this week in literature

UNDER THE RADAR: THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE

Ohio Theatre has adapted Murakami’s THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE for the stage (photo by Ralph Ford)

Ohio Theatre
66 Wooster St.
Through January 30
Tickets: $18
212-966-4844
www.windupbc.com
www.sohothinktank.org

Bestselling Japanese author Haruki Murakami, whose short stories appear regularly in the New Yorker and who has written such beloved novels as SPUTNIK SWEETHEART, HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD, and SOUTH OF THE BORDER, WEST OF THE SUN, has been very cautious about allowing his work to be adapted for the screen. Kazuki Omori turned Murakami’s debut novel, HEAR THE WIND SING, into a 1980 drama; his short story “Tony Takatani” became a compelling 2004 film by Jun Ichikawa; and Robert Logevall directed a screen version of the short story ALL GOD’S CHILDREN CAN DANCE, starring Joan Chen. (Tran Anh Hung is currently in postproduction on NORWEGIAN WOOD.) However, there have been several short films made from his stories, as well as some notable stage adaptations, including Simon McBurney’s dazzling multimedia production, THE ELEPHANT VANISHES, a highlight of the 2004 Lincoln Center Festival, and the Steppenwolf Theater productions of KAFKA ON THE SHORE and AFTER THE QUAKE.

Now SoHo’s Ohio Theatre is attempting the seemingly impossible, adapting Murakami’s remarkable breakthrough novel, the dense and rewarding WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE, into a multimedia stage presentation with music, dance video, puppets, and other intriguing elements. Stephen Earnhart and Greg Pierce’s production runs through January 30; tickets are $18 and going fast for this sneak peek at a work-in-progress scheduled to debut at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in March 2011.

FIRST SATURDAYS: BLACK HISTORY MONTH

Become a Brooklyn Museum 1stfan for $20 and receive a free limited-edition print of Valerie Hegarty’s “First Harvest in the Wilderness with Pileated Woodpecker,” inspired by Asher Durand

Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday, February 6, free after 5:00 (some events require advance free tickets available an hour or two before showtime)
718-638-5000
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum’s monthly First Saturdays program celebrates Black History Month with another evening of free activities, featuring live performances by the Igmar Thomas Group, Impact Repertory Theatre, and Dja-rara, screenings of Jeremy Robins and Magali Damas’s 2008 Haitian documentary THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WATER and Mel Stuart’s 1973 classic WATTSTAX, a Hands-On wearable art workshop, gallery tours, a book club meeting discussing THE BLACK BODY, and a Mardi Gras dance party hosted by DJ Ian Friday. Also, 1stfans will receive a free print by Valerie Hegarty. In addition, all of the exhibitions will be open, including “Healing the Wounds of War: The Brooklyn Sanitary Fair of 1864,” “Body Parts: Ancient Egyptian Fragments and Amulets,” and “From the Village to Vogue: The Modernist Jewelry of Art Smith.”

MUSICAL TALES AND ADVENTURES

Neil Gaiman will get out from behind the signing table and hop onstage at the WFC to read PETER AND THE WOLF (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

PETER AND THE WOLF & AND BOLD TO FALL WITHAL — HENRY HUDSON IN THE NEW WORLD
World Financial Center Winter Garden
220 Vesey St.
Saturday, January 16, free, 7:00
212-417-7050
www.artsworldfinancialcenter.com

Neil Gaiman (SANDMAN, STARDUST) has been having quite a time of late. He won the coveted Newbery Medal for THE GRAVEYARD BOOK, his creepy tale CORALINE was turned into a Golden Globe-nominated film, he gets to hang around a lot with close friend Tori Amos, and he’s engaged to singer Amanda Palmer. Gaiman, the rock star of the literati, will be in New York on January 16, reading Sergei Prokofiev’s PETER AND THE WOLF, accompanied by the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra. Following that performance, the orchestra, with tenor Jason Danieley, will continue with the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s AND BOLD TO FALL WITHAL — HENRY HUDSON IN THE NEW WORLD, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Hudson arriving in New York harbor.

FROM GOTHIC TO GRAPHIC

Austen authors gather at the Morgan for panel discussion

Austen authors will gather at the Morgan for panel discussion

ADAPTING JANE AUSTEN NOVELS
Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave. at 36th St.
Tuesday, January 26, $15, 6:30
212-685-0008
www.themorgan.org

In conjunction with the Morgan’s revelatory exhibit “A Woman’s Wit: Jane Austen’s Life and Legacy,” the museum will be hosting a panel discussion about literary adaptations of the author’s works, with Austen experts Ben Winters, Jason Rekulak, Jane Rubino, Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, and Nancy Butler, moderated by Juliette Wells. The discussion begins at 6:30, but the exhibition will be open for viewing at 5:30. Austen lovers might want to return to the Morgan on February 12 at 7:00, when “Jane Austen on Screen: Sense and Sensibility” features a screening of Ang Lee’s 1995 adaptation of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (free with museum admission).

POETS: TIGER BARK PRESS

pilgrim

Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia St. between West Fourth & Bleecker Sts.
Wednesday, January 13, $7 (includes free drink), 6:00
212-989-9319
www.corneliastreetcafe.com
www.tigerbarkpress.com

Steven Huff’s relatively new Tiger Bark Press, which focuses “on high quality poetry, with occasional forays into the realms of literary criticism and non-fiction,” presents three of its poets in a special evening at the Cornelia Street Cafe. British-born writer Martin Walls reads from THE SOLVAY PROCESS, world traveler Karen Swenson from A PILGRIM INTO SILENCE, and Pushcart Prize nominee Estha Weiner from TRANSFIGURATION BEGINS AT HOME. Former postal worker and longtime editor, teacher, and writer Angelo Verga serves as host.

COIL

Performance Space 122
150 First Ave. at Ninth St.
January 6-17, $20 per performance, $55 passport for any five shows
www.ps122.org

The COIL festival is back at P.S. 122, featuring fourteen companies performing over twelve days, some in conjunction with the Under the Radar festival running concurrently at the Public Theater. Among this year’s presentations are Richard Maxwell’s ADS, which looks at the theater itself; Gisèle Vienne’s hard-hitting JERK, based on text by Dennis Cooper; Morgan Thorson’s HEAVEN, with live music by LOW; and the return of Temporary Distortion’s AMERICANA KAMIKAZE, which ran at P.S. 122 last fall. We can’t recommend Megan V. Sprenger / mvworks’ “…within us.” highly enough; when we caught the show last May at P.S. 122, we called it “a brilliant evening-length piece of confrontational dance theater that gets right in the audience’s face — literally. . . . a thoroughly involving hour that leaves the talented dancers and the brave audience feeling energized and alive.” Several off-site COIL productions include LeeSaar the Company’s PRIMA at the JCC, WaxFactory’s BLIND.NESS at the Abrons Arts Center, and Maria Hassabi’s SoloShow at a private studio in Chelsea; when we saw SoloShow at P.S. 122 in November, we referred to is as “a highlight of the Performa 09 biennial,” a beautifully constructed piece that displays Hassabi’s awe-inspiring athleticism and strong body.

UNDER THE RADAR

Stephen Earnhart’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE should be one of the highlights of the Under the Radar festival

The Public Theater (and other venues)
425 Lafayette St. between East Fourth St. & Astor Pl.
January 6-17, $15-$30
212-967-7555
www.publictheater.org

Held in conjunction with the APAP Conference, the sixth annual Under the Radar festival comprises twenty theatrical productions from seven countries, with well-known companies as well as lesser-known entities bringing their work to the Public Theater and other venues. SITI Company’s Anne Bogart and Charles L. Mee Jr. have teamed up with the Martha Graham Company for AMERICAN DOCUMENT, which will be shown as a work-in-progress. Andrew Dawson gets up close and personal with the moon in SPACE PANORAMA. Sekou and Steve Connell examine morality in THE WORD BEGINS. Doris Mirescu and Dangerous Ground Productions turn John Cassavetes’s HUSBANDS into a three-hour presentation, while the Ohio Theatre transforms Haruki Murakami’s dense THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE into a 105-minute multimedia drama at their space on Wooster St. Pig Iron Theatre Company reprises its Obie-winning CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN at the CSV Cultural Center, while Phil Soltanoff and David Barlow go crazy in LA PARTY at HERE Arts Center. During the festival, the LuEsther Lounge at the Public Theater will be hosting live music and dance performances for free (January 7-17, 9:00 pm – 1:00 am), including Reggie Watts and DJ Reborn on January 7, ELEW on January 9, Rachelle Garniez on January 10, and the Middle Church Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir on January 17.