Bathroom of the Week
10.12.05
1. A fine bathroom, form and function, fragrance, French films, and fresh sushi in Midtown
2. Tibetan art and culture, dance, and Latino fusion in Chelsea
3. Politics, poetry, Butoh, and gardening on the Lower East Side
5. Plus Riff’s Rants & Raves, including
Rodrigo García’s NINE LIVES
Zhang Yimou and Isabelle Huppert at BAM
Richard Thompson at the Town Hall
Bob Mould at Irving Plaza
Bruce Springsteen at Nassau Coliseum
and the Killers, the New York Dolls, and Interpol on Staten Island
Volume 5, Number 19
October 12 — 29, 2005
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.
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-- Bruce Springsteen, "Lost in the Flood," performed Sunday, October 9, at Nassau Coliseum
724 Fifth Ave. between 56th & 57th Sts.
Admission: free
212-664-0010
When we have to go in Midtown, we always stop in Prada’s fab metallic and mirrored wonderland of a bathroom on the third floor, hidden away in the far corner by the winter coats. First you walk into a silver washroom before entering the gloriously glam can, which seems to go on forever because of the placement of the mirrors. Hey, as long as you’re on Fifth Ave. among the city’s most exclusive stores, you might as well go in style.
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Richard Hutten’s Dutch Droog designs at Felissimo
Felissimo Design House
10 West 56th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Through October 29
Closed Sunday
Admission: free
212-247-5656
http://www.felissimo.com/designhouse/fdh_2.cfm
When you enter Felissimo Design House, take a left before the steps and take the funky elevator, designed with colorful wire and mirrors, to the fifth floor, one of two dedicated to "Mastering Form and Function." There you’ll find nine "Inspirational Designs by Richard Hutten," all but one of which are for sale. The Dutch designer’s "Sexy Relaxy" is a wooden chair based on Sharon Stone’s famous pose from BASIC INSTINCT. Hutten reuses broken children’s toys and turns them into "Melting Pot" lamps. In "Who’s the Boss?" a baby seat is carved right out of the head of a wooden table. His "2loveseat" is a red rocking chair made for couples. And the collection of "Dombo" cups boast huge handles that have supposedly actually helped children learn how to drink from cups.
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Life and design intermingle at Felissimo
Walk down one flight on the twisting white staircase to check out "New Narratives from Cranbrook 3D Design," conceptual pieces by students from the Cranbrook Academy of Art’s 3D Design Department. Integrating life and design, each work comes with a brief description and a relatively silly question about its place within the life/design continuum. For workaholics, Jared Dickey’s "Quickie Desk/Bed" makes it possible to never leave the office again. Mark Moskovitz’s "Kosher Plate Series" puts words on each dish to explain its use, including "meat," "dairy," "lactose intolerant," and "milk it." John Truex’s ultramodern "Tube Shelves" looks like an elaborate spiderweb. Paul Martus’s "Tools of Tribute" is a wrench featuring a cast of his own hand. And Erik Strom and Steve Bowden’s "Souvenir Trays of the Museum of Capital Punishment" are metal TV dinner trays that, in the different compartments, contain photos and vital statistics of men and women who have been executed by the Texas Department of Justice; included among the facts are the details of each murderer’s last meal.
Continue down the stairs to the third floor, where this summer Felissimo opened its new Design Showroom, with lots of offbeat, funky, and unique products. The second floor houses "felicity lifestyles," while on the first floor is the shop, where, among other things, you can buy Richard Hutten’s Dombo cups for sixteen bucks apiece.
Various locations
October 17-22
212-725-7139
Visit the above Web site for a list of special events associated with this annual celebration of all things smelly, including samplings of new perfumes and lotions at such stores as Sephora, Bloomingdale’s, Bond No. 9, Avalon Salon & Spa, Macy’s, Lord & Taylor’s, and Barneys.
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Midtown sushi cart offers good deals
20 West 56th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
212-956-0127
Midtown offers a multitude of street-food choices, from falafel and taco salad to fruit smoothies and German wurst. One of our favorites is this sushi spot outside Kiiroi Hana restaurant, which has been serving the neighborhood since 1982. During the week, the sushi bar offers fresh eel, yellowtail, spicy tuna, rainbow rolls, California rolls, nigiri, and various mixes, along with miso soup, daifuku, seaweed salad, edamame, and other Japanese delights, all for ten bucks and under. So when you don’t have time for a real sit-down meal, grab some of Kiiroi Hana’s high-quality, fresh sushi on the run; it kicks butt on the sushi boxes in area delis.
Isabelle Huppert, seen here in LA VIE PROMISE,
comes to MoMA
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters 1 and 2
October 17 — November 23
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
http://moma.org/exhibitions/film_media/2005/Isabelle_Huppert.html
MoMA celebrates Isabelle Huppert’s American stage debut at BAM (see Riff’s Rants & Raves below) with this month-long tribute to one of the world’s greatest, most diverse actresses. Over the course of her nearly thirty-year career, she has worked with some of the most eclectic, influential directors in the business, including Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Michael Haneke, Bertrand Tavernier, Raúl Ruiz, Andrzej Wajda, Patrice Chéreau, Marco Ferreri, François Ozon, Otto Preminger, Paul Cox, Hal Hartley, and Michael Cimino. We remember falling in love with her the first time we saw her in LOULOU. The great Huppert will be on hand with Chéreau for the October 17 screening of the new GABRIELLE, and she will also introduce, of all films, HEAVEN’S GATE, on Halloween, which is not as scary as it sounds. Cimino’s supposed debacle is not nearly as bad as you’ve heard. If you’ve never seen it, try it.
Monday, October 17 GABRIELLE (Patrice Chéreau, 2005), with Huppert and Chéreau present, 7:00
Wednesday, October 19 GABRIELLE (Patrice Chéreau, 2005), 6:00
Wednesday, October 19 LA DENTELLIÈRE (THE LACEMAKER) (Claude Goretta, 1977), 8:15
Thursday, October 20 LOULOU (Maurice Pialat, 1980), 6:00
Thursday, October 20 COUP DE FOUDRE (ENTRE NOUS) (Diane Kurys, 1983), 8:30
Friday, October 21 SAINT-CYR (THE KING’S DAUGHTERS) (Patricia Mazuy, 2000), 6:00
Friday, October 21 SAUVE QUI PEUT (LA VIE) (EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1979), 8:30
Saturday, October 22 LA DENTELLIÈRE (THE LACEMAKER) (Claude Goretta, 1977), 2:00
Saturday, October 22 COUP DE FOUDRE (ENTRE NOUS) (Diane Kurys, 1983), 4:15
Saturday, October 22 LA CÉRÉMONIE (A JUDGMENT IN STONE/THE CEREMONY) (Claude Chabrol, 1995), 8:45
Sunday, October 23 LOULOU (Maurice Pialat, 1980), 1:30
Sunday, October 23 LA VIE PROMISE (THE PROMISED LIFE) (Olivier Dahan, 2002), 3:45
Sunday, October 23 SAUVE QUI PEUT (LA VIE) (EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF) (Jean-Luc Godard, 1979), 5:45
Monday, October 24 LA SÉPARATION (THE SEPARATION) (Christian Vincent, 1994), 6:00
Monday, October 24 SAINT-CYR (THE KING’S DAUGHTERS) (Patricia Mazuy, 2000), 7:45
Wednesday, October 26 LA CÉRÉMONIE (A JUDGMENT IN STONE/THE CEREMONY) (Claude Chabrol, 1995), 6:00
Wednesday, October 26 LA VIE PROMISE (THE PROMISED LIFE) (Olivier Dahan, 2002), 8:30
Friday, October 28 LA PIANISTE (THE PIANO TEACHER) (Michael Haneke, 2001), 8:00
Saturday, October 29 MADAME BOVARY (Claude Chabrol, 1991), 2:00
Saturday, October 29 LA SÉPARATION (THE SEPARATION) (Christian Vincent, 1994), 4:30
Sunday, October 30 LA PIANISTE (THE PIANO TEACHER) (Michael Haneke, 2001), 2:00
Monday, October 31 HEAVEN’S GATE (Michael Cimino, 1980), introduced by Huppert, 6:30
Wednesday, November 2 MADAME BOVARY (Claude Chabrol, 1991), 8:15
Thursday, November 3 ROSEBUD (Otto Preminger, 1975), 6:00
Thursday, November 3 LA STORIA DI PIERA (THE STORY OF PIERA) (Marco Ferreri, 1983), 8:30
Monday, November 7 CACTUS (Paul Cox, 1986), 6:00
Monday, November 7 COUP DE TORCHON (CLEAN SLATE) (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981), 8:15
Wednesday, November 9 AMATEUR (Hal Hartley, 1994), 6:00
Wednesday, November 9 MALINA (Werner Schroeter, 1991), 8:00
Thursday, November 10 COUP DE TORCHON (CLEAN SLATE) (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981), 6:00
Thursday, November 10 CACTUS (Paul Cox, 1986), 8:30
Friday, November 11 ÖRÖKSÉG (THE HEIRESSES) (Márta Mészáros, 1980), 6:00
Friday, November 11 AMATEUR (Hal Hartley, 1994), 8:15
Saturday, November 12 COMÉDIE DE L’INNOCENCE (THE COMEDY OF INNOCENCE) (Raúl Ruiz, 2000), 1:00
Saturday, November 12 LES POSSÉDÉS (THE POSSESSED/THE DEMONS) (Andrzej Wajda, 1988), 3:15
Saturday, November 12 ÖRÖKSÉG (THE HEIRESSES) (Márta Mészáros, 1980), 6:30
Saturday, November 12 PASSION (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982), 8:30
Sunday, November 13 UNE AFFAIRE DE FEMMES (STORY OF WOMEN) (Claude Chabrol, 1988), 1:00
Sunday, November 13 VIOLETTE NOZIÈRE (Claude Chabrol, 1978), 3:15
Sunday, November 13 COMÉDIE DE L’INNOCENCE (THE COMEDY OF INNOCENCE) (Raúl Ruiz, 2000), 5:45
Monday, November 14 LES POSSÉDÉS (THE POSSESSED/THE DEMONS) (Andrzej Wajda, 1988), 6:00
Monday, November 14 MALINA (Werner Schroeter, 1991), 8:30
Wednesday, November 16 PASSION (Jean-Luc Godard, 1982), 6:00
Thursday, November 17 8 WOMEN (François Ozon, 2002), 6:00
This should have been a great one, but controversial director François Ozon couldn’t leave well enough alone. Somewhere in 8 WOMEN is a fabulously entertaining murder mystery set in a mansion in which the title characters are trapped — and any one of the eight could be guilty of the murder of the dude in the bedroom who has a knife in his back. The eight women embody much of the history of French cinema of the last fifty years: Danielle Darrieux (who began making films in the early 1930s), Catherine Deneuve (who, when this movie was made, was nearly sixty!), Fanny Ardant (who had recently turned fifty), a nearly unrecognizable Isabelle Huppert (who was approaching fifty), the beguiling Emmanuelle Beart (who was nearing forty), twentysomethings Virginie Ledoyen and Ludivine Sagnier, and Firmine Richard. Inexplicably, Ozon has each of the characters perform a silly song-and-dance number that neither furthers the plot nor expands on the characters’ motives or mental state. He has bit off more than he can chew; he made a compelling takeoff of the British drawing-room mystery and blew it by deciding to play off the Hollywood Technicolor musical as well. But Ardant’s lips, Deneuve’s eyelashes, and Beart’s curves are nearly worth the price of admission nonetheless.
Thursday, November 17 UNE AFFAIRE DE FEMMES (STORY OF WOMEN) (Claude Chabrol, 1988), 8:15
Friday, November 18 VIOLETTE NOZIÈRE (Claude Chabrol, 1978), 5:15
Sunday, November 20 L’INONDATION (THE FLOOD) (Igor Minayev, 1994), 5:00
Wednesday, November 23 L’INONDATION (THE FLOOD) (Igor Minayev, 1994), 6:00
BAMcinematek / BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=48
Sunday, October 23 WANDA (Barbara Loden, 1971), $10, 5:30 & 9:00; 5:30 show introduced by Isabelle Huppert
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art
Buddha Shakyamuni, the Enlightened One
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Closed Monday
Admission: $7 (children under twelve free)
212-620-5000
http://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=179
Taking over part of the old Barneys building in Chelsea, the Rubin Museum of Art, founded by Shelly and Donald Rubin, opened last October, dedicated to Himalayan art. Its six floors of gallery space, linked by Andree Putman’s spiral steel and marble staircase originally built for Barneys, are spacious and welcoming. Go on a tour or pick up the audio guide to better understand the highly iconic and symbolic works that are about to entrance you.
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art
Chinnamasta, the Severed Head Goddess
Start your visit on the sixth floor, where fifty sculptures, paintings, tantras, and textiles comprise "Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Himalayan Art," through January 15. In the "comfort, nurture, empower" section you’ll find a fifteenth-century metalwork sculpture of the demon-destroying warrior goddess Durga, one form of Parvati, Daughter of the Himalayas; multiple-armed, she sits cross-legged atop an animal. White Tara (Sita Tara) provides protection from the eight fears — elephants, lions, snakes, ghosts, fire, drowning, bandits, and tyrants. Follow the three lines of blood spurting out of the neck of the Severed Head Goddess, Chinnamasta. The sculpture of the Fierce Lion-Faced Goddess, Simhamukha, earns its own case; get up close and personal to see the skulls in her fiery hair, the snake wrapped around her body, faces dangling around her feet, the female form she is standing on (representing her own ego), and the slicing vrajal in her right hand and brain-revealing skullcup in her left.
Down one flight is "Vanished Kingdoms: The Wulsin Photographs of Tibet, China, and Mongolia, 1921-1925," fascinating blown-up hand-colored lantern slides taken primarily during Janet and Frederick Wulsin’s 1923 exploration of Central China for National Geographic. Janet, who did most of the photography and cataloging, captured sites, civilizations, and ceremonies never before seen on film. A shepherd stands by his yurt. A family stops at a Dashuigou oasis with their camels. A wealthy bridal couple poses for the camera. Other shots include monks in prostration at Labuleng Lamasery, Tibetan cowboys herding yaks, and a fascinating exorcism festival at Zhuoni Lamasery. The exhibit, which also includes such artifacts as the Wulsins’ letters of passage, journals, and passports, continues through January 22.
The fourth floor is currently home to "The Demonic Divine in Himalayan Art," featuring dozens of horrific paintings and sculptures that depict Dangerous Protectors, Enlightened Protectors, and Wrathful Buddhas. Look closely at the colorful canvases to see lots of skeletal images, innards, severed body parts, and flayed skin, but don’t get too frightened; many of these fierce beings serve humanity for the ultimate good. Keep an eye out for the very powerful Four-Faced Great Black One, Mahakala Chaturmukha; the Glorious Goddess, Magzor Gyalmo, who can turn back armies; a fourteenth-century Nepalese copper sculpture of the sixteen-handed Hevajra, clutching the consort Nairatmya, who looks up tenderly at the Wrathful Buddha; and the spectacular clay Vishnu Vishvarupa, an avatar with twenty manifestations.
Collection of Shelley & Donald Rubin
Amitayus, the Buddha of Immeasurable Life
"Perfected Beings, Pure Realms" occupies the third floor. Take your time with the Wheel of Life, Bhavanachakra, to see representations of ignorance, anger, and desire, a circle of those who have performed good karma and bad karma actions, the six realms of existence (god, anti-god, human, animal, ghost, and hell), and the Twelve Links of Dependent Arising. "Want Not" includes depictions of the Glorious One with a Melodious Voice, Arapahana Manjushri, and the One of Loving Kindness, Maitreya. You’ll learn about the Black Hat Lamas of Tibet and the line of reincarnation, and you might be surprised to find out that there are wealth deities (Ganapati, the Red Lord of Hosts, featuring a Red Ganesha with his blue monkey consort) in addition to those who may bring long life and good health (the Buddha of Immeasurable Life, Amitayus).
"Sacred History: Portraits and Stories," on the second floor, honors the life and legend of Shakyamuni, the Awakened One (and the Enlightened One), who began Buddhism, and Tonpa Shenrab, who started the Bon religion. Don’t miss the second-century stone depiction of Buddha Shakyamuni teaching his five disciples; made in Gandhara, the small piece has unique Western influences.
Recent photographs by Matthieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, teacher, translator, and writer, can be found through February 26 on the ground level in the café and downstairs around the entrance to the theater. On Saturdays and Sundays, at the entrance to the shop and café, near the base of the spiral staircase, international musicians participate in "Spiral Music," playing songs that echo up the staircase and throughout the museum. We recently grabbed a table in the café and partook of the dumpling platter, baked snow pea crisps, jasmine green tea, and an awesomely decorated curried demon cookie while listening to Lisa y Josué play music from Spain. Also on the menu are various sandwiches, soups, rice bowls, and salads in addition to wine, chocolate bars, smoothies, and coffee.
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Saturday nights at 7:00 through January 14
Admission: free with $12 café/bar minimum, including museum admission
Advanced reservations strongly recommended
212-620-5000 ext 344
http://www.rmanyc.org/programs/index.cfm
This wide-ranging series looks at divine iconic females in twentieth-century world cinema, from such characters as Joan of Arc, Queen Christina, and Mary Poppins to such leading ladies as Greta Garbo, Julie Andrews, and Brigitte Bardot. Many of the films are preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002), an award-winning documentary about women exiled from Tibet, narrated by Susan Sarandon.
Saturday, October 15 METROPOLIS (Fritz Lang, 1927), introduced by Dean Sluyter, preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, October 22 CENTRE STAGE director’s cut (Stanley Kwan, 1992), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, October 29 DEVI (THE GODDESS) (Satyajit Ray, 1960), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, November 5 CONTEMPT (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, November 12 THE NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (Federico Fellini, 1957), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, November 19 JAI SHAKUMBHARI MAA (Shiv Kumar, 1999), introduced by Suketu Mehta
Saturday, December 3 THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (Carl Th. Dreyer, 1928)
Saturday, December 17 KIRIKOU AND THE SORCERESS (Michel Ocelot, 1998) and MARY POPPINS (Robert Stevenson, 1964)
Saturday, January 7 QUEEN CHRISTINA (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Saturday, January 14 POPE JOAN (Michael Anderson, 1972), preceded by TARA’S DAUGHTERS (Roslyn Dauber, 2002) at 5:30
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Advanced reservations strongly recommended
212-620-5000 ext 344
http://www.rmanyc.org/programs/index.cfm
Thursdays at 11:00 & 1:30 An Early Childhood Program: The Yak Packers, featuring story corner, an art-making station, and a hands-on station, ages two to five, free with museum admission
Thursdays
through
Sundays at 3:00 A Taste of RMA: Guided Tours Throughout the Galleries, free with museum admission
Saturdays
and
Sundays, 12 noon — 7:00 Spiral Music: Site-specific musical dialogue featuring international musicians under the spiral staircase performing personal music relating to the exhibits; visitors are encouraged to speak with the musicians during breaks
Saturdays at 2:00 Family Programs: Workshops, storytelling, films, tours, and more, free with museum admission
Thursday, October 13 WOMEN OF K2 (Jennifer Jordan, 2004), introduced by the director, $10, 7:00
Friday, October 14 Poetry & Spoken Word: Rafi Zabor, I, WABENZI, with music and sung settings, $15, 7:00
Thursday, October 20 DAUGHTERS OF EVEREST (Sapana Sakya & Ramyata Limbu, 2004), introduced by Sakya, $10, 7:00
Tuesday, October 25 PHOTOtalk: Vanished Kingdoms, with Mabel H. Cabot, daughter of photographer Janet Wulsin, followed by short reception and book signing, $15, 6:00
Friday, October 28 Seven Graces…into aesthetic realms of Goddess Tara, dance-theater performance by Anita Ratnam, created with Hari Krishnan, $25, 7:00
Friday, October 28 Opening of "What Is It? Himalayan Art"
Saturday, October 29 Seven Graces…into aesthetic realms of Goddess Tara, dance-theater performance by Anita Ratnam, created with Hari Krishnan, $25, 4:00
Thursday, December 1 Himalayan Hotspots: AIDS in India, open discussion with Western and Asian journalists, $10, 7:00
twi-ny/mdr
Save money and help important causes at Housing Works
143 West 17th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Admission: free
212-366-0820
Housing Works, which is dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS, has five thrift shops throughout the city as well as a used book café. At this location you can donate items as well as pick up original art, used clothing, furniture, estate jewelry, vintage prints, tableware, and much more, with the proceeds going to support their mission: "to ensure that adequate housing, food, social services, harm reduction, and other drug treatment services, medical and mental health care, and employment opportunities are available to homeless persons living with AIDS and HIV and to their families as they define them." You can also participate in online auctions for accessories, artwork, books, housewares, furniture, and women’s clothing.
Saturday, October 15 Walk the Tunnel, marching from Times Square to Washington, DC, for the Campaign to End AIDS, Times Square Kick Off Rally at 7:30 am, Lincoln Tunnel opens at 8:30 am, http://www.walkthetunnel.com, http://www.campaigntoendaids.org
Housing Works Used Book Café
126 Crosby St. between Houston & Prince Sts.
Admission: free unless otherwise noted
212-334-3324
http://www.housingworksubc.com
Monday, October 17 Rick Moody, THE DIVINERS, and Julia Slavin, CARNIVORE DIET, 7:00
Tuesday, October 18 Dream Jobs: Travel Writing, panel discussion with Valarie D’Elia, Ted Moncrieff, Erik Torkells, Stuart Emmrich, and Abby Ellin, followed by a Q&A, 7:00
Thursday, October 20 Live from Home: Tracy Chapman and Ben Taylor, $25, 7:30
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The jury’s still out on Sandia
111 West 17th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
212-627-3700
http://www.sandiarestaurant.com
On a sweltering summer night, we made our way to this relatively new Latino-Asian fusion restaurant. The long, narrow space features one of the strangest tables we’ve ever seen, outside behind glass at the far end, where one gentleman sat by himself, facing into the restaurant, looking as if he was a token clerk or Adolf Eichmann in THE MAN IN THE GLASS BOOTH. As we sipped some excellent cocktails (Jerri Banks consulted on the drink menu), including the refreshing watermelon-based nonalcoholic Water Cooler (Sandia means "watermelon" in Spanish) and exotic mango-and-rum concoctions, we scanned the small but enticing menu and battled the heat; fortunately for us, the air conditioner wasn’t working. As we ordered appetizers, the waiter told us they did not have the beef ropa vieja in a malanga taquito, so we settled for delicious yucca-coated scallops with pineapple salsa, plentiful saffron-glazed shrimp in a fried plantain basket, and a five-spice beef sushi roll that was good despite a paltry amount of meat.
Continuing to fight the heat, we had difficulty getting our water glasses filled, and when we did, the water was warm. So we asked for iced tea, and the waiter asked if we wanted it sweetened or unsweetened; we requested the former, and he shortly returned to tell us they had no iced tea. So on to the main course we went, where we were suddenly told that the kitchen was out of the mahi-mahi and the braised baby back ribs. As there were only a few other people in the restaurant and it was still early in the evening, we found it hard to believe they were already out of certain dishes, but we ventured forward, going for the peppercorn-crusted Szechuan sirloin with garlic yucca, grilled churrasco over green rice, and sesame-crusted seared tuna. Chef Roberto Pagan’s exquisite combinations were sensational, every bite a mini-marvel.
After the entrees, we were ready for dessert, which included three choices, but we soon found out that this night they had only flan. So we asked for the check, not sure what to make of the place; everything we had was excellent, but they were out of a significant portion of the menu, which they failed to tell us until we tried to order those dishes. It was way too hot inside, and they did not keep us adequately supplied with cold water or other cocktails. And only after we were done did one of the managers come by to ask us how things were, and we told him the truth; as it turned out, the air conditioner and refrigeration weren’t working properly, so he had decided to limit the menu to food that would not be in danger of spoiling. While that explained a lot, we would have preferred to have been told this before being seated, because we probably would not have stayed. He said dessert would be on him the next time we came back, but a return visit is still up in the air. What we ate was great, but the overall service was well meaning but amateurish; at times it was so ridiculous that we practically burst out laughing.
219 West 19th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Dance Theater Workshop has been promoting emerging and midcareer artists to an ever-growing audience since 1965, serving as a choreographers’ collective and an important community center. The fortieth anniversary fall season got under way in September and continues through December, offering unique, experimental, creative works for twenty bucks and less. On October 8, we saw Hiroaki Umeda / S20’s solo piece "while going to a condition," in which Umeda stands virtually in the same spot through the entire performance, movement slowly making its way up his body as S20’s repetitive white light set to electronic noise is projected behind him. That was followed by "ALARM! — zero hour edition," Yoko Higashino and Dance Company Baby-Q’s playful multimedia show featuring a circling robotic wig, shirtless jumping men wearing rabbit ears and ties, a silver-clad sweeper with a rice cooker, nudity and masturbation, and other Pina Bausch-gone-otaku weirdnesses. When you do come to see a show at DTW, make sure to arrive a little early to find out about many of the other dance performances going on around town and to check out the photo wall, currently occupied by the work of Lois Greenfield.
Wednesday, October 12
through
Saturday, October 15 Landing/Place, by Bebe Miller Company, $15-$25
Wednesday, October 19
through
Saturday, October 22 Michael, by Ann Liv Young, postperformance discussion with Young and moderator Maura Donohue on October 19, $12-$20, 7:30
Wednesday, October 26
through
Saturday, October 29 Wanderlust, Kentucky, by Jodi Melnick, and Flossing and Other Dances, by Scott Heron, $12-$20, 7:30
Saturday, October 29 Family Matters 2005: Masquerade Ball for Costumed Dramas, $20, 2:00
Monday, November 7 40 Forward: Let’s Party, fortieth anniversary celebration featuring live performances throughout the building, free, 5:00 — 9:00
1/2 THE NATION opens Eureka! fest
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
October 23-30
Tickets: $10
212-229-1207
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/schedule
This selection of "political and socially conscious films" aims to be nonpartisan, showing documentaries, features, and shorts from around the world that focus on global as well as local issues. Among its subjects are the late Paul Wellstone and Ronald Reagan, Iraq, bias in the media, politically oriented celebrities, feminism, protest, voting, and other controversial, relevant topics.
Saturday, October 22 Opening night screening and after-party, Tribeca Grand Hotel, 8:00
Sunday, October 23 1/2 THE NATION (Vic David, 2005) preceded by FLAG DAY (Kristy Higby, 2004) and VOICE OF DISSENT: ANOTHER LOOK AT FREEDOM OF SPEECH (Karen Perry, 2003), 12 noon
Sunday, October 23 VOICES OF IRAQ (Mac Kenny & the People of Iraq, 2004) preceded by BEYOND IRAQ (Tom Eldridge, 2005), 2:50
Sunday, October 23 WELLSTONE! (Laurie Stern, Lu Lippold, Dan Luke) preceded by BRIEFING (Lee Basannavar, 2004), 5:55
Sunday, October 23 IN THE FACE OF EVIL: REAGAN’S WAR IN WORD & DEED (Steve Bannon, 2004), 8:40
Monday, October 24 Short Film Series I: Animation, 6:00
Monday, October 24 Short Film Series II: Personal Protest, 6:00
Monday, October 24 Maximum Impact: Docs Go Mainstream, moderated by Ron Simon, Tisch School of the Arts, 721 Broadway, room 006, 7:00
Monday, October 24 CRUDE (Paxton Winters, 2003) preceded by PARALLEL WORLDS (David Puls, 2004), 8:55
Tuesday, October 25 THE LETTER: AN AMERICAN TOWN AND THE "SOMALI INVASION" (Ziad H. Hamzeh, 2003) preceded by I PROMISE AFRICA (Jerry A. Henry, 2003) and SOMETHING OTHER THA OTHER (Jerry A. Henry & Andrea J. Chia, 2005), 6:00
Tuesday, October 25 ARAGUAYA – A CONSPIRAÇÃO DO SILÊNCIO
(A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE) (Ronaldo Duque, 2004), 8:50
Wednesday, October 26 Whose/Who’s News: An Exploration of Bias in American News Media, moderated by Mary Megee, 6:00
Wednesday, October 26 Political Comedy Night, hosted by Andy Borowitz, the Laugh Lounge, $10, 8:00
Wednesday, October 26 ANYTOWN USA (Kristian Fraga, 2005) preceded by AMERICAN TALE (Randy Salo, 2004), 8:30
Thursday, October 27 Celebrity Clout: Artists Take Action, moderated by Laura Dawn, 6:00
Thursday, October 27 RANA’S WEDDING (Hany Abu-Assad, 2002) preceded by ANNA AND THE SOLDIER (Christian Prettin & Soeren Hueper, 2004) and PINOCHET’S WOMEN (Eduardo Menz, 2004), 8:30
Friday, October 28 VISIT PALESTINE (Katie Barlowm 2005) preceded by DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY (Kevin Lee, 2004) and SANTIAGO (Paolo Borraccetti, 2004), 6:00
Friday, October 28 CONFRONTING IRAQ (Roger Arnoff, 2005) preceded by DASTAAR: DEFENDING SIKH IDENTITY (Kevin Lee, 2004), 8:40
Saturday, October 29 BEYOND THE WALL (Gorham Kindem), 12 noon
Saturday, October 29 FIGHTING SHADOWS (Pierre Rehov, 2005) preceded by A QUESTION OF LOYALTY (Randall Wilkins, 2005), 1:40
Saturday, October 29 VOTERGATE (Ole Schell, 2004), 4:45
Saturday, October 29 WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION (Danny Schechter, 2004), 5:50
Saturday, October 29 DEV (Govind Nihalani, 2004), 8:30
Sunday, October 30 RECKLESS INDIFFERENCE (William Gazecki, 2004) preceded by PARALLEL WORLDS (David Puls, 2004), 12 noon
Sunday, October 30 WAITING TO INHALE (Jed Riffe) preceded by SOMETHING’S IN THE AIR / BUT IT’S NOT ON THE AIRWAVES (Chris Chandler, 2005), 2:50
Sunday, October 30 I WAS A TEENAGE FEMINIST (Therese Schechter, 2004) preceded by SADDAM 17 (Ross Venokur, 2005), 5:55
twi-ny/mdr
It’s been a winding road, but the Liz Christy Garden survives
Bowery at E. Houston St.
Closed to the public
888-save-gdn 212-402-1121
http://www.lizchristygarden.org
http://urbanparks.pps.org/greatplaces/one?public_place_id=45
http://www.greenguerillas.org/speakup.asp?id=149
http://www.greenguerillas.org/lcg.asp
In 1973, the Green Guerillas, led by Liz Christy, turned an ugly patch of land into a thriving community garden that is still beloved today, although a significant part of it is in danger of being torn down. Earlier known as the Bowery-Houston Community Farm Garden, the strip of land had been looking better than it had the past few years, but developers have moved in and are claiming they can’t avoid destroying sections during construction in the surrounding area. There used to be no beating the garden’s peacefulness; we would walk along the curving pebbled path and stop by the hostas and the holly bushes, the sunflowers and the coleus, the impatiens and the tiger lilies, the magnolias and the oxalis, the rhubarb and the swiss chard. Then we’d listen to the birds in the ivy along the brick wall drown out the sounds of the traffic and forget about our worries. Fortunately, a deal has been struck with the developers to preserve parts of the garden, which will open again to the public sometime next year. In the meantime, after taking in a political film or two at Anthology, stop by and peer into this sweet garden, which has seen its fair share of politics over the last three decades.
308 Bowery at Bleecker St.
212-614-0505
As long as you’re in a political mood, there’s no better place to get a drink, a chocolate-chip cookie, and some poetry on the Lower East Side.
Sunday, October 23 4 Ways "Readings on the Bowery, with Kate Johnson, Cleopatra Mathis, Ann Townshend, and David Baker, $8 (including $2 off at the bar), 2:00
Monday, October 24 The O’Debra Twins Show & Tell open mic, $3, 10:00 pm
Tuesday, October 25 Lit Lite (lousy literature reading series): Super Spooky Halloween Show, with Jodi Lennon reading from her own work and Sweetie reading from V.C. Andrews’s FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC, $10, 8:00
Wednesday, October 26 Transmitting, acoustic duo with Jane LeCroy (poetry, voice) and Tom Abbs (upright bass, didjeridoo, percussion, occasional tuba, violin, and firecrackers, $6, 10:00
Thursday, October 27 All-Women’s Poetry Slam benefit hosted by Celena Glenn, $8, 10:00
Friday, October 28 The Taylor Mead Show, $6, 6:30
Saturday, October 29 Segue Reading Series: Katie Degentesh and Jennifer L. Knox, $6, 4:00
Sunday, October 30 Antiwar Marathon Reading, 12 noon — 6:00 pm
Anthology Film Archives (AFA)
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Theater for the New City (TNC)
155 First Ave. between Ninth & Tenth Sts.
Through October 26
212-561-9539
http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/schedule
Started in 1959 by Ohno Kazuo and Tatsumi Hijikata, Butoh is an exciting form of dance unique to Japanese culture. For the next two weeks, there will be films, performances, and a panel discussion and demonstration about this evolving art form.
Saturday, October 15 Film: O, KIND GOD! (Gianni Di Capua, 2003) preceded by KAZUO OHNO (1995), AFA, $10, 6:00
Saturday, October 15 Film: VERMILLION SOULS (Masaki Iwana, 2005), work in progress with filmmaker present, preceded by THE DUCHESS (Eric S. Koziol and InkBoat, 2002), AFA, $10, 8:00
Sunday, October 16 Film: JUST VISITING THIS PLANET (Peter Sempel, 1991), AFA, $10, 3:45
Sunday, October 16 Film: VERMILLION SOULS (Masaki Iwana, 2005), work in progress, preceded by THE DUCHESS (Eric S. Koziol and InkBoat, 2002), AFA, $10, 6:00
Sunday, October 16 Film: O, KIND GOD! (Gianni Di Capua, 2003) preceded by KAZUO OHNO (1995), AFA, $10, 8:00
Tuesday, October 18 Panel Demonstration, with André Lepecki, Mark Franko,
Carol Martin, Yuko Kaseki, and Kan Katsura, moderated by Jeff Janisheski, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave., free but reservations required, 212-817-8215, 6:30
Wednesday, October 19
and
Thursday, October 20 Performance: Daisuke Yohimoto, EROS AND THANATOS, and Yumiko Yoshioka, BEFORE THE DAWN, TNC, $15-$20, 8:00
Friday, October 21 Performance: Kan Katsura, TIME MACHINE, and Azumaru with musician Jack Wright, TNC, $15-$20, 7:00
Friday, October 21 Performance: Masaki Iwana, BEAST OF GRASS, and Cokaseki, TOOBOE (HOWL), TNC, $15-$20, 5:00
Saturday, October 22 Performance: Masaki Iwana, BEAST OF GRASS, and Cokaseki, TOOBOE (HOWL), TNC, $15-$20, 9:30
Saturday, October 22 Performance: Akira Kasai, FLOWERS, and Evan Mazunik conducts the New York Soundpainting Orchestra, TNC, $15-$20, 8:00
Sunday, October 23 Performance: Akira Kasai, FLOWERS, and Kan Katsura, TIME MACHINE, TNC, $15-$20, 2:30
Which two-time Oscar-nominated actor, who can currently be seen in Fernando Meirelles’s THE CONSTANT GARDENER, was the star of SPIDER, based on the novel by Patrick McGrath and directed by David Cronenberg, whose A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE is in theaters now? The third subscriber to e-mail the correct answer to admin@twi-ny.com will win a copy of Patrick McGrath’s latest book, GHOST TOWN: TALES OF MANHATTAN THEN AND NOW ($16.95, Bloomsbury, 2005). (Twi-ny awarded the title four tokens in our August 31 issue.)
Robin Wright Penn lifts Rodrigo García’s NINE LIVES
Opens October 14
http://www.magpictures.com/profile.aspx?id=88b6682a-4a40-4b52-a980-1b89bd646e37
Writer/director Rodrigo García, who has storytelling in his genes (his father is Gabriel García Marquez), tells the intimate tales of nine women facing crises, jumping out of the gate with the two best stories, about a prisoner (Elpidia Carrillo as "Sandra") just trying to survive behind bars and a pregnant woman (Robin Wright Penn as "Diana" in a spectacular performance) who bumps into an old boyfriend (Jason Isaacs) in a suburban supermarket. The segments, which are all shot in one continuous take and are somewhat interrelated, are hit or miss after that, with Holly Hunter ("Sonia") doing a good job, "Amy Brenneman ("Lorna") being appropriately awkward, and Kathy Baker ("Camille") excelling as a woman facing breast cancer, but Lisa Gay Hamilton ("Holly") weighs down her cliched role, Sissy Spacek’s ("Ruth") story meanders too much, "Samantha" (Amanda Seyfreid) is perfectly mediocre, and Glenn Close’s "Maggie" barely misses the mark. Among the men in these women’s lives are Aidan Quinn, Miguel Sandoval, Joe Mantegna, and Ian McShane. Close, Baker, Sandoval, Hunter, and Brenneman also appeared in García’s THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER, a somewhat more successful collection of interrelated short films.
THE BEAUTY OF THE EVERYDAY: JAPAN’S SHOCHIKU COMPANY AT 110
Walter Reade Theater
165 West 65th St. between Eighth Ave. & Broadway
Wednesday, October 19, 9:00
Thursday, October 20, 1:00 & 5:00
Tickets: $10
212-875-5050 / 212-875-5166
http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/showing/shochiku.htm
One of the best directors you’ve never heard of, Hou Hsiao-hsien, whose THREE TIMES just played the New York Film Festival, pays tribute to master filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu’s centenary with this beautifully lyrical yet elegantly simple drama about a young woman making her way through life. Pop star Yo Hitoto stars as Yoko, who spends much of her time riding trains and trolleys to visit bookstore owner Hajime (the ubiquitous and always excellent Tadanobu Asano) and to find out more about Chinese composer Jiang Wenye. She also returns home to her stepmother (Kimiko Yo) and father (Nenji Kobayashi); the latter doesn’t react when he finds out that Yoko is pregnant and does not intend to marry her boyfriend. In fact, there are barely any emotional reactions at all, although there are plenty of trains taking the characters where they seemingly want to be. Cinematographer Lee Pingping shot CAFÉ LUMIERE on location with natural sound and lighting; his camera often lingers statically on a scene as the characters walk in and out of the carefully composed frame and are heard off-screen, in long takes, furthering the illusion of reality -- mimicking the truth Ozu strove for in his work. In essence, the film has no beginning, no middle, and no end; it is 104 dazzling minutes in the life of a fascinating woman and her friends and relatives.
The Town Hall
123 West 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway
October 26-27
Tickets: $25
212-840-2824
http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org
http://www.richardthompson-music.com
Touring behind his recently released album FRONT PARLOUR BALLADS, the inimitable Richard Thompson brings his remarkable guitar chops, biting lyrics, bawdy ballads, love of the British troubadour tradition, and wacky sense of humor to the Town Hall for a pair of shows with acoustic bass player Danny Thompson. This past summer Thompson played a free solo acoustic set at the World Financial Center, where he wowed a packed crowd with songs from the new disc, including the sing-along "Let It Blow"; the greatest motorcycle song ever written, the heart-wrenching "1952 Vincent Black Lightning"; the gorgeous "Gethsemane"; the beautiful "Walking on a Wire"; the poignant "King of Bohemia"; the seething "Crawl Back (Under My Stone)"; the never-ending "Pharaoh"; the 2004 revised version of the double-entendre-laden "Hokey Pokey"; the bouncy "I Feel So Good,"; and such miscellaneous humorous songs as "Alexander Graham Bell," "I Agree with Pat Metheny," "My Daddy Is a Mummy," and "The Hots for the Smarts," in which he proclaims, "I like a girl in satin / Who talks dirty in Latin / A girl who’s flirty / When she quotes Krishnamurti / If she likes to be goosed / While reciting from Proust / I’ll know she’s my kind of creature." Thompson is a tremendously adept and natural live performer, utterly charming, wonderfully self-referential, and endlessly entertaining. We’ve seen him about a dozen times and he’s never let us down. Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of him; for $25, this is a must-see. You’ll never stop thanking us. Opening up both nights is Eliza Gilkyson.
17 Irving Pl. between 14th & 15th Sts.
Thursday, October 6
212-777-6800
Bob Mould returned to his roots at Irving Plaza, tearing through a seventy-five-minute set that featured songs from throughout his unique career. But this was no greatest hits show of his years with Husker Du and Sugar and his solo acoustic ventures; instead it was a furious sonic blast that left a crowded house of Bob lovers sated and saturated. Mould opened with a trio of songs from Sugar’s 1992 COPPER BLUE ("The Act We Act," "A Good Idea," and "Changes"), then delved into his brand-new solo disc, BODY OF SONG (Yep Roc Records, 2005), which features the classic sound of "Circles," the screaming "Paralyzed," the Beatles-esque "I Am Vision, I Am Sound," and the Peter Gabriel-like "Underneath Days," before returning to COPPER BLUE for a strong "Hoover Dam," featuring the bittersweet lyrics "If the Mississippi should wash me away / down to New Orleans / Maybe someday in my dreams / I’d wake feeling the sweat / from the Gulf in my mouth." Husker Du was ably represented by such chestnuts as CANDY APPLE GREY’s "Hardly Getting Over It," WAREHOUSE’s "Could You Be the One?" NEW DAY RISING’s "I Apologize" and "Celebrated Summer," ZEN ARCADE’s "Chartered Trips," and the great finale, FLIP YOUR WIG’s "Makes No Sense at All." All through the too-brief show Mould played a blistering guitar, often slashing and twisting across the stage. Ear problems had forced him to go acoustic for a while and to "retire" from punk rock. That was no surprise, because the show we saw him put on a bunch of years ago at the old Marquee was by far the loudest we have ever been at. But we’re glad to have this Bob back.
Nassau Coliseum, October 9 show reviewed
Continental Airlines Arena, November 16-17
Sovereign Bank Arena, November 21-22
Tickets: $56-$86
http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/736179
http://www.sovereignbank-arena.com
Returning to Long Island for the first time in more than a decade, Bruce Springsteen brought his solo DEVILS & DUST tour to Nassau Coliseum, the site of one of his greatest shows, New Year’s Eve, 1980. It took him a few songs to get into it this time around, but once he did, there was magic in the night. He has mixed things up yet again on what purports to be the last leg of this international tour, which finishes up in Jersey next month. Among the highlights were "Living Proof" on the pump organ, a touching "Long Time Comin’," a strong "Two Faces" on piano, a nearly unrecognizable vocal-only "Johnny 99" screamed into a distorted microphone, a lovely falsetto "All I’m Thinkin’ About," a rousing "Ain’t Got You," a mournful "Highway Patrolman," a shattering "Lost in the Flood," a welcome "My Hometown," a sweet "I Wanna Marry You" on ukelele, a completely revamped "The Ties That Bind," and a fun "My Best Was Never Good Enough." Bruce loosened up so much that he even told a couple of barroom jokes. The tour comes back to our neck of the woods November 16-17 at the Continental Airlines Arena and November 21-22 at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton; do whatever you can to catch this very special, memorable series of shows. And as we’ve told you before, don’t forget that Bruce often releases excellent seats as late as the day of the show, so keep checking TicketMaster despite the supposed sellouts.
twi-ny/mdr
The Killers close a fab glam show Across the Narrows
KeySpan Park
Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George
75 Richmond Terr., Staten Island
Saturday, October 1
http://www.acrossthenarrows.com
Through sparsely attended, the first day of the Across the Narrows festival on Staten Island was the best outdoor show of the year. Held on the home field of the Staten Island Yankees, the show opened with Lake Trout, whose sound got lost in the wind, though we’d check them out in a club. The Ordinary Boys ripped through a too-short set of new-wave punk, followed by a too-long set by twins Tegan and Sara, who started out twee before kicking into gear. Covering the stage (and themselves) with plantings, British Sea Power played a commanding set, featuring songs from their first two discs, THE DECLINE OF BRITISH SEA POWER and the excellent new OPEN SEASON.
As night fell, New York’s own Interpol took over, treating the crowd to a solid set of tunage mostly from their latest record, last year’s ANTICS, including show opener "Next Exit" as well as "Slow Hands," "Narc," "C’mere," "Public Pervert," "Not Even Jail," and "Evil"; a compelling cross between Echo & the Bunnymen and Joy Division, the band, led by singer Paul Banks (who himself looked like the young progeny of Rutger Hauer and Christopher Walken), they closed things up with "Obstacle 1" and "PDA" from 2002’s TURN ON THE BRIGHT LIGHTS. The stage was then set for the return of the New York Dolls, featuring original members David Johansen (who failed to mention that he is actually from Staten Island) and Sylvain Sylvain, who put on a thrilling, raucous show of old classics ("Personality Crisis," "Looking for a Kiss," "Trash," "Pills," "Bad Girl," "Vietnamese Baby," "Puss ‘N’ Boots") in addition to a great cover of Janis Joplin’s "Piece of My Heart" and even a brand-new song, as they’re going back into the studio to record an album. But it was clear that the night belonged to the Killers, as people were still coming into the ballpark late, paying their $55 just to see this one band. We quickly learned what all the hot fuss was about as the crowd began violently moshing to songs from the Killers’ hit debut, HOT FUSS. On a glittery silver stage, Brandon Flowers led the group through a glam set that was a lot more fun than we expected. We hope the promoters of this event do it again next year despite the low attendance.
National Ballet of China
Zhang Yimou turns RAISE THE RED LANTERN into sumptuous ballet
2005 Next Wave Festival
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
October 15 performance reviewed
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/events/nextwavefestival.aspx
Film director Zhang Yimou has turned his 1991 cinematic masterpiece into this sumptuous ballet, revising and simplifying the story so it works onstage. For these BAM Next Wave performances, the members of the cast switched lead roles; the night we went, Wang Qimin was exceptional as the third wife of the master (Huang Zhen). She shows up at the estate in gray-and-white drab and with a tiny suitcase and soon reappears in red finery, creating heated jealousy among the first two wives (Jin Hia and Zhu Yan). But when the third wife sees her childhood love (Li Jun), she can’t hold back her desire for him. When the lovers are spotted by the second wife, tragedy awaits. Wang Xinpeng and Wang Yuanyuan’s playful, inventive choreography opens with a beautiful dance of red lanterns and includes a fun scene set on and around mah-jongg tables and a chase through rice-paper walls; various numbers involving the master’s security and household staff are well done but superfluous. Zeng Li’s stage design is inspiring, incorporating Chinese period architecture (the ballet is set in the 1930s) and sparkling color. Chen Qigang’s score is hit or miss, mixing percussion- and string-laden Chinese music with what sounds like outtakes from the road production of WEST SIDE STORY. The final moments are dazzling, a visual spectacle you will not soon forget.
Available on VHS
Don’t worry if you missed Zhang Yimou’s RAISE THE RED LANTERN ballet at BAM; simply dance over to your local video store right now and rent the VHS. (Amazingly, it is not available on DVD.) Set in 1920s China, Zhang’s award-winning film follows the debasing exploits of Songlian (the remarkable Gong Li), a nineteen-year-old university student who has to drop out of school after her father’s sudden death and chooses to become the concubine of a wealthy man. The Master (Ma Jingwu, whose face is never clearly seen) marries her as his Fourth Mistress, which does not exactly make the first three mistresses happy as jealousy, anger, deceit, and treachery take over. The First Mistress by now is old and more of a wise grandmotherly figure; the Second Mistress (Cao Cuifen) is all smiles but harbors a dark side; and the Third Mistress (He Caifei), formerly a popular opera singer, has it in for Songlian from the start -- as does the Fourth Mistress’s servant, Yan’er (Kong Li), who dreams of becoming one of the Master’s brides. Every day, the Master selects which of his mistresses he will sleep with that night, setting off a red lantern ceremony watched by all four women, creating yet more animosity among the concubines, who are referred to as sisters but are not very sisterly. RAISE THE RED LANTERN is a stunning film featuring gorgeous cinematography by Zhao Fei (who later shot several Woody Allen films), a beautiful score by Tachikawa Naoki, and an emotionally wrenching story that reveals the brutal treatment of women in provincial China. Striking red color jumps off the screen, not only bringing color to this ancient, withering society, but also evoking thoughts of anger, mystery, and blood. Don’t miss this treasure of a film.
Pascal Victor
Isabelle Huppert makes her American stage debut at BAM
2005 Next Wave Festival
Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St. between Ashland Pl. & Rockwell Pl.
Through October 30
October 19 performance reviewed
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/events/nextwavefestival.aspx
Sarah Kane’s final play, 4.48 PSYCHOSIS (4.48 PSYCHOSE in French, playing at BAM through October 30), is the most French production never staged by Ingmar Bergman, a stark, gripping inner monologue about a woman who has suffered a mental breakdown and is determined to kill herself. A few months after the play was written, Kane did just that, hanging herself in her hospital room. But the play is much more than Kane’s personal story; it investigates nothing less than the fear – and almost ecstatic acceptance – of death itself. In director Claude Régy’s aggressively challenging production, the great Isabelle Huppert, dressed in a tight blue T-shirt and black leather pants, stands alone at center stage, shoulders slightly hunched, never moving during the hour and forty-five minute play, save for briefly scanning the audience or extending a long, elegant finger, perhaps because she can’t move anything else. Her performance is brutally naked and honest – searing, heartbreaking, unforgettable. Her nameless character – who frighteningly could be any of us – mechanically recites dark, poetic, often abstract lines ripped from her soul as she faces death head-on, proclaiming early on in a dense, painful monotone, “At 4.48 / when desperation visits / I shall hang myself / to the sound of my lover’s breathing.” All the while, behind a semi-opaque screen on which a numerical series is sometimes flashed, the play’s only other actor, Gérard Watkins, lurks, a shadowy figure who occasionally asks her revealing questions that she avoids or answers almost too directly.
The play is performed completely in French, with only select lines translated in the supertitles way above the stage (“This is not a world in which I wish to live,” “Body and soul can never be married,” “I will drown in dysphoria”), so those who know French will understand much more of the detailed language. But the French translation is not necessarily a bad thing for the rest of us, who can instead focus on the intensity of Huppert’s performance, in which words are only the beginning. (Don’t take it personally when some of the audience laughs at supposed jokes that are not translated; it’s all part of the experience.) 4.48 PSYCHOSE is a stunning, difficult work, perhaps fifteen minutes too long, that requires full audience participation; BAM permits no late seating, so get there on time, and if you leave during the show for any reason, you will not be allowed back in. But we strongly suggest you don’t give up on this memorable dark night of the soul.
All contents copyright 2005 by Mark Rifkin and twi-ny. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without written permission. Please note that events, dates, and prices are subject to change.
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BAMcinematek / BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Ave. between Ashland Pl. & St. Felix St.
Tickets: $10
718-636-4100
http://bam.org/film/series.aspx?id=34
Thursday, October 13 THE ADVENTURES OF IRON PUSSY (HUA JAI TOR RA NONG) (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004), 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Friday, October 14 MYSTERIOUS OBJECT AT NOON (DOKFA NAI MEUMAN) (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004), 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Saturday, October 15 BLISSFULLY YOURS (SUD SANAEHA) (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2002), 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30
Sunday, October 16 TROPICAL MALADY (SUD PRALAD) (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004), 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15
Kips Bay (KB)
Second Ave. at 32nd St.
Shops at Columbus Circle (CC)
Admission: free
http://www.bordersstores.com/events/events.jsp
Thursday, October 13 Don McLean, REARVIEW MIRROR, CC, 7:00
Friday, October 14 John Lithgow, MARSUPIAL SUE PRESENTS "THE RUNAWAY PANCAKE," CC, 1:00
Sunday, October 16 Michael Buckley, THE SISTERS GRIMM, KB, 3:00
Thursday, October 20 Courage Night featuring cancer survivors, friends, and family members reading WHY I WORE LIPSTICK, KB, 7:00
Barnes & Noble
33 East 17th St. at Union Square (US)
600 Fifth Ave. at 48th St., Rockefeller Center (RC)
675 Sixth Ave. at 22nd St., Chelsea (CH)
160 East 54th St. at Third Ave., Citicorp (CC)
105 Fifth Ave. at 18th St. (18)
4 Astor Pl. at Broadway (AP)
1972 Broadway at West 66th St., Lincoln Triangle (LT)
396 Sixth Ave. at Eighth St., Greenwich Village (GV)
2289 Broadway at 82nd St. (BW)
240 East 86th St. at Second Ave. (86)
106 Court St., Brooklyn (CS)
267 Seventh Ave., Park Slope (PS)
Admission: free
http://storelocator.barnesandnoble.com/events.do
Saturday, October 13 John Waters, HAIRSPRAY, FEMALE TROUBLE, and MULTIPLE MANIACS: THREE MORE SCREENPLAYS BY JOHN WATERS, AP, 7:00
Sunday, October 14 Tab Hunter, TAB HUNTER CONFIDENTIAL, LT, 7:00
Monday, October 17 Alison Lurie, TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES, LT, 7:00
Tuesday, October 18 Amy Tan, SAVING FISH FROM DROWNING, US, 7:00
Saturday, October 20 Jonathan Safran Foer, EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED, US, 7:00
Sunday, October 21 Kurt Vonnegut, A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY, US, 7:00
Tuesday, October 25 Doris Kearns Goodwin, TEAM OF RIVALS: THE POLITICAL GENIUS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN, US, 7:00
Wednesday, October 26 Al Franken, THE TRUTH WITH JOKES, US, 7:00
Dahesh Museum of Art
580 Madison Ave. at 57th St.
Free with museum admission of $9 unless otherwise noted
212-759-0606
http://www.daheshmuseum.org/publicprograms_events/programs.html
Thursday, October 13 The Poet and His Portrait: Representations of Homer in the Nineteenth Century, illustrated lecture by Dr. Roger Diederen, 6:30
Tuesday, October 18 Homer at Versailles, illustrated lecture by Dr. Betsy Rosasco, 6:30
Wednesday, October 19 The Revolutionary Impact of the École des Beaux-Arts on American Architecture, illustrated lecture and book signing with David Garrard Lowe, reservations required, $25, 6:00
Thursday, October 20 Poetry reading with Rachel Hadas, Ann Lauinger, and K.D. McClatchy, $10, 6:30
Sunday, October 23 Homeric Homecomings in the Modern Greek Tradition, lecture by Prof. Vangelis Calotychos, 2:30
Humanities and Social Sciences Library
Celeste Bartos Forum
Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
212-930-0855
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/peplist.cfm
Friday, October 14 Tickets ($15) go on sale for John Hope Franklin and President William Jefferson Clinton, Thursday, October 27, 7:00
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Ave. at 70th St.
212-517-ASIA
http://www.asiasociety.org/events
Friday, October 14 ELECTRIC SHADOWS (Xiao Jiang, 2004), $7, 6:30
Jacob Javits Convention Center
Eleventh Ave. between 34th & 39th Sts.
Admission: $6 with promotional code KEYTWO
Friday, October 14
through
Sunday, October 16 Three days of the latest in consumer technology, including gaming, phones, computers, television, MP3s, and more, including speakers from Intel, LucasArts, and Xbox, dozens of exhibitors, eBay University, Digital Village with product demos, workshops, special presentations, ESPN Sports Lounge, and a concert by Hope Partlow
Various venues
Home base: d.u.m.b.o. arts center (dac)
30 Washington St. at Front St.
Admission: most events free, special panels and tours $10-$25
Weekend and Festival Passes available
718-694-0867
http://www.dumboartscenter.org/festival
Friday, October 14
through
Sunday, October 16 Ninth annual event featuring open studios, installations and sculpture in galleries, parks, and lobbies and on the streets, live performances, evening projections, video programs, panels, walking tours, music and dance, spoken word, and more
The New York Botanical Garden
Enid A. Haupt Conservatory
Bronx River Parkway (exit 7W) & Fordham Rd.
Admission: adults $13, children two to twelve $5
Metro-North One-Day Getaway: $6 round trip
1-718-817-8700
Friday, October 14
through
Sunday, October 23 Bonsai celebration that complements "Momijigari: The Japanese Autumn Garden," which runs through November 17 in the Conservatory Courtyard
29 East Fourth St. between Lafayette St. and the Bowery
212-777-1089
Fridays, October 14-28 Death at Home: Ghostly Tales and Tours by Candlelight, reservations and prepayment required, $20, 6:00 — 10:00
Wednesday, October 19 Psychic Night, with Frank Andrews, hors d’oeuvres, wines, and spirits, readings $20 for ten minutes, $25, 6:30 — 9:30
118 West 22nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Preregistration required for most events
212-675-6544
Friday, October 14 Unconquerable Wisdom: The Life & Teachings of Mipham the Great, with Sogan Rinpoche, $25 plus traditional teacher’s gift, 7:00
Thursday, October 20 PIONEERS OF HOSPICE, film screening and discussion with Acharya Judy Lief, $15 suggested donation, 7:00
Saturday, October 22 Passionate Seeing: Contemplative Photography, workshop with Elizabeth Reid, $75, camera required, 12 noon — 5:00 pm
Tuesday, October 25
and
Wednesday, October 26 Perfect Purity: The Ultimate Teachings of The Transcendent Wisdom Sutras, with Khenchen Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, $60 plus traditional teacher’s gift, 7:00
Courtesy of Milton Glaser, Inc
Milton Glaser, "Beatrice," from Dante’s Purgatorio.
72 Spring St. between Broadway & Lafayette St., Second Floor
212-431-7920
http://poetshouse.org/progcoming.htm
Through October 29 Purgatorio: Prints by Milton Glaser, free
Saturday, October 15 Poetry in the Children’s Room: Inkless Tales with Elizabeth Bushey, 11:00 am
manhattantheatresource
177 MacDougal St. at Washington Square Park
Tickets: $10
Reservations: 212-501-4751
Saturday, October 15 Play written and performed by Raquel Cion as part of manhattantheatresource’s Sola Voce: Estrogenia Festival, 1:00
Academy of Art University
The Altman Building
135 West 18th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Admission: free, but RSVP required
800-544-2787
http://www.academyart.edu/academyday/nyc_rsvp.asp
Saturday, October 15 Featuring reviews of portfolios, class demonstration, financial aid and scholarship information, academic directors, housing, and admissions, 10:00 am — 4:00 pm
Mott, Baxter, Mulberry, Bayard, Pell & Doyers Sts. between Canal & Worth Sts.
Admission: free
Tasting plates: $1-$2
Saturday, October 15 Chinatown celebrates its unique flavors with more than fifty restaurants offering tasting plates of some of their finest Chinese, Vietnamese, and Malaysian fare, incuding Bo Ky, Doyers Vietnamese, Fried Dumplings, Jaya Malaysian, Mr. Tang’s, Peking Duck House, Pho Viet Huong, Ping’s Seafood, Silk Road Café, Sweet-n-Tart, Tasty Dumplings, Ten Ren’s Tea Time, and the ever-popular Wo Hop (visit the above Web site for a menu of what each eatery will be serving so you can plot out your trip), 1:00 — 6:00
South Street Seaport Museum
211 Water St between Beekman and Fulton Sts.
Free with museum admission: $8 adults, $4 children five through twelve
212-748-8758
http://www.southstseaport.org/calendar/calpubprog.html
Saturday, October 15 Family Program during Fire Prevention Week, 1:00 — 4:00
All events approximately 11:00 am - 6:00 pm unless otherwise noted
Admission: free
http://www.nyctourist.com/st_fairs_calendar.htm
http://nycstreetfairs.com/sched.html
http://www.clearviewfestival.com
http://www.brooklyn-usa.org/street_fair_concerts/Street_fairs.htm
Saturday, October 15 Eighth Ave. Autumn Festival: Eighth Ave. between 42nd & 57th Sts.
Saturday, October 15 West Fourth St. United Methodist Church Festival: West Fourth St. between Sixth Ave. & University Pl.
Sunday, October 16 Sixth Ave. Family Expo: Sixth Ave. between 42nd & 56th Sts.
Friday, October 21 Financial Community Day Festival Series: Maiden Ln. between Water & South Sts.
Saturday, October 22 Washington Sq. Festival: Waverly Pl. between Broadway & Fifth Ave.
Saturday, October 22 Washington Pl. Fall Festival: Washington Pl. between Grove & Macdougal Sts.
Sunday, October 23 The Great Third Ave. Fair: Third Ave. between 23rd & 34th Sts.
Sunday, October 23 Manhattan Ave. Festival: Manhattan Ave. between Bedford St. & Greenpoint Ave.
376 Ninth St. at Sixth Ave.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Admission: free
718-965-9177
http://www.barbesbrooklyn.com/tcc.html
Sunday, October 15 Reading Series: Bennett Madison, Justine Larbalestier, and Scott Westerfeld, 6:00
Monday, October 17 Traveling Cinema: THE CITY (Ralph Steiner & Willard van Dyke, 1939) and THE PHOTOGRAPHER (Willard van Dyke, 1950), 7:00
Monday, October 24 Traveling Cinema: VALLEY TOWN (Willard van Dyke, 1940) and SO THAT MEN ARE FREE (Willard van Dyke, 1963), 7:00
South Street Seaport
212-463-9791
Sunday, October 16 Ride to raise money and awareness for multiple sclerosis
Union Square Park, North Plaza
Broadway at 17th St.
Admission: free
311
http://www.lesecologycenter.org
Sunday, October 16 Recycle computers, monitors, TVs, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, and cell phones at this e-waste collection event sponsored by the New York City Department of Sanitation, also being held on Staten Island on October 15, the Bronx on October 22, Queens on October 23, and Brooklyn on October 29, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Japan Society
333 E. 47th St. at First Ave.
Through October 23
212-752-3015
Sunday, October 16 JAPANESE DEVILS (RIBEN GUIZI) (Minoru Matsui, 2001), 2:00
Sunday, October 16 A MAN’S FACE IS HIS RESUME (OTOKO NO KAO WA RIREKISHO) (Tai Kato, 1966), 2:00
Symphony Space
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Double features Sundays & Tuesdays at 4:00
October 16 — November 22
Tickets: $10
212-864-5400
http://www.symphonyspace.org/genres/seriesPage.php?genreId=2&eventId=1440#event1440
Sunday, October 16 PIXOTE (Hector Babenco, 1981), 4:00, and GLORIA (John Cassavetes, 1980), 6:30
Tuesday, October 18 GLORIA (John Cassavetes, 1980), 6:00, and PIXOTE (Hector Babenco, 1981), 8:15
PIXOTE (Hector Babenco, 1981)
Hector Babenco's gripping, heart-wrenching docudrama is set in São Paulo, where a group of young boys struggle to survive on the streets and in a reform school that is more like a prison. When four of them bust out, they get caught up in a dangerous life of drugs, prostitution, and guns. Marília Pêra won numerous international awards for her performance as a prostitute, but the film belongs to eleven-year-old Fernando Ramos da Silva, who plays the title character; you won’t be able to take your eyes off him, except to wipe away the tears. Unable to get his life together after the film, Fernando was later killed by police under suspicious circumstances when he was only nineteen.
Sunday, October 23 THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT (John N. Smith, 1992), 4:00, and THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT: FIFTEEN YEARS LATER (John N. Smith, 1993), 5:45
Tuesday, October 25 THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT (John N. Smith, 1992), 6:00, and THE BOYS OF ST. VINCENT: FIFTEEN YEARS LATER (John N. Smith, 1993), 7:45
New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
333 Adams St.
Advance tickets: $65; $85 at the door
866-468-7619
http://www.brooklyneatsonline.com
Monday, October 17 Ninth annual food, wine, and beer tasting festival, featuring unlimited tastings of offerings from the Brooklyn Brewery, Olde Brooklyn Soda, Sixpoint Craft Ales, Aunt Suzie’s, Liberty Heights Tap Room, Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, River Café, Fratelli Ravioli, Osaka, Olea, Tavern on Dean, Melt, Hibiscus Café, Junior’s, Soul Spot, Samm’s, Brawta Caribbean Café, Lobo, LouLou, Magnolia, Tower Isles, Twin Marquis, Peral Room, Lundy Bros., and many more, 6:30 — 8:30
Various art galleries, studios, comedy clubs, and theaters
October 17-23
Admission: free unless otherwise noted
http://www.fashioncenter.com/arts
Monday, October 17 Salsa on Broadway, live music, Golda Meir Plaza, 1411 Broadway at 39th St., 12 noon
Monday, October 17 Ralph Rucci: A Master’s Class, Abingdon Theatre, 312 West 36th St., reservations required, 212-764-9600, 5:30
Monday, October 17 ABNORMAL STEW, Baby Hippopotamus Productions, Where Eagles Dare Theatre, 347 West 36th St., $, 7:30
Tuesday, October 18 chashama presents the Tank NYC: Vaudeville Deluxe, 208 West 37th St., $7, 8:00
Tuesday, October 18
through
Saturday, October 22 Exit Biennial: Traffic, Exit Art Gallery, 475 Tenth Ave. at 37th St.
Tuesday, October 18
through
Sunday, October 23 WAR IN PARAMUS! Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex, 312 West 36th St., $35
Wednesday, October 19 Bryan Bradley for Tuleh: Text and Textiles in Context, Lower East Side Printshop, 306 West 37th St., reservations required, 212-764-9600, 5:30
Wednesday, October 19
through
Sunday, October 23 Rendezvous on 36th Street, (@) Remy’s Studio, 41 West 36th St., 10:00 am — 6:00 pm
Thursday, October 20 Isaac Mizrahi: Clothes that Dare, Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 West 37th St., reservations required, 212-764-9600, 6:30
Thursday, October 20 chashama presents the Tank NYC: Laughing Liberally, hosted by Katie Halper, 208 West 37th St., $7, 8:00
Thursday, October 20
Saturday, October 22
and
Sunday, October 23 Open Studios: Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, 323 West 39th St.
Friday, October 21 Yeohlee Teng: Material Architecture, Exit Art Gallery, 475 Tenth Ave. at 37th St., reservations required, 212-764-9600, 5:30
Friday, October 21
and
Saturday, October 22 National Comedy Theatre, 347 West 36th St., $15, 7:30 & 10:00
Friday, October 21
and
Saturday, October 22 Edwardian Style Salon: A Grand Ball of the Belle Epoch, Garment District Theater, Actor’s Movement Studio, 302 West 37th St., $12, 8:00
Friday, October 21
through
Sunday, October 23 JUST 45 MINUTES FROM PARADISE, Magick Mirror Communications, 315 West 39th St., Studio 710
Friday, October 21
through
Sunday, October 23 Contemporary Emerging Artists, a ramona studio, 65 West 37th St.
Saturday, October 22
and
Sunday, October 23 Open Studios: Sholeh Artist Studio, 330 West 38th St., 10:30 am — 8:00 pm
Saturday, October 22
and
Sunday, October 23 Open Studios: Studio Moreno Inc., 336 West 37th St., 12 noon — 6:00 pm
Saturday, October 22
and
Sunday, October 23 Open Studios: Curtis Wallin, 306 West 38th St.
Sunday, October 23 Open Studios: Tribeca Potters, 313 West 37th St., 12 noon — 6:00 pm
Brooklyn Children’s Museum
145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Marks Ave.
Admission: $4
718-735-4400
http://www.bchildmus.org/happening/index.asp
Thursday, October 20 A celebration of the annual festival, featuring a scavenger hunt and an exploration of Jewish traditions, 12 noon
Center for Jewish History
Forchheimer Auditorium
15 West 16th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Admission: free
917-606-8200
Thursday, October 20 Panel discussion and book launch with David Kertzer and others, 4:00
Expo Center at Madison Square Garden
4 Penn Plaza between Seventh & Eighth Aves. and 31st & 33rd Sts.
Admission: free
516-759-7000
http://www.asdaonline.com/megafall2005.htm
Thursday, October 20
through
Sunday, October 23 Thirteenth annual event featuring dealers from all over the country in addition to special first-day issues from the USPS and the United Nations Postal Administration
Mary Ann’s
107 West Broadway at Reade St.
Tickets: $60
212-766-0911
http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=ALTURYMZIZYKOKRJEAGU&li=iq&src=email
Friday, October 21 Making a Difference: Hurricane Katrina Charity Event featuring French Cookin’ Blues Band and the Tremors, Mexican appetizers, gift bags, raffle, silent auction, and open bar (beer, wine, sangria, margaritas) from 8:00 to 12 midnight
Skate Key
220 East 138th St. by Grand Concourse
http://gothamgirlsrollerderby.com
Friday, October 21 Queens of Pain vs. Manhattan Mayhem, $12, 8:30
Club 17
37 West 17th St. off 5th Ave.
Private open bar reception from 10:00 to 11:30
Free admission for you and your guests from 10 until 12 midnight by saying you are there for this art show
Friday, October 21 Featuring works by Robert Smithson, Peter Max, Richard Avedon, Congo the Chimp, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol, Robert Motherwell, Chris Ofili, and Robert Longo, curated by the Mark Kostabi Fan Club and Baird Jones, 10:00 - 12 midnight
The Knitting Factory & Cozy Bowl
502-583-9290
http://www.knittingfactory.com
Friday, October 21 Opening ceremonies, Corn Mo, Bling Kong, Hair Supply, Herbal Nation, Less, and a special appearance by Jeff "the Dude" Dowd, followed by midnight screening of THE BIG LEBOWSKI, the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. between Broadway & Church St., $18, 9:00
Saturday, October 22 Main event featuring unlimited bowling and shoe rental, contests and giveaways, and a special appearance by Jeff "the Dude" Dowd, Cozy Bowl, 98-18 Rockaway Blvd., Ozone Park, $25, 8:00 pm - 1:00 am
Now available in special Achiever’s Edition DVD
http://www.coenbrothers.net/lebow.html
Jeff Bridges is awesome as the Dude, a laid-back cool cat who gets sucked into a noirish plot of jealousy, murder, money, mistaken identity, and messy carpets. Julianne Moore is excellent as free spirit Maude, Tara Reid struts her stuff as Bunny, and Peter Stormare, Flea, and Torsten Voges are a riot as a trio of nihilists. Also on hand are Philip Seymour Hoffman, David Huddleston, Aimee Mann, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, David Thewlis, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Jon Polito, and other crazy characters, but the film really belongs to the Dude and his fellow bowlers Jesus Quintana (John Turturro, who is so dirty he is completely cut out of the television version), Donny (Steve Buscemi), and Walter (John Goodman), who refuses to roll on Shabbos. This is another offbeat great one from the Coen brothers, and it is now available in a special Achiever’s Edition DVD ($49.98), which includes photo cards, coasters, a bowling shammy towel, photography by Bridges, and a making-of featurette.
Crowne Plaza Times Square
1605 Broadway at 49th St.
One-day pass: $25; three-day pass: $70
http://www.musicplayerlive.com
Friday, October 21
through
Sunday, October 23 Three days of seminars, music exhibitors, technology demonstrations, special luncheons, and a Roseland concert featuring Les Paul, Larry Carlton, the School of Rock, Lisa Loeb, Adrian Belew, Jack Bruce, Billy Burnette, Robben Ford, Ron Carter, Will Lee, and many others, all geared to musicians, engineers, and others seeking a career in music
The Town Hall
123 West 43rd St. between Sixth Ave. & Broadway
Subscription price for all three events: $120
Individual tickets: $40-45
http://www.the-townhall-nyc.org
Friday, October 21 Life Is a Cabaret: A Tribute to Kander & Ebb, with Brent Barrett, Robert Cuccioli, Billy Stritch, and Jim Caruso, 8:00
Saturday, October 22 Euan Morton & Eden Espinosa Sing Broadway!, 8:00
Sunday, October 23 Broadway Originals! with Karen Akers, Stephen Bogardus, Liz Callaway, Debbie Gravitte, Annie Golden, Sam Harris, Liz Larsen, Austin Pendleton, and Emily Skinner, 3:00
Participants must e-mail zombiecon@gmail.com
http://terrorstudios.com/TSCharacterFile/Zombie/ZombieCon.htm
Saturday, October 22 Twelve-hour zombie rampage, including bloody Mary brunch, Midtown shopping spree, and late-night debauchery
Symphony Space
Peter Jay Sharpe Theater
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
Tickets: $10 per 150-minute segment, 11:00, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00
212-864-5400
Saturday, October 22 National Book Foundation’s National Read-Aloud Day twelve-hour marathon features Jon Scieszka, John Lithgow, Thelma Golden, Tom Otterness, Ned Rorem, Jerrold Nadler, Kurt Andersen, Jacques d’Amboise, and many more
Participation: free ($5 suggested donation for T-shirt)
212-228-5000
http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=109275
Saturday, October 22 New York Cares Day, which goes from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, is a day of hands-on volunteering in which more than one hundred public schools across New York City get cleaned up and repainted by thousands of people who are organized into groups headed by a team leader. You can end up painting a cafeteria in Queens, planting bulbs in a school garden in the Bronx, or cleaning up a science lab in Brooklyn. If you’re an artist, you can request to help paint a mural. There are prizes for volunteers who raise the most money (everyone gets a T-shirt), and there’s an after-party at Pressure at Bowlmor Lanes from 4:00 to 6:00. This is one of the most rewarding ways to help this great city, so sign up as soon as you can and be part of this very special day.
Admission: free
212-825-6887
http://www.africanburialground.gov
Saturday, October 22 Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, second-floor meeting room auditorium, 2:00 – 6:00
Monday, October 24 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 515 Malcolm X Blvd. at 135th St., 5:00 – 9:00
Eldridge Street Project
M’Finda Kalunga Garden
Rivington St. between Christie & Forsyth Sts.
212-219-0888
http://www.eldridgestreet.org/programs_c.htm
Sunday, October 23 Family program featuring arts and crafts, storytelling, live music, snacks, and more, free, 11:00 am
Julia Richman Auditorium
317 East 67th St. at Second Ave.
212-645-1519
Sunday, October 23 Works by Weber, Schumann, and Brahms, conducted by Sybille Werner, $10, 3:00
Abrons Arts Center
Henry Street Settlement
466 Grand St.
212-598-0400
Sunday, October 23 Presented by Music from China and AAC Music School, Recital Hall, free, 3:00
Miller Theatre
Columbia University
2960 Broadway at 116th St.
212-854-7799
Monday, October 24 Rick Moody in Conversation with Bill Goldstein, $15, 8:00
Charley O’s Times Square Grill
1611 Broadway at 49th St.
Monday and Tuesday nights at 8:30
Admission: free; $25 minimum at tables, one-drink minimum at the bar and after 10:00
212-246-1960
http://www.rieserestaurants.com/restaurants.asp?rest_id=1019
Monday, October 24 The Stan Rubin Tigertown Five: Dixieland, 8:30 - 11:30
Tuesday, October 25 The Stan Rubin 13-Piece Orchestra: Swing, 8:30 - 11:30
The Cooper Union
Wollman Auditorium
51 Astor Pl.
Admission: free
212-353-4195
http://www.cooper.edu/month.html
http://www.picadorusa.com/tours/tours.aspx
Wednesday, October 26 Forum with Morley Safer, Philip Gourevitch, Mark Danner, and John S. Friedman, 6:30