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BALLETS WITH A TWIST: MIRAGE

Double Vision is one of several new works being previewed in Ballets with a Twist watch parties

Who: Ballets with a Twist
What: Virtual watch parties for short-film series
Where: Twist Theater online
When: Friday, January 21, 8:00 & 10:00; Saturday, January 22, 2:00, 8:00 & 10:00, free
Why: Tribeca-based Ballets with a Twist has been offering a unique twist on ballet for more than twenty-five years. The company’s short works are all named for and inspired by potent potables, performed together as Cocktail Hour: The Show. Among the pieces that combine drama, humor, mystery, and romance are Absinthe, Grappa, Martini, Zombie, Champagne, Boilermaker, Cuba Libre, and Hot Toddy.

Because of the pandemic lockdown and the continuing spread of various variants, the troupe, founded in 1996 by artistic director and choreographer Marilyn Klaus, has moved outdoors for its latest presentation, Mirage, a four-part suite being livestreamed for free on January 21-22 at 8:00 and 10:00, with an additional matinee viewing on Saturday at 2:00. The short film was directed, photographed, and edited by Emma Huibregtse, with choreography by Klaus, original music by Stephen Gaboury, and costumes by designer Catherine Zehr.

In Ranch Water, Dorothea Garland struts with a top hat on the troupe’s roof. In La Paloma, Garland glories across an old airstrip in Brooklyn, almost floating away in colorful costumes. In Smooth Criminal, Andres Neira channels Michael Jackson at the historic Queens Unisphere. And in Double Vision, real-life partners Claire Mazza and Alejandro Ulloa promenade at a masked ball on the steps of an abandoned castle in Harlem.

After the performances, members of the cast and crew in the studio discuss their process, including Klaus, Gaboury, Zehr, Jennifer Buonamia, Mackenzie Frey, Tori Hey, Margaret Hoshor, Amy Gilson, and Haley Neisser. Mirage is a mere aperitif for the upcoming stage version to be held later this year, which will also feature animated projections by Huibregtse and lighting by Dan Hansell. So grab your cocktail of choice, settle in, and join one of the watch parties taking place this weekend.

THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE

Cecily Strong makes her New York stage debut in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (photo by Kate Glicksberg for the Shed)

THE SEARCH FOR SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE
Griffin Theater at the Shed, the Bloomberg Building
545 West 30th St. at Eleventh Ave.
Tuesday – Sunday through February 6, $49-129
646-455-3494
theshed.org

Covid-19 has changed the way we experience live theater. Simply lining up to get in, theatergoers run into different rules at different venues, some more invasive and slow going than others.

So when I whisked right into the Shed’s Griffin Theater to see Cecily Strong in a revival of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, I was initially disappointed to see so many empty seats fairly close to curtain time. I couldn’t help but wonder if people were staying away because of the omicron variant, because they were waiting for the reviews to come out, because Strong was not a big enough theatrical name (which I doubted), or because there had been some kind of bad word of mouth that hadn’t made it my way.

Fortunately, I was wrong in all cases, as the crowd streamed in to nearly fill the place. The opening lines of the play recognize the integral relationship between performer and audience as Strong, as the unnamed star of the show, says, “Thank you all for coming tonight. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you here. There’s always the chance that you might not show up. I think most actors worry about playing to an empty house. I also worry about playing to a full house and leaving the audience empty.”

The audience is not left empty in the ninety-minute one-woman show, written by Jane Wagner specifically for her partner, Lily Tomlin. It was first seen on Broadway in 1985 at the Plymouth, earning Tomlin a Tony; it was turned into a film in 1991 and revived at the Booth in 2000. All along, Wagner has been tweaking the script; the 2022 edition features new quips about the climate crisis, cybersex, Elon Musk, and GPS, but its focus on fear, false hopes, and interconnectedness as humanity tries to find meaning in its everyday existence is still front and center.

Strong portrays eleven characters, going through small wardrobe changes — Anita Yavich’s costumes include a rainbow umbrella hat, an overcoat laden inside with post-it notes, and various other minor touches — as she moves back and forth on a ratty stage occupied by a cart of neverending acquired objects. (The set is by Christine Jones and Mary Hamrick, with lighting by Stacey Derosier, sound and music by Elisheba Ittoop, and choreography by James Alsop.)

Cecily Strong embodies eleven characters in one-woman show (photo by Kate Glicksberg for the Shed)

Our guide is Trudy, a homeless woman, now squatting in the theater — Strong wears a black Shed T-shirt under all her outfits — who formerly was a successful corporate designer and creative consultant but now wanders the streets of New York City conversing with alien creatures, helping them collect data.

“Those shock treatments seemed to give me new electrical circuitry,” Trudy explains. “I get like these time-space continuum shifts. My brain is so far beyond, it’s staggering. Suddenly it was like my central nervous system had a patio addition out back. Not only do I have a linkup to extraterrestrial channels, I also got a hookup to humanity as a whole.” These shifts, in which Strong becomes other characters, are accompanied by a flash of light and crash of sound.

Agnus Angst is a fourteen-year-old punk performance artist and “new bio-form” with a negative attitude whose parents have locked her out of the house. (“We are all micro-SPECKS on SPECK-ship Earth.”) Chrissy is a seminar hopper looking for a job and self-awareness while thinking about suicide. (“Whooo! I got fired from that telemarketing place. No, they gave me no notice at all . . . just . . . warnings.”)

Kate is a gossipy, bored woman who has uneven hair and has lost the tip of a finger in a cooking class accident. (“I am sick of being the victim of trends I reflect but don’t even understand.”) Paul is a divorced father and sperm donor who is feeling burned out. (“What’s the point of being a hedonist if you’re not having a good time?”)

Brandy and Tina are street prostitutes who get picked up by a writer who wants to talk to them for research. (“You’re the second guy this month wants to take out trade in this fashion. Last one ended up wanting my life history and a blowjob,” Brandy says. Tina adds: “I got news, what’s between her legs is her life history.”)

Lyn, Marge, and Edie are suburban friends evaluating their status, particularly as women. (Lyn: “I worry sometimes, maybe Bob has gotten too much in touch with his feminine side. Last night, I’m pretty sure he faked an orgasm.” Edie: “I look at myself . . . I don’t see any flaws.” Marge: “I’ve discovered a great medical cure for sobriety — alcoholism!”)

The homeless, endearing Trudy leads the search for signs of intelligent life with the help of unseen aliens (photo by Kate Glicksberg for the Shed)

In her New York theatrical debut, Strong, the ten-year SNL vet who also starred in the Apple TV musical parody series Schmigadoon!, eases right into the role made famous by Tomlin. Having seen the original Broadway production, I at first couldn’t stop thinking about whether two-time Emmy nominee Strong, whose August 2021 memoir, This Will All Be Over Soon, dealt with personal loss and the pandemic, was living up to Tomlin’s legend, but it wasn’t long before I was sucked into the characters, forgetting about both Strong and Tomlin. Strong makes the role her own, which is the strongest kind of praise one could give; she’s immensely likable, warm and friendly, and, very, very funny.

It was director Leigh Silverman’s idea to revive the work at the Shed as the lockdown was lifted, and she chose Strong after watching her portray Fox News host Jeanine Pirro jumping into a glass box of wine on Weekend Update last May. Silverman has helmed such Broadway plays as Grand Horizons and The Lifespan of a Fact in addition to the off-Broadway solo shows Harry Clarke and On the Exhale, and that experience keeps Signs energetic and exciting.

Whenever suicide was mentioned, I found it hard not to think about the Vessel, the twisting structure outside the Shed from which four people have jumped to their death since February 2020. Harsh reality is always right around the corner. Some of the New Agey feminist banter feels a bit dusty, but it always picks itself up in the hands of Strong, an improv specialist who just might be having even more fun than we are. What might feel like randomness at times all comes together by the end in surprising ways, emphasizing the interdependence of humanity. Wagner (Appearing Nitely, J.T.) and Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winner Tomlin (Nashville, Grace and Frankie) have given their blessing to this revival — they are serving as executive producers — and their faith has been rewarded, as has ours. As Trudy tells us, giving each of our lives meaning, “The good news is: In the future, they are still making plans for the future.”

VIRTUAL SYMPOSIUM: SURREALISM BEYOND BORDERS

Koga Harue, Umi (The Sea), oil on canvas, 1929 (The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo / photo courtesy MOMAT/DNPartcom)

Who: MetSpeaks
What: Two-day virtual symposium on Met exhibition “Surrealism Beyond Borders”
Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art Zoom
When: Thursday, January 20, 1:00–5:30; Friday, January 21, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, free with advance RSVP
Why: While walking through the Met’s must-see “Surrealism Beyond Borders” exhibit, which continues through January 30, I bumped into an old friend of mine who was not impressed by the show, disappointed that it was lacking in big-name familiar works. However, that’s part of the point. While the exhibition does feature works by Max Ernst, Giorgio de Chirico, René Magritte, Salvador Dalí, Leonora Carrington, Wifredo Lam, Dorothea Tanning, and Joan Miró, it explores the development of surrealism around the world, from Belgrade, Mexico City, the Netherlands, Haiti, South Korea, and Portugal to Egypt, England, Colombia, South America, Cuba, and Canada, where surrealism was often part of sociocultural movements toward freedom and justice.

Divided into such sections as “Collective Identities,” “The Work of Dreams,” “Beyond Reason,” “Thoughts in Transition,” “The Fantasy and Phallacy of Elsewhere,” “Bodies of Desire,” and “Automatism,” the show finds commonalities in different cultures in painting and sculpture and broadens the idea of what qualifies as surreal. Marcel Jean’s oil on wood Armoire surréaliste (Surrealist Wardrobe), made while the French artist was living in exile with his wife in Budapest, welcomes visitors with open doors. Koga Harue’s Umi (The Sea) prefigures Thomas Hart Benton. Ramses Younan’s 1939 untitled painting of a twisted Nut, the goddess of the sky, was a direct response to Magritte and Dalí. Ithell Colquhoun called her double-phallic Scylla “a pictorial pun.” There’s also an experimental film by Maya Deren, Cage by Alberto Giacometti, a copy of the 1941 Martinique arts journal Tropiques, Pierre Alechinsky’s depiction of Central Park, and a corner dedicated to surrealism in Chicago in the 1960s, with protest posters, manifestos, and blues music by Elmore James, Buddy Guy, and others. “Surrealism fights for the TOTAL LIBERATION OF MAN!” the Chicago Surrealist Group declared in 1971. The show indeed goes well beyond borders.

In conjunction with the final days of the show, MetSpeaks is hosting a two-day free virtual symposium consisting of four panel discussions with professors, publishers, artists, and art historians exploring various aspects of surrealism, focusing on time and place. Admission is free with RSVP; below is the schedule.

Thursday, January 20
Surrealism and Place, with Lori Cole, Krzysztof Fijalkowski, Talinn Grigor, fahima ife, and Mark Polizzotti, moderated by Joan Kee, 1:00 – 3:00

On Black, Brown, & Beige, with Robin D. G. Kelley and Fred Moten, moderated by Zita Cristina Nunes, 4:00 – 5:30

Friday, January 21
Surrealism and Time, with Sam Durant, Marie Mauzé, Partha Mitter, and Michael Stone-Richards, moderated by Dawn Adès, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Closing Discussion, with Dawn Adès, Joan Kee, and Zita Cristina Nunes, 12:00 – 12:45 pm

MOLLY LIEBER & ELEANOR SMITH: GLORIA REHEARSAL (excerpt)

Who: Molly Lieber & Eleanor Smith, James Lo, Tatyana Tenenbaum
What: Streaming performance and live virtual discussion
Where: Baryshnikov Arts Center online
When: Live Zoom discussion January 19, free with RSVP, 5:00; performance available on demand through January 24 at 5:00, free
Why: Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith, who have been creating dance works together for more than fifteen years, debuted their latest piece, Gloria, made during the pandemic, outdoors at Abrons Arts Center this past May. The indoor premiere is scheduled for April 8-9 at New York Live Arts. In the meantime, you can catch an extensive rehearsal of Gloria — a name shared by Lieber’s baby — as part of Baryshnikov Arts Center’s excellent digital programming. In the ninety-minute work, Lieber and Smith redefine female objectification, incorporating microphones and mic stands, large mirrors on wheels, and folding chairs as they move about BAC’s rehearsal space, asserting control over their physical form as women. The soundtrack evolves from a long silence, interrupted by screams from Lieber, Smith singing “Getting to Know You” from The King and I, and Lieber mumbling Dan Hill’s “Sometimes When We Touch,” to snippets of patriotic marches, traffic, birds, and Laura Branigan’s 1982 hit, “Gloria.” (The wide-ranging sound design is by James Lo.)

Molly Lieber and Eleanor Smith’s Gloria rehearsal excerpt continues online through January 24 (photo by Maria Baranova)

At one point, Lieber puts the microphone all over Smith’s skin, giving voice to her body. “It’s too much,” Smith repeats later, reflecting on the expectations of others. Lieber and Smith entwine themselves on the floor, take off and put back on their costumes, morph into emotional positions that often evoke sexual contact, and dare the patriarchal system to question who they are and what they want out of life, determined to survive amid all the maelstrom, especially the mass grief caused by the coronavirus crisis. As in such earlier works as Body Comes Apart, Basketball, Rude World, Tulip, and Beautiful Bone, Gloria is emotionally and physically exhausting as Lieber and Smith push each other to the extreme — and then keep going.

The piece was filmed and edited by the extraordinary Tatyana Tenenbaum, whose previous virtual work for BAC includes Holland Andrews’s Museum of Calm, River L. Ramirez’s Ghostfolk, and a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Merce Cunningham’s Landrover. Gloria is available for streaming through January 24 at 5:00. On January 19 at 5:00, Lieber and Smith will take part in a live discussion over Zoom, joined by Lo and moderated by Tenenbaum.

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY WINTER 2022 STUDIO SERIES: NEW@GRAHAM WITH HOFESH SHECHTER

Hofesh Shechter will present an inside look at his new work for Martha Graham in January 19 livestream

Who: Hofesh Shechter
What: NEW@Graham with Hofesh Shechter
Where: Martha Graham Dance Company online or via Patreon
When: Wednesday, January 19, $25, 7:00
Why: Over the past few months, the Martha Graham Dance Company’s Studio Series has featured “GrahamDeconstructed”: Acts of Light with original cast member Peggy Lyman, New@Graham with Andrea Miller discussing her new work (Scavengers) for the troupe, and a holiday event with Graham 2 that included highlights from Appalachian Spring. Jerusalem-born, London-based choreographer Hofesh Shechter was scheduled to present in-person New@Graham open rehearsals of his new MGDC piece January 18-19 at the Martha Graham Studio Theater at 55 Bethune St., but because of the omicron surge, the event will be livestreamed only on January 19 at 7:00. Shechter will offer an inside look at the work-in-progress commission, set to premiere in April at City Center.

Shechter, who has also choreographed works for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Ensemble, Candoco Dance Company, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 1, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Ballet, and Royal Ballet Flanders, has said, “I want audiences to be awakened, to experience my work from the gut. Trusting the gut is to me like trusting nature, or God, or a sense of purpose; a source, a spark. Trusting a higher and better force than our limited oppressed cultured minds.” We’ll have to do that virtually January 19 in preparation for the spring in-person season.

The Studio Series continues February 22-23 with an exploration of the reimagining of Graham’s 1952 Canticle for Innocent Comedians by eight choreographers (Sonya Tayeh, Kristina and Sadé Alleyne, Sir Robert Cohan, Jenn Freeman, Juliano Nunes, Micaela Taylor, and Yin Yue), which will also be part of the City Center season.

THE 2022 JUDITH CHAMPION NEW VOICES READING SERIES

Works by Vivian J. O. Barnes, Danny Tejera, and Susan Xu are part of Second Stage’s Judith Champion New Voices Reading Series

Who: Second Stage Theater
What: Staged readings of new plays
Where: Tony Kiser Theater, 305 West 43rd St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
When: January 18, 24, 31, free with RSVP, 6:30
Why: Second Stage Theater’s 2022 Judith Champion New Voices Reading Series is set to take place January 18, 24, and 31, featuring professionally produced staged readings of three works by emerging artists. “We’re thrilled to be presenting the second year of our New Voices series — and to do so in person at the Tony Kiser Theater,” Second Stage president and artistic director Carole Rothman said in a statement. “Supporting early career writers is central to Second Stage’s mission, and I can’t wait for the Second Stage audience to be the first to experience these great plays by Danny, Vivian and Susan.”

First up is Danny Tejera’s Toros on January 18, about three twentysomethings and a dog hanging out in a garage in Madrid, directed by David Mendizábal, followed on January 24 by Vivian J. O. Barnes’s The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes, about a dance team preparing for homecoming, directed by Cristina Angeles, and concluding on January 31 with Susan Xu’s Yellow Dream$, a dark comedy about diversity, directed by May Adrales. “Support what is most important to you,” series underwriter Judith Champion added in a statement, “and one thing that is important to me is to nurture new playwriting talent so that theater flourishes for future generations.”

A CELEBRATION OF DR. KING

The life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be celebrated at BAM on MLK Day (photo courtesy SuperStock)

Who: Dr. Imani Perry, Nona Hendryx, Craig Harris & Tailgaters Tales, Sing Harlem, Kyle Marshall, Reggie Wilson, others
What: Thirty-Sixth Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Where: BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Harvey Theater at BAM Strong, BAM Rose Cinemas, and online
When: Monday, January 17, free with RSVP, 10:30 am
Why: No one pays tribute every year to the life and legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quite the way BAM does on MLK Day. On January 17, the Brooklyn institution will be hosting another impressive gathering, both in person and online, featuring a keynote address by Dr. Imani Perry, author and professor of African American studies at Princeton, entitled “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community”; live performances by Nona Hendryx with Craig Harris & Tailgaters Tales and Sing Harlem; and the eight-minute video King, a recording of a solo by dancer and choreographer Kyle Marshall that incorporates text from Dr. King’s “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered on April 3, 1968, the day before his assassination.

Kyle Marshall’s King is part of BAM MLK tribute (photo by Steven Speliotis)

“We’re thrilled to welcome the community back as we uplift one another and unite in celebration of Dr. King’s enduring legacy and its relevance today,” BAM co-interim resident Coco Killingsworth said in a statement. ”Brooklyn’s beloved tradition was established a year after Dr. King’s birthday was recognized as a national holiday, and thirty-six years later, his convictions remain an indelible force for equality, dignity, and justice. This year we are expanding our celebration to include more programs and events at a moment when we so deeply need to channel Dr. King’s legacy, leadership, and lessons.”

The day also includes a 1:00 screening in BAM Rose Cinemas of Stanley Nelson and Traci A. Curry’s 2021 documentary Attica, about the 1971 uprising at the prison; a 3:00 community presentation at the Harvey Theater at BAM Strong of Reggie Wilson’s Power, a dance that explores the world of the Black Shakers; the BAMkids workshop “Heroes of Color HQ” for children five to eleven, focusing on underrepresented historical figures; and a digital billboard showing “Salvation: A State of Being,” with contributions by seven Black visual artists (Adama Delphine Fawundu, Genevieve Gaignard, Jamel Shabazz, Frank Stewart, Roscoè B. Thické III, Deborah Willis, and Joshua Woods) honoring author and activist bell hooks, who passed away on December 15 at the age of sixty-nine.

As Dr. King said on April 3, 1968: “Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: ‘We want to be free.’ And another reason that I’m happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn’t force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today.”