heartfelt mix of soul, funk, country, blues, gospel, and R&B. The twenty-four-year-old singer will be trying to "put out the devil’s fire" at the Canal Room with her band, the Nocturnals (guitarist Scott Tournet, drummer Matthew Burr, bassist Bryan Dondero, and vocalist and percussionist Jen Crowell), tearing through tunes from their first two albums, 2004’s ORIGINAL SOUL and last summer’s NOTHING BUT THE WATER. Potter, who plays keyboards, guitar, and tambourine, sings that she is her "own ragged company," but the place is figured to be packed as she takes those lucky enough not to be "Left Behind" on "Some Kind of Ride," like a "Bull in a China Shop," as they "Go Down Low," wading in "Nothing But the Water" and battling "Hidden Superstition," rocking out "Below the Beams" on West Broadway, under the "Gumbo Moon." She might not be "Driving Blind" until "2:22," but it should be one helluva "Crazy Parade" down "Deliverance Road."
PhotoFest/Film Forum
Julia Jentsch is amazing in Oscar-nominated Nazi-era drama
Film Forum
209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Opens Friday, February 17
Tickets: $10
212-727-8110
http://www.filmforum.org/films/sophie.html
http://www.sophieschollmovie.com
Julia Jentsch (THE EDUKATORS) gives an outstanding performance as the title character in SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS, director Marc Rothemund’s procedural examination of the true story of six days in the life of a proud young woman who peacefully protested the Nazi regime by steadfastly spreading the ideology of the antiwar White Rose group. After Sophie and her brother, Hans (Fabian Hinrichs), fill their university with pamphlets denouncing the Third Reich and calling for individual freedoms and the end of the war, they are arrested by the Gestapo, leading to an unforgettable series of interrogations of Sophie conducted by Robert Mohr (played marvelously by Alexander Held). As Sophie grows more steadfast in her denial of any involvement whatsoever, the implacable Mohr begins to lose his patience; we could have watched the two of them go at it for hours. Although the story of the White Rose and Sophie Scholl has been told before, it has never been done with such attention to detail; much of the film is based on archival transcripts and new interviews with relatives of some of the main characters. Nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, SOPHIE SCHOLL: THE FINAL DAYS is also frighteningly relevant today, as it’s almost impossible to watch it and not reflect on the current controversies over the Patriot Act, the war in Iraq, and the suppression of political dissent that are occurring in the United States under the current administration. An American film about the White Rose is in the works as well, starring Christina Ricci as Sophie and Martin Gruber as Hans.
Tartan Films
Marcos Hernandez and Anapola Mushkadiz share an unusual relationship
Angelika Film Center
18 West Houston St. at Mercer St.
Opens Friday, February 17
Tickets: $10.75
212-995-2000
http://www.city-cinemas.com/angelika.html
http://www.bacfilms.com/presse/batalla
Mexican auteur Carlos Reygadas follows up his international critical success JAPON with this unusual, unique, controversial drama, which was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes. Marcos Hernandez, who has spent twenty-five years at the Ministry of Culture, where, among other things, he was the driver for Reygadas’s father and their family, stars as Marcos, a driver for a general and his nineteen-year-old daughter, Ana (Anapola Mushkadiz). Marcos keeps Ana’s secret that she works in a brothel (as a form of rebellion), so Marcos shares a secret of his own with Ana, with whom he has a special relationship: That he and his wife (Berta Ruiz) had kidnapped a baby for some money, but the baby has died. Ultimately, Marcos seeks redemption for his many sins, but in the meantime, he moves slowly through his strange world, barely speaking, as if he is in his own reality. The plot is secondary to the compelling — some would say dull and boring — atmosphere Reygadas has created. The movie opens with a graphic sex act, shown in great detail, and includes several other sex scenes as well, and they are far from pornographic (although at least some of them are very real). They contain a significant amount of nudity, and, since Marcos and his wife are both rather obese, the explicit scenes are not necessarily pleasant to watch. To heighten the realism, not only has Reygadas hired nonprofessional actors, but the scenes he shoots on the streets of Mexico City and in the subways are not blocked-off sets; he places his characters in the midst of actual crowds. Although it turns lurid in the end — with a violent act so debasing and unnecessary that it nearly brings down the whole film — BATTLE IN HEAVEN is a very different kind of movie, one that is certainly not for everyone.
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at Waverly Pl.
Opens Wednesday, February 22
Tickets: $10.75
212-924-7771
You might not think the 2002 race for the mayoralty of Newark, NJ, would make for much of a movie, but Marshall Curry’s stunning documentary will leave your mouth agape time and time again. Curry follows the battle between longtime Newark political fixture Sharpe James, who has been mayor since 1972, and relative newcomer Cory Booker, a city councilman, Rhodes scholar, and former college football star (he played wide receiver at Stanford) who earned his law degree from Yale and is now seeking change for Newark. Booker goes door to door, meeting the people he wants to represent, bringing along documentarian Curry to record his uphill struggle. When Curry attempts to film James at public events, he is harassed by security guards and the mayor himself. Booker is determined to wage a positive campaign, but that becomes more and more difficult as the Newark political machine hits full speed, spinning, twisting, and outright lying all they can to remain in charge. Their abuse of power and utter disregard for the law are nothing less than remarkable. They even play the race card in an election between two black men. Directed, produced, photographed, written, and narrated by Curry, STREET FIGHT, nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary at this year’s Academy Awards, is a must-see for anyone who cares about their community enough to take action, vote, and perhaps even run themselves.
Presley Chweneyagae is remarkable in Oscar-nominated TSOTSI
Opens February 24
Every once in a while, a surprise movie comes along that just blows you away; TSOTSI is that kind of film. Based on the only novel by South African playwright and activist Athol Fugard, TSOTSI is set in the dangerous ghetto world on the outskirts of Johannesberg, where poverty goes hand in hand with violence. Presley Chweneyagae is simply remarkable as Tsotsi (South African for "thug" or "gangster"), the leader of a small group of hoods who pull off petty crimes — until they fatally stab a man on the subway, sending them into a dark and deadly tailspin. When Tsotsi shoots a woman and steals her car, he finds that there’s a baby in the backseat; he considers returning it or leaving it by the side of the road, but he instead brings it home, where he decides to take care of it himself — with the help of beautiful single mother Miriam (Terry Pheto). The baby triggers Tsotsi’s memories of his own horrific childhood, which writer-director Gavin Hood shows in brief but powerful flashbacks. Tsotsi struggles to keep the baby a secret from his cohorts, much the same as he tries to keep his past secret from everyone. But things soon come to a head, and Tsotsi must decide whether to reach inside his conscience — or for his gun. Chweneyagae dominates the screen from the very first moment, his intense stare filled with anger and hate, one of the most frightening you’ll ever see. Fortunately, Hood avoids any moments of sappy sentimentality or overemotional clichés, so you never know what’s going to happen next. The pulsing soundtrack of South African kwaito music comes from "Zola" Bonginkosi Dlamini, who also plays Fela. Reminiscent of such harrowing films about troubled children as PIXOTE (Hector Babenco, 1981) and CITY OF GOD (Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002), TSOTSI is a devastating, unforgettable story that will drive itself deep into your heart and soul. Don’t miss it.
Gregory Bayne
John Trudell’s controversial life is examined in documentary
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Opens Friday, February 24
Tickets: $9.50
http://www.trudellthemovie.com
Since the late 1960s, John Trudell has been leading the Native American battle for rights and freedom; Heather Rae’s worshipful film documents this struggle as Trudell fights primarily with the U.S. government. In 1968, Trudell, as part of the Indians of All Tribes group, peacefully occupied the abandoned Alcatraz island, citing the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, but the authorities eventually sent in law enforcement anyway. Trudell later became the national spokesman for the American Indian Movement, taking his songs and poetry on the road to raise awareness for the Indians’ continuing strife. The FBI compiled a file of more than 17,000 pages on the activist, who claims among his friends and supporters Jackson Browne, Robert Redford, Kris Kristofferson, Wilma Mankiller, Val Kilmer, Bonnie Raitt, Sam Shepard, and Angelina Jolie, most of who appear in the film. Trudell’s life took a tragic turn in 1979 when, mere hours after he burned the American flag in front of FBI headquarters in Washington, a suspicious fire broke out in his home, killing his pregnant wife and children. But he continues the fight today, calling for the American people to recapture the spirit that the government and corporations have taken away from them. In addition to recording numerous albums and publishing several of his writings (the film features many of his poems set to music), Trudell, who is absolutely compelling on-screen, has also appeared in such movies as POWWOW HIGHWAY, THUNDERHEART, and SMOKE SIGNALS, which examine the Indian condition. TRUDELL has played film festivals all over the country; unfortunately, Rae can’t cast away her deep admiration of her subject, resulting in a mediocre, wholly lopsided documentary that is still worth seeing because of the mesmerizing Trudell, even if it is largely a platform for his controversial political ideology.
New Line Cinema
Daddy (Paul Walker) gets down as bodies pile up in Wayne Kramer's new pic.
Opens Friday, February 24
http://www.runningscaredmovie.com
Made by the same team, director Wayne
Kramer and producer Michael Pierce, that gave us the excellent 2003
sleeper THE COOLER with William H. Macy and Maria Bello, RUNNING SCARED
shows that Kramer is open to new things -- specifically, removing all
hints of subtlety from his work. RUNNING SCARED is so ultraviolent and
over the top that we began to feel old as many people in the audience
cheered the more progressively twisted and brutal vigilante (read:
justified) killings, beat-downs, and general mayhem, with stars Paul
Walker and Vera Farmiga. The story is supposedly told from the point of
view of a child with a Grimms' Fairy Tales angle, following a horrific
night in the life of Oleg (Cameron Bright), an abused child who gets
hold of a dirty gun used to kill a cop in, of all things, a drug deal
gone bad ( . . . zzz) to settle the score with his mobbed-out father.
When Oleg disappears into the New Jersey night with the weapon, an
all-out gang war ensues, involving Russian and Italian mobsters,
crackheads, and all manner of creepy street people in addition to a
dirty cop (Chazz Palminteri). Yes, Grimm it is, and we're ashamed to say
that we were entertained by at least some of this progressive freakshow
of exaggerated criminal types being dealt the cold hand of childlike
justice in progressively freaky ways. There are shocks and surprises
aplenty for the morally dubious among you who enjoy a plot with a little
child abuse, implied child murder, point-blank-range testicular target
practice, flamethrower torture, etc., along with the standard
splatterfests. We promise you will not be bored by this, but that's a
sad state of affairs indeed. Oh yeah . . . the ending credits are
excellent.
John Astin voices Dr. Quantum in WHAT THE BLEEP!? follow-up
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tickets: $10
In fall 2004, a controversial documentary called WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW? created a small but rabid following, amassing more than $12 million in theaters and forming a community of people who believed the film’s definitions of reality and individual being, using quantum physics, particle distribution, neuron release, and other complex scientific processes to explain how each of us can change the world. Some reviewers called it "a cult film," "New Age hooey," "bad science," "repetitive and stupefying," and "a complete waste of time, energy, and film." Others wrote that it was "challenging, cryptic, [and] mystical," "provocative," "a mind-bending hybrid," "an irresistible comic romp," and "weirdly entertaining." Here’s what we said in our three-star review: "The talking heads in this fascinating docudrama will alter your conception of what the world is, the scripted minidrama following Marlee Matlin will confound you with its amateurishness, and the animated sections will both entertain and annoy you with its silliness."
All of that and more is true of the much longer DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE: THE NEXT EVOLUTION, a re-exploration of the original film, using much of the same dramatic linking footage but with many new interviews with the same and new contributors as well as old and new animation, including the introduction of cartoon superhero Dr. Quantum, voiced by the great John Astin. One of the things we like best about the two films is that you don’t find out who the talking heads are until the credits; thus, you get to make up your own mind about what they’re saying without prejudging them because one happens to be a Columbia physicist while another claims to be channeling an ancient mystic philosopher. Delving into complicated discussions of perception and reality, arguing that everything is connected through time and space, discussing the battle between science and religion, comparing love to neurological addiction, and illuminating such terms as "entanglement," "intention," "dreams of infinite possibilities," "co-location," and "time-reversal symmetry," the speakers will either infuriate you or open you up to an infinite world of possibilities. As one of them says, "We are running the Holodeck." How your body chemistry is made up, your past experiences, and your in-bred belief system will all play critical roles in helping you decide whether this film is an important examination of who we are — and who we can be — or whether it’s just a bunch of hogwash. But as it says in the closing credits, "Agreement is not necessary — thinking for one’s self is."
Mark Street’s ROCKAWAY is a small treat
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
February 26, 5:00
Tickets: $8
718-399-6359
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Mark Street, assistant professor of film in the Visual Art Department at Fordham University-Lincoln Center, directed, produced, and edited this charming little Tribeca Film Festival entry about three teenage girls from Rockaway getting ready to graduate high school. Vanessa Yuille is outstanding as Merida, a fun-loving, free-spirited young woman who lives for the moment, not yet ready to realize she might never leave her suburban community. Laura Johnson is Kelly, a more reserved pianist who is secretly sleeping with a much older bartender. And Jennifer Brown is Juanita, who has a domineering mother and is still trying to discover her own sexuality. The very close trio drink on the beach, reenact a scene from Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS, share their innermost thoughts, and sometimes speak to the camera as they look forward to a last-gasp limo ride that will take them through Times Square. Street alternates from a documentary video style to grainy poetic shots of the Rockaway landscape, from quick flashbacks to longer, improvised scenes, avoiding genre cliches and ending up with a sweet, personal film.
Werner Herzog’s tale of Timothy Treadwell will mesmerize you
Available on DVD
http://www.grizzlymanmovie.com
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/grizzlyman/grizzlyman.html
For thirteen straight summers, Timothy Treadwell ventured into the wilds of Katmai National Park in Alaska, where he lived among grizzly bears. For the last five of those years, he brought along a video camera and detailed his life with them and his battle to protect the bears (all of which he named) from poachers. "I have no idea if there’s a God, but if there’s a God, God would be very, very pleased with me," Treadwell says into his camera in Werner Herzog’s brilliant documentary GRIZZLY MAN, "because he can just watch me, how much I love them, how much I adore them, how respectful I am of them, how I am one of them…. Be warned: I will die for these animals, I will die for these animals, I will die for these animals. Thank you so much for letting me do this. Thank you so much to these animals for giving me a life. I had no life. Now I have a life." In October 2003, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were brutally killed and eaten by one of the bears.
Herzog, who knows a little something about filming in treacherous locations (FITZCARRALDO, LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD), made GRIZZLY MAN from more than one hundred hours of tape, supplementing that with interviews with Treadwell’s friends and family. They all talk about a much-loved but troubled man who was desperate to be famous. His life with the bears got him onto television with Rosie O’Donnell and David Letterman, but it also got him killed, which some people think was what he deserved for crossing the line and thinking he could survive living with grizzlies. But Herzog shows him to be a thoughtful, compassionate man who just might have found his true purpose in life. The DVD includes a featurette that goes behind the scenes of Richard Thompson’s gorgeous score, but you should also check out the Discovery Channel’s GRIZZLY DIARIES, in which a group of Treadwell’s friends gather around a table and talk about the film and the choices Herzog — and Treadwell — made. There’s also raw footage, some of the many still photos Treadwell took, and discussion about the audio tape of his brutal death. Although the film has won or been nominated for numerous awards (including editing, directing, and best documentary), it was shut out at this year’s Oscars.
— Daphne Muse, THE ENTRANCE PLACE OF WONDERS: POEMS OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE, illustrated by Charlotte Riley-Webb (Abrams, February 2006, $16.95)
http://www.charlotterileywebb.com/crw_main/artist/info_html/event1.htm
http://www.hnabooks.com/index.php/c/3
Daphne Muse and Charlotte Riley-Webb celebrate the Harlem Renaissance in this charming picture book Abrams is releasing just in time for Black History Month. Muse has selected twenty poems from fifteen poets that are alive with hope and possibility. In Annette Browne’s "The Wishing Game," a young boy proudly proclaims his heroes to have the same skin color as he does. In "Tableau," Countee Cullen sees nothing wrong with a black boy and a white boy walking through the center of town arm in arm, "the golden splendor of the day / the sable pride of night." In fact, several of the works use the metaphors of day and night to represent whites and blacks, including Langston Hughes’s "Dream Variations." Most of the poems look toward a bright future; in "Children of the Sun," Madeline G. Allison writes, "Dear little girl of tender years, / Born of a race with haunting fears -- / Cry not nor sigh for wrongs done you, / Your cloud has silv’ry lining too." And in "Your World," Georgia Douglas Johnson declares, "Your world is as big as you make it." Riley-Webb’s bold illustrations and sweeping lines breathe yet more life into these vibrant words. The book also includes an introduction describing the Harlem Renaissance and a short bio of each of the poets.
Robert Fass
Fulton & Erma, Deer Isle, ME (2002) – Married 1937
92nd St. Y Weill Art Gallery
1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.
Saturday, February 18, and Thursday, February 23
Admission: free
212-415-5500
http://www.longmarriedcouples.com
As he was approaching forty, actor and photographer Robert Fass decided to compile photos and interviews with couples who had been married at least forty years; the diverse results can be found in the moving book AS LONG AS WE BOTH SHALL LIVE as well as a special exhibition at the 92nd St. Y, open to the public on February 18 and 23. The beautiful book contains two black-and-white photos of each couple, one a close-up, the other a shot of the husband and wife in their natural environment. The book also includes quotes from the subjects about what their time together has meant, both the good and the bad, a sort of composite of love and marriage in the twentieth century. "Divorce never was a part of my people’s ways. Never. You were just married for ever," explains Lyle and Arita. "I guess I will stay with him till my death," Chia says of Hat. "He was the best lay I ever had. That probably had a lot to do with it," Terry says of Kil. "There are three words that save a marriage," say Sally and Marcus. "And it’s not ‘I love you…’ It’s ‘Maybe you’re right.’" While some of the couples are clearly in love, others know they made a mistake but stuck it out anyway.
But it’s the pictures that really bring this fascinating cross-section of Americans to life — and might get your tear ducts working as well. Irwin and Evelyn, Fass’s parents, nuzzle each other, their eyes closed, caught in a deeply tender moment, shortly before Irwin died. Bob stares happily into Pat’s eyes as she smiles, much like Dorothy and Harold do a few pages later. George rests his hands contemplatively on Peggy’s shoulders. The years seem to have worn on Dick and Odile. Roger grasps Althea’s hand, both looking determined after more than seventy years together. Charles and Ernestine are like a couple of teenagers about to go out on a date. Alegre strikes a sexy pose while lovingly hugging Alberto on their mod couch. And Duane and Nancy make out by candlelight in a fitting conclusion to this poignant book.
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Chelsea Art Museum
556 West 22nd St. at 11th Ave.
Through February 25
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: $6 (includes admission to New Museum of Contemporary Art)
212-255-0719
http://chelseaartmuseum.org/exhibits
Through Saturday, February 25 This ultra-hip multimedia celebration of the cutting-edge British i-D magazine includes lots of blown-up covers, fashion photography, avant-garde short films, music videos, and other paraphernalia associated with some two and a half decades of the trend-setting and –breaking publication run by Terry Jones
CUNY Graduate Center
365 Fifth Ave. at 34th St.
Admission: free
212-817-8215
http://www.gc.cuny.edu/events/index.htm
Wednesday, February 15 A Talk with Thomas Frank, in discussion with David Harvey, Proshanky Auditorium, 7:00
Thursday, February 16 THIRTY YEARS OF SISTERHOOD: WOMEN IN THE 1970S WOMEN’S LIBERATION MOVEMENT IN JAPAN (Amagami Chieko & Seyama Noriko, 2004), followed by discussion with Joyce Gelb, Elabash Recital Hall. 3:00
Wednesday, February 22 HELL ON EARTH, 6:15
Monday, February 27 An Evening with Contemporary African Women Writers, with Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, Laila Lalami, and Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, moderated by Bertrade Ngo-Ngijol Banoun, Room 9100, 6:30 pm,
St. Agnes Branch
New York Public Library
444 Amsterdam Ave. near 81st St.
Wednesdays at 2:00 pm
Admission: free
212-877-4380
http://nypl.org/events/breventsdetail.cfm?EventID=43017.732343
Wednesday, February 15 ON THE TOWN (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1949)
Wednesday, February 22 THE PRINCESS BRIDE (Rob Reiner, 1987)
Scandinavia House
58 Park Ave. at 38th St.
Registration fee: $30, advance registration required
212-847-9725, jstigh@amscan.org
http://www.scandinaviahouse.org/programs.html#ex
Thursday, February 16 All-day symposium featuring such topics as Munch’s Painting: Aspects of the Formal Language, Does "The Scream" Just Scream, or Does It Also Give a Lecture in Philosophy? Fighting in the Studio: A Nihilist Interpretation, What Kind of "Symbolism" Is the "Symbolism" of Munch? Edvard Munch: Masculinity, Health, and Illness, Munch and the Making of the Modern Body, Edvard Munch and Ernst Ludwig Kirschner, Edvard Munch and the 1912 Sonderbund Exhibition, and Seeing Munch in a New Language, 9:30 am — 5:00 pm
Chatham Square Regional Library
New York Public Library
33 East Broadway near Catherine St.
Admission: free
212-964-6598
http://www.nypl.org/events/breventsdetail.cfm?EventID=43194.732358
Thursday, February 16 AH-YING (MING GHOST) (Qui Gangjian), 5:00
Producers Club
358 West 44th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Tickets: $20
212-315-4743
http://www.onoffoff.com/playbill.xzc?PK=12846
Thursday, February 16
through
Sunday, February 19 One-woman show written by and starring Kimberly "Q"
Brooklyn Public Library
Grand Army Plaza
Central Library, Second Floor Meeting Room
Admission: free
718-230-2100
http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org
Thursday, February 16 Author Talks: Jimmy Briggs, INNOCENTS LOST: WHEN CHILD SOLDIERS GO TO WAR, 7:00
Friday, February 17 Friday Night @ the Movies: AFRICANS IN AMERICA, part three — BROTHERLY LOVE (1781-1834), 6:00
Saturday, February 18 Author Talks: Anne Bailey, AFRICAN VOICES OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE:BEYOND THE SILENCE AND THE SHAME, 2:00
Saturday, February 18 Author Talks: Thulani Davis, MY CONFEDERATE KINFOLK, 4:00
Sunday, February 19 Author Talks: Fred Jerome, EINSTEIN ON RACE & RACISM, 2:00
Sunday, February 19 I Remember: Civil Rights Activism in Brooklyn 1960-65, with Sandi Blair, 4:00
Tuesday, February 21 Documenting Brooklyn: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WAR, 7:00
Thursday, February 23 Author Talks: Trevor Schoonmaker on Fela Kuti — From West Africa to West Broadway, 7:00
Thursday, February 23 Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and the Caribbean Connection, Trustees’ Room, 7:00
Friday, February 24 Theater: FREDERICK DOUGLASS, written and directed by Richard Haase, with Michael Leonard James, 4:00
Friday, February 24 Friday Night @ the Movies: AFRICANS IN AMERICA, part four — JUDGMENT DAY (1831-1865), 6:00
Saturday, February 25 When Women Pursue Justice: Family Art Workshop, with muralist Janet Braun-Reinitz, 1:00
Sunday, February 26 Music at BPL: Gifts from My Ancestors, presented by Calvin Earl, 2:00
Sunday, February 26 Author Talks: Donna Walker-Kuhne, INVITATION TO THE PARTY, 4:00
Tuesday, February 28 Understanding Political Violence in Africa, with Mahmood Mamdani, 7L00
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library
515 Malcolm X Blvd. at 135th St.
Admission: Free
212-491-2206 / 212-592-0780
http://nypl.org/research/calendar/prog/sch/schprog.cfm
Thursday, February 16 African Film Festival, 7:00
Saturday, February 18 The Harlem Opera Theater, reception at 6:00, concert at 7:30
Monday, February 20 Earl Graves Lecture on Black Business and Entrepreneurship, with Alfred Edmond, 7:00
Tuesday, February 21 Forum: The Malcolm X Museum, 7:00
Friday, February 24 Book Celebration: Haki R. Madhubuti, YELLOW BLACK, 7:00
Saturday, February 25 Spoken Word for Peace with Ishmael Reed & Friends, 7:00
1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd St.
212-415-5500
Thursday, February 16 Afternoon Night Table: Erica Jong, interviewed by her daughter, Molly Jong-Fast, $15, 1:00
Monday, February 20 Terrence McNally and Paula Vogel, $17, 8:00
Monday, February 27 B.H. Fairchild and Jean Valentine, $17, 8:15
Macy’s Herald Square Cellar Kitchen
151 East 34th St. at Broadway
Admission: free
212-494-3827
Thursday, February 16 Great Chefs in the Cellar: Norma Jean Darden of Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too, SPOONBREAD AND STRAWBERRY WINE, 1:00
Thursday, February 16 THE COLOR PURPLE, featuring live performance of Juke Joint scene by regular cast members, 6:00
Tuesday, February 21 Great Chefs in the Cellar: Chef Connie of the American Culinary Federation, with members of the Greater New York Chapter of the American Heart Association, 6:00
Thursday, February 23 Great Chefs in the Cellar: Melba Wilson, formerly of Rosa Mexicano and Windows on the World, 1:00
Courtesy Fraunces Tavern Museum
John James Barralet, "Commemoration of Washington," 1802
54 Pearl St.
Closed Sunday & Monday
Admission: $4, children under six free
212-425-1778
http://www.frauncestavernmuseum.org
http://sonsoftherevolution.org/mus_calendar.html
Pay tribute to our first president by visiting the place where he gave his farewell speech to his troops. In addition to the below special events, the current exhibits include "Fighting for Freedom: Black Patriots and Black Loyalists," "Heroes," and "A Flash of Color," and you should also check out the George Washington Portrait Gallery, the Long Room, and the Clinton Room.
Thursday, February 16 A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten, evening lecture by Dr. Julie Winch, $6, 6:30
Tuesday, February 28 Rebels, Turn Out Your Dead, lunchtime lecture by Michael Drinkard, free with museum admission, 12:30
Club Cicada at Staten Island Museum
75 Stuyvesant Pl.
Admission: free
718-727-1135
http://www.statenislandmuseum.org/progperform.html
Friday, February 17 Featuring the International Ambassador of Love, 8:00
Landmark Sunshine Cinema
143 E. Houston St. between First & Second Aves.
Friday and Saturday nights at midnight
212-330-8182
http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Market/NewYork/NewYork_frameset.htm
Friday, February 17
and
Saturday, February 18 DONNIE DARKO: The DIRECTOR’S CUT (Richard Kelly, 2001)
BAMcinematek / BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
February 17-22
Tickets: $10
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=60
Friday, February 17 African American Shorts Program: SQUIRREL MAN, (Jeffrey Lynn Shepherd, 2005), RUBBER SOLES, (Christine Turner, 2005), and ALL FALLS DOWN (David Koepp, 2005), 2:00
Friday, February 17 BOY CALLED TWIST (Tim Greene, 2004), 4:30
Friday, February 17 Afro-Latino Program: AFRICAN BLOOD (Roberto Olivares, 2004) and MALUALA (Sergio Giral, 1979), 7:00
Friday, February 17 THE DINNER (Bernie Casey 1997) and SLAVE REPARATIONS: THE FINAL PASSAGE (John Eisler, 2004), followed by a Q&A with the director, 9:30
Saturday, February 18 FACES OF CHANGE (Michèle Stephenson, 2005), followed by a Q&A with the director, 2:00
Saturday, February 18 RADIO FAVELA (Helvecio Ratton, 2002) and SOUL IN THE EYE (Zozimo Bulbul, 1978), 4:30
Saturday, February 18 NINA SIMONE, LOVE SORCERESS (Rene Letzgus, 2000), 6:50
Saturday, February 18 BOY CALLED TWIST (Tim Greene, 2004), 9:15
Sunday, February 19 ARTHUR! A CELEBRATION OF LIFE (Joe James, 2005), followed by a Q&A with producers Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus, 2:00
Sunday, February 19 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ELEGANT (George Amponsah and Cosima Spender, 2004), 4:30
Sunday, February 19 ON THE VERGE OF A FEVER (LE GOÛT DES JEUNES FILLES) (John L’Ecuyer, 2004), followed by Q&A with actress Mireille Métellus, 6:50
Sunday, February 19 TSOTSI (Gavin Hood, 2005), 9:30
Monday, February 20 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ELEGANT (George Amponsah and Cosima Spender, 2004), 4:30
Monday, February 20 DESAMORES (Edmundo H. Rodriquez, 2004), 6:50
Monday, February 20 RADIO FAVELA (Helvecio Ratton, 2002) and SOUL IN THE EYE (Zozimo Bulbul, 1978), 9:15
Tuesday, February 21 ARTHUR! A CELEBRATION OF LIFE (Joe James, 2005), followed by a Q&A with producers Sonny Howard and Terry Cyrus, 4:30
Tuesday, February 21 FACES OF CHANGE (Michèle Stephenson, 2005), followed by a Q&A with the director, 6:50
Tuesday, February 21 NINA SIMONE, LOVE SORCERESS (Rene Letzgus, 2000), 9:15
Wednesday, February 22 ON THE VERGE OF A FEVER (LE GOÛT DES JEUNES FILLES) (John L’Ecuyer, 2004), 4:30
Wednesday, February 22 TSOTSI (Gavin Hood, 2005), 6:50
Wednesday, February 22 MASAI: RAIN WARRIORS (Pascal Plisson, 2005), 9:15
City Cinematheque
Time-Warner Cable channel 75
Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 pm
Repeated the following Friday at midnight
Discussion follows screening
http://www.cuny.tv/specials/special2.lasso?specialsID='SP000234'
Friday, February 17 THE DUKE IS TOPS (William L. Nolte, 1938), followed by discussion with Farah Griffin
Saturday, February 18
Sunday, February 19
and
Friday, February 24 HI-DE-HO (Josh Binney, 1947), followed by discussion with Krin Gabbard
Josh Binney (KILLER DILLER, MERRY-GO-ROUND) directed this all-black musical drama that stars Cab Calloway as a bandleader looking for his big break. As he grows closer to his manager, Nettie (Ida James), who has arranged an audition for him at the Jive Club, Cab's girlfriend, Minnie (Jeni Le Gon), becomes dangerously jealous and enters into an alliance with rival club owner Boss Mason (George Wiltshire) and his ax man, Mo the Mouse (James Dunmore). The scat-talkin', fine-lookin' Calloway must then decide whether it is worth risking his life to avoid working for Mason at the Brass Hat. The film includes a nice montage scene and plenty of great music. Calloway and His Orchestra performs some splendid numbers, including "Minnie's a Hepcat Now," "Dawn Time," "Bop Bop," "Hey Now, Hey Now," "Hi-De-Ho Man," a terrific version of "St. James Infirmary Blues," "I Got a Gal Named Nettie," and "Don't Falter at the Altar." However, the film is nearly stolen away by William Campbell as Sparks, who spends most scenes sitting in the background reading Variety and making funny jokes.
Saturday, February 25
Sunday, February 26
and
Friday, March 3 REET, PETITE, AND GONE (William Forrest Crouch, 1947), followed by discussion with Robert O’Meally
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
212-817-8215
http://www.nsu.newschool.edu/02a_specdiv.htm#0201
Friday, February 17 Conversations with the Nation: An Evening with Walter Mosley and Harry Belafonte, free but reservations required at 212-229-5488 or boxoffice@newschool.edu, 7:00
Sunday, February 19 The Schneider Concerts at the New School: Rothko String Quartet, $15, 2:00
Thursday, February 23 An Evening of Asian-American Poetry, with Mariilyn Chin, Luis Francia, Eric Gamalinda, Kimiko Hahn, Daniel Lee, Ishle Yi Park, Vijay Seshadri, Barbara Tran, and others, moderated by Arthur Sze, Wollman Hall, $10, 7:30
Friday, February 24 The New School Spring Film Show, free, 7:00
Monday, February 27 Fiction Forum: Adam Haslett, moderated by Helen Schulman, $5, 6:30
Wednesday, March 1 Change the World, Be Home by 8, with Lenore Skenazy, free, 6:00
Leonard Nimoy Thalia (LNT)
Peter Jay Sharp Theater (PJST)
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
212-864-5400
Friday, February 17 Late Valentines: Love Songs for Voice & Guitar, with Silvie Jensen and Ben Yarmolinsky performing works by Gershwin, Mozart, and Yarmolinsky, LNT, $15, 8:00
Wednesday, February 22 Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story, curated and hosted by Jonathan Lethem, featuring works by James Thurber, Italo Calvino, and Jorge Luis Borges read by Malachy McCourt, Marian Seldes, and others, PJST, $21-$25, 8:00
Saturday, February 25 The 22nd Annual Harmony Sweepstakes A Cappella Festival: New York Regional Competition, PJST, $21, 8:00
Sunday, February 26 Thalia Film Classics: NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (Federico Fellini, 1958), LNT, $10, 7:00
Tuesday, February 28 Thalia Film Classics: NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (Federico Fellini, 1958), LNT, $10, 6:00
BAMcafe live
Brooklyn Academy of Music Opera House Café
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
No cover; $10 food/drink minimum
Friday nights at 9:00
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/events/bamcafelive.aspx
Friday, February 17 BRC: Keziah Jones/FunkFace
Friday, February 24 BRC: Apollo Heights & Shaka Zulu Overdrive
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden
421 East 61st St. between First and York Aves.
Admission: $10 adults, $5 kids
212-838-6878
http://www.mvhm.org/pages/events/events.htm
Saturday, February 18 Early nineteenth-century celebration, featuring period dance ensemble, historical reenactors, cookies and cider, and tours of the museum, reservations strongly suggested, 1:00 — 3:00
Dahesh Museum of Art
580 Madison Ave. at 57th St.
Tickets: $15, includes admission to galleries
212-759-0606
http://daheshmuseum.org/publicprograms_events
Saturday, February 18 Peter de Sève, lecture at 2:30, screening of ICE AGE at 4:00
Morris-Jumel Mansion
65 Jumel Terr. between 160th & 162nd Sts.
212-923-8008
Saturday, February 18 Celebration of the birth of America’s first president, including workshops, study stations, scavenger hunts, dress-up, museum tours of Washington’s former headquarters, and more, free, 10:00 am — 4:00 pm
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
February 18-19
Tickets: $8
718-399-6359
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Saturday, February 18 8x8 (Hans Richter, 1955-58), 5:00
Saturday, February 18 World premiere of works by John Cage (1944), Vittorio Rieti (1944) and Michael Nyman (2005), as well as ENTR’ACTE (René Clair, 1924),
ANEMIC CINEMA (Marcel Duchamp, 1926), AT LAND (Maya Deren, 1944), and more, with live piano accompaniment by Margaret Leng Tan, 8:00
Sunday, February 19 DREAMS THAT MONEY CAN BUY (Hans Richter, 1946), 5:00
Sunday, February 19 World premiere of works by John Cage (1944), Vittorio Rieti (1944) and Michael Nyman (2005), as well as ENTR’ACTE (René Clair, 1924),
ANEMIC CINEMA (Marcel Duchamp, 1926), AT LAND (Maya Deren, 1944), and more, with live piano accompaniment by Margaret Leng Tan, 8:00
Museum of the City of New York
1220 Fifth Ave. between 103rd & 104th Sts.
Free with museum admission unless otherwise noted
212-534-1672 ext3395
http://www.mcny.org/public_programs
Saturday, February 18 Twenty-first annual Sword Dance Festival
Sunday, February 19 The Silent Clowns Film Series: THE CAMERAMAN (Buster Keaton, 1928), with live piano accompaniment by Ben Model and a discussion with film historian Bruce Lawton, 2:00
Sunday, February 26 Dominican Independence Day Concert, with pianist Ana Lourdes Rodriguez and Frank Adolfo, 2:00
Tuesday, February 28 Media and the Mayor: Covering City Hall, with Wayne Barrett, Evan Cornog, and Sam Roberts, $7, 6:30
B.B. King Blue Club & Grill
237 West 42nd St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
212-997-4144
http://bbkingblues.com/schedule/index.shtml
Saturday, February 18 Buckwheat Zydeco with Catherine Russell, $20.50-$25, 8:00 & 10:30
Saturday, February 18 Strawberry Fields: Beatles Brunch Buffet, $35 in advance, 12 noon
Sunday, February 19, 26 Sunday Gospel Brunch with the World Famous Harlem Gospel Choir, all-you-can-eat buffet and concert for $35 including tax and tip, 1:30
Saturday, February 25 Dr. K’s Motown Revue buffet and show, $35 including tax and tip, 1:00
Saturday, February 25 Hubert Sumlin with guests David Johansen and Levon Helm, $30, 8:00
Tuesday, February 28 George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars, $37.50-$42, 8:00
The Louis Armstrong House Museum
34-56 107th St., Queens
Admission: $8 adults, $6 children
718-478-8274
Saturday, February 18 Armstrong and the Roots of Jazz in New Orleans, discussion with Michael Heller, followed by guided house tour, 2:00
Saturday, February 25 Louis Armstrong: Collage Artist, Amateur Archivist, discussion with Deslyn Dyer, followed by guided house tour, 2:00
American Museum of Natural History
KaufmannTheater (KT) and Linder Theater (LT), first floor
Central Park West & 79th St.
Kaufmann Theater, first floor
Free with museum admission of $13
212-769-5315
http://www.amnh.org/programs/specials/blackhistory
Saturday, February 18 Interiors — Breakfast with Champions: Dr. Barbara Ann Teer and Sarah Jones, LT, 11:00
Saturday, February 18 Interiors — Les Femmes Performance Potpourri, with Hazelle Goodman, Staceyann Chin, and Gabrielle Lansner and Company, KT, 1:00
Saturday, February 18 Interiors — Designing Woman: Inside the Life and Career of Costume Designer Toni-Leslie James, moderated by Marcia Pendelton, KT, 2:30
Saturday, February 18 Interiors — Drama Mamas: Black Women Theater Directors in the Spotlight and Remembered, panel discussion with Shaunille Perry, Billie Allen, Seret Scott, Veona Thomas, and Gertrude Jeanette, moderated by Passion, LT, 4:00
Saturday, February 25 What’s Next? New Horizons in Black Theater: RICE KEEPERS, reading of new play by Dr. Rashidah Ismaili, LT, 12 noon
Saturday, February 25 What’s Next? New Horizons in Black Theater: An Afternoon with Sonia Sanchez, moderated by April Silver, KT, 2:00
Saturday, February 25 What’s Next? New Horizons in Black Theater: CRESCENDO, collaboration between Sonia Sanchez and Toni Blackman, KT, 3:30
Saturday, February 25 What’s Next? New Horizons in Black Theater: Book & CD Signing with Sonia Sanchez, Mo Beasley, Toni Blackman, and Rashidah Ismaili, KT & LT lobby, 4:45
Brooklyn Children's Museum
145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Marks Ave.
Free with museum admission of $4
718-735-4400 ext110
http://www.bchildmus.org/happening/index.asp
Sunday, February 19 Musical story of men and women escaping slave catchers in pre-Civil War America, with percussionist David Pleasant, 2:30
French Institute Alliance Française
Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Park & Madison Aves.
212-355-6160
http://www.fiaf.org/french%20film/winter2006/2006-01-marguerite-duras-films.shtml#Feb21
Tuesday, February 21 INDA SONG (Marguerite Duras, 1975), $9, 4:00 & 7:00
Tuesday, February 28 LE CAMION (THE TRUCK) (Marguerite Duras, 1977), $9, 12:30 & 4:00
Tuesday, February 28 John Waters on Marguerite Duras, featuring Waters introducing LE CAMION (THE TRUCK) (Marguerite Duras, 1977), showing excerpts of his parodies of Duras’s style, and a conversation between Waters and Kent Jones, $12, 7:00
Wave Hill / New York School of Interior Design
170 East 70th St.
Tickets: $20 per lecture, $50 per series
718-549-3200 x216
http://www.wavehill.org/events/event_546.html
Wednesday, February 22 Topher Delaney and SEAM Studio, 6:30
ArcLight Theatre
Church of the Blessed Sacrament
152 West 71st St. between Broadway & Columbus Ave.
Mondays at 7:00, Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00, Sunday at 3:00
Tickets: $15, except $40 on February 25 and March 11 for HIV fundraisers
Sunday, February 26: Post-performance "Talkback" with cast and crew
212-352-3101
http://www.testpilotproductions.org
Thursday, February 23
through
Sunday, March 12 Manhattan premiere of Ingmar Bergman’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary and the centenary of Ibsen’s death
Kinokuniya Rockefeller Center Store
10 West 49 St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
212-977-7456
http://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/english/contents/offices.html
Friday, February 24 Youka Nitta, Be Beautiful Manga yaoi author, 4:00
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th St.
Tickets: $25 per child and adult, each additional participant $10
718-699-0005 ext320
http://www.nyscience.org/nyhs-education/ed-education/ed-parentchild.html
Thursday, February 24 Compose your own songs, preregistration strongly suggested, 12 noon
Jacob K. Javits Center
655 West 34th St.
Tickets: $15-$35
888-605-6059
Three-day convention featuring hundreds of exhibitors, panel discussions, screenings, autograph signings, the AnimeNEXT Manga Library, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Todd McFarlane retrospective, Sci-Fi Night, exclusive collectibles, and such special guests as Neal Adams, Brad Meltzer, Kevin Smith, Karen Lynn Gorney, KANE, Eric Powell, Ted Rall, John Romita Sr., Douglas Rushkoff, J.J. Sedelmaier, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Simon, Neil Swaab, and many others; below are only some of the dozens of events
Friday, February 24 Autograph session: Karen Lynn Gorney, 4:00 – 5:00 and 6:00 – 8:00; Melody Anderson, Peter Scolari, 4:00 – 8:00; Todd McFarlane, 5:00 – 6:00; Neil Swaab, 6:00 - 8:00
Friday, February 24 Mondo Marvel, panel discussion with Joe Quesada, Greg Pak, and Keith Giffen, 4:00
Friday, February 24 Two Short Films by Aaron Ruell, with Eric Moro Moro, 6:00
Friday, February 24 Sci Fi Channel Friday Night, featuring special screenings of STARGATE SG-1, STARGATE ATLANTIS, and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, free collectible for first five hundred attending, 7:30
Friday, February 24
through
Sunday, February 26 New York-Tokyo presents Gamers Night Groove Lounge, fourth floor River Pavilion/Galleria
Friday, February 24
through
Sunday, February 26 Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, Booth #400-401
Friday, February 24
through
Sunday, February 26 Todd McFarlane: A Retrospective, the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, with Todd McFarlane in attendance Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm
Saturday, February 25 Read Yourself RAW Revisited, panel discussion with Mark Newgarden, Charles Burns, Kim Deitch, Gary Panter, and Bill Kartalopoulos, 11:00 am
Saturday, February 25 The Future of the Graphic Novel, panel discussion with Grady Klein, Jessica Abel, R. Kikuo Johnson, and Brian Fies, moderated by Douglas Wolk, 1:00
Saturday, February 25 Autograph session: Kane, 1:00 – 1:50; Frank Miller, 2:00 – 3:00; Neal Adams, 3:00 – 3:50; Kevin Smith, 3:00 – 4:00; Neil Swaab, 3:00 - 5:00; Milla Jovovich, 4:15 - 4:30; Brad Meltzer, 6:00 – 7:30
Saturday, February 25 Milla Jovovich, ULTRAVIOLET presentation and Q&A, 5:00
Sunday, February 26 Autograph sessions: Chris Wyatt, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm; Neil Swaab, 1:30 - 3:30; Neal Adams, Jim Lee, and Jim Steranko, 4:00 – 5:00
Sunday, February 26 Q&A with a discussion of upcoming Goon events, featuring Eric Powell and Lee Dawson, 11:00 am
Sunday, February 26 Tongue and Cheek Superheroes, with JJ Sedelmaier, 12 noon
Sunday, February 26 Comics legend Joe Simon, moderated by Jim Simon, 12 noon
Academy Theater at Lighthouse International
111 East 59th St. between Park & Lexington Aves.
Tickets: $5
888-778-7575
Saturday, February 25 Screening of all 2006 Oscar-nominated shorts in live-action and animated categories, hosted by Robert Osbourne, 12 noon & 4:00
168 Delancey St. between Clinton & Attorney Sts.
Admission: $7
212-254-9920
Saturday, February 25 Downstairs: the Kane Brothers at 8:00, Durtneck at 9:00, the Ks at 10:00, Angelic Bombs at 11:00
Multiple venues
February 25 - March 4
Admission: free unless otherwise noted
Reservations strongly suggested for many events
Saturday, February 25
through
Sunday, March 4 2005 Faenol Festival Opera Gala, screening at the Museum of Television & Radio, 25 West 52nd St., $10, 12:30
Saturday, February 25 Screening: GOD’S FORGOTTEN HOUSE (Justin Golding, 2005), followed by Q&A with the director, Pioneer Theater, 155 East Third St., 4:00
Sunday, March 4 Wales @ TimeWarner Center, art exhibition on second floor, 59th & Columbus, 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Monday, February 27 Welsh American Academy Lecture Series: Dylan Thomas Dramatized Readings, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU, 1 Washington Mews, 212-998-3950, 6:00
Monday, February 27 Wales in the Garden: charity concert for British Memorial Garden, with Ensemble Cymru and Welsh singer Beverley Humphreys, Sony Atrium, Madison Ave. at 55th St., limited space, 6:00
Monday, February 27 Book reading: Owen Sheers, THE DUST DIARIES, 11th St. Bar, 510 East 11th St., 7:00
Monday, February 27
through
Saturday, March 3 Wales Food Festival, Delegates Dining Room at the UN, $25, 212-963-7625, 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Tuesday, February 28 Film screening: DEAD LONG ENOUGH (Tom Collins, 2005), followed by Q&A, Tinker Auditorium, 22 East 60th St., 7:00
Tuesday, February 28 Book reading: Rhys Bowen, OH DANNY BOY, Partners & Crime, 44 Greenwich Ave., 7:00
Tuesday, February 28 New Writing from Wales, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU, 1 Washington Mews, 212-998-3950, 6:00
Wednesday, March 1 Women Detectives in New York, New York City Police Museum, 100 Old Slip, 212-998-3950, 6:00
Wednesday, March 1 Poets & Prizes, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU, 1 Washington Mews, 212-998-3950, 6:00
Thursday, March 2 Reading and Writing: A New Library for Wales, with Professor Dai Smith, chaired by Harold Evans, and featuring a Welsh whisky tasting, limited space, Glucksman Ireland House, NYU, 1 Washington Mews, 212-998-3950, 6:00
Thursday, March 2 Poetry Wales, Barnes & Noble, 2289 Broadway at 82nd St., 7:00
Thursday, March 2 Welsh Fiction, Barnes & Noble, 106 Court St., Park Slope, 7:00
Friday, March 3 Dramatized Readings from titles in the Library of Wales, Borders, TimeWarner Center, 59th St. & Columbus Circle, 11:30 am
Friday, March 3 Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky Tasting, Serena Bar & Lounge, 222 West 23rd St., $10, 6:00 pm – 4:00 am
Friday, March 3 Poets from Wales, Barnes & Noble, 396 Sixth Ave. at Eighth St., 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 4 Mind the Gap Theatre play reading: CANCER TIME by Gary Owen, Telephone Bar & Grill, 149 Second Ave., limited space, $5, 212-252-3137, 3:00
Sunday, March 4 Book reading: Owen Sheers, THE DUST DIARIES, the Ear Inn, 326 Spring St. between Greenwich & Washington Sts., 3:00
Sunday, March 4 Welsh Dining in Style: five-course tasting dinner and more, James Beard House, 167 West 12th St., $115, reservations at 212-627-2308, 7:00
Harlem Tea Room
1793A Madison Ave. at 118th St.
Cover charge: $5
212-348-3471
Sunday, February 26 Open mic for poets, drummers, vocalists, and musicians
Meet at St. Mark’s churchyard
Second Ave. & Tenth St.
Reservations strongly suggested: glinzner@hotmail.com
Sunday, February 26 Two-hour walking tour through East and West Villages focusing on ghosts and graveyards, murders and disasters, Edgar Allan Poe and Washington Irving, Mark Twain and Dylan Thomas, led by Gordon Linzner, $20, 3:00