twi-ny recommended events

SWING HOUSE SPEAKEASY & BETTIE PAGE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Veronica Varlow will channel Bettie Page at Swing House party

Shangri-La Loft
100 Sutton St.
Saturday, April 23, $15 with RSVP + themed dress, $20 at the door, $10 after midnight, $5 after 2:00 am
www.geminiandscorpio.com

Self-described “online dating gurus and offline party mavens” Gemini & Scorpio recently celebrated the third anniversary of their popular speakeasy vintage/remix party series, and they’re ready for another all-nighter this Saturday with a wild and crazy affair at Shangri-La Loft in Greenpoint. Attendees are encouraged to wear vintage 1920s-1940s dress with a modern twist for the costumed dance ball, which features a gypsy swing dance class led by Angela Harriell of the Love Show at 8:30, followed by the party at 9:00. There will be live performances by LES Hot Club, Poum Tchak, and burlesque star Veronica Varlow, who will be paying tribute to Bettie Page, who would have turned eighty-eight on Friday. Marcy Currier will give tarot readings, the House of St. Eve will be mixing exotic cocktails, Bettie Page Reveals All documentary filmmaker Mark Mori will be giving away special Bettie Page-related prizes, and everyone is eligible to enter the Bettie Page costume contest. In addition, DJs Miss Bliss and Shakey will keep the jazzy joint jumping to all hours. So if you’re looking for something a little different to do this weekend, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything quite as unusual as Gemini & Scorpio’s latest gathering.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: L’AMOUR FOU

Yves Saint Laurent is seen through the eyes of longtime partner Pierre Bergé in L’AMOUR FOU

L’AMOUR FOU (Pierre Thoretton, 2010)
Tuesday, April 26, SVA Theater, 9:00
Thursday, April 28, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea, 2:30
Friday, April 29, Clearview Cinemas Chelsea, 9:45
www.tribecafilm.com
www.ifcfilms.com

Previously profiled in such documentaries as 2002’s Yves Saint Laurent: His Life and Times and Yves Saint Laurent 5 Avenue Marceau 751116 Paris, Algerian-born French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent is seen from a very different perspective in L’Amour Fou (not to be confused with Jacques Rivette’s 1969 four-hour-plus tale of a marriage falling apart). On June 1, 2008, the iconic figure died of brain cancer at the age of seventy-one; the following February, the vast art collection Saint Laurent amassed with his longtime life and business partner, Pierre Bergé, was sold at a Christie’s auction. Director Pierre Thoretton tells Saint Laurent’s story chronologically as Bergé shares intimate details of their relationship while showing off the impressive soon-to-be-sold objets d’art displayed in their homes in Paris, Normandy, and Marrakech. A strong, direct man, Bergé admits to not being nostalgic as he relates his life with Saint Laurent, from Yves’s days as the successor to the House of Dior to the development of his own fashion empire, which made a name for itself with, among other things, his famed prêt-à-porter line and colorful Piet Mondrian dresses. Thoretton mixes in news footage, archival and family photographs, runway clips, and brief interviews with two of Saint Laurent’s muses, models Betty Catroux and Loulou de la Falaise, in addition to former French Minister of Culture Jack Lang, to draw an intimate portrait of the designer, but it’s most fascinating to watch Bergé as he talks about his friend and lover. “I know that tomorrow all of this will be gone,” he says about the art collection, but he could just as easily have been referring to Saint Laurent himself. “Which means what? A part of my soul, a part of my life.”

LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE

Laura Careless is outstanding playing several of Charles Bukowski’s women in new play (photo by Corey Tatarczuk)

A DANCE/THEATRE MEDITATION ON BUKOWSKI’S WOMEN
303 Bond Street Theatre
303 Bond St. between Union & Sackett Sts.
Fridays – Sundays through May 8, $25-$30, 8:00
800-838-3006
www.companyxiv.com

“I need a good woman. I need a good woman more than I need my typewriter,” Charles Bukowski (Jeff Takacs) proclaims in Company XIV’s mesmerizing new production, Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore. “I need a good woman so badly that I can taste her in the air.” As Takacs makes his way around Zane Pihlstrom’s clever, enigmatic set, speaking into a series of old-fashioned microphones, the delightful Laura Careless embodies two of Bukowski’s muses, Vivian and Scarlet, wearing a succession of sexy, exotic lingerie, wigs, and high heels, moving sharply and dramatically in a center rectangular space cordoned off by a border of white neon lighting on the floor. She glances knowingly at the audience on occasion, changing bras with her back to the crowd, stomping atop a rotted piano, rolling around in asphalt, and jumping onto a piece of narrow furniture to write on the wall in lipstick. Conceived, choreographed, and directed by Austin McCormick expanded from a senior project at Juilliard, Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore is an enticing and intoxicating sixty-minute journey into the lurid mind of Bukowski, author of such novels as Factotum, Women, Barfly, and Pulp. The tale takes place in Company XIV’s fascinating space, a former tow-truck warehouse in Brooklyn, with large doors leaning in corners and chandeliers cluttering the floor. Some of the action occurs in a separate living area with a bed, a bathtub, a toilet, and a desk where Takacs continues reciting Bukowski’s text, his image projected onto doors and walls and large shadows hovering over the space. Takacs does an excellent job portraying the iconoclastic writer with a thing for women, drink, and the horses, but it’s Careless who demands the audience’s attention, engaging in brief solo dances, writhing around on the ground, and occasionally grabbing a mic and speaking. A graduate of Juilliard and London’s Royal Ballet School, Careless moves and dances with an arresting confidence that gives emotional depth to women who could have just as easily been portrayed as shallow, cheap whores. Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore., which plays Fridays through Sundays through May 8, is a thrilling night of experimental dance theater.

ROB PRUITT: THE ANDY MONUMENT

Andy Warhol looks over Union Square in Rob Pruitt’s sparkling sculpture (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

A TRIBUTE TO A NEW YORKER
Union Square, 17th St. & Broadway
Through October 2, free
Artist Talk: Wednesday, April 20, the New School, 66 West 12th St., $10, 6:30
Guide by Cell: 646-862-0945
www.publicartfund.org/robpruitt
the andy monument slideshow

In 1968, Andy Warhol moved the Silver Factory from East 47th St. downtown to the Decker Building overlooking Union Square Park, where he and his many superstars and artisans would remain until 1974. New York City visual artist Rob Pruitt pays tribute to Andy and those years with “The Andy Monument,” a glittering chrome statue of Drella standing on a modest pedestal in the pedestrian plaza near the northwest entrance to the park. Warhol, his ever-present Polaroid camera around his neck and carrying a Macy’s shopping bag in his right hand, is scanning over the swirl of life rushing in and out of the park, right where he used to give out signed copies of Interview magazine. Commissioned by the Public Art Fund, the silver statue recalls the aluminum foil Billy Name wrapped the inside of the original Factory in as well as the Mylar balloons Warhol called “Silver Clouds.” Pruitt, who was born in Washington, DC, in 1964, explains in the press release, “Like so many other artists and performers and people who don’t fit in because they’re gay or otherwise different, Andy moved here to become who he was, to fulfill his dreams and make it big. He still represents that courage and that possibility. That’s why I came to New York, and that’s what my ‘Andy Monument’ is about.” The second Factory was also where Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas on June 3, 1968, but Warhol survived, soon able to get back to partying at the nearby Max’s Kansas City and hanging around with Lou Reed, Holly Woodlawn, Joe Dallesandro, Candy Darling, Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis, all referenced in Reed’s 1972 downtown anthem, “Walk on the Wild Side,” as well as so many others. It’s a beautifully crafted statue honoring the revolutionary American Pop artist and iconic figure whose work is as beloved as ever these days. On April 20, Pruitt will participate in the Public Art Fund Talk “Andy Touched Me” at the New School with PAF director and chief curator Nicholas Baume, cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum, and artist and writer Rhonda Lieberman.

TWI-NY TALK: ANNE BOGART

UNDER CONSTRUCTION will hold its New York premiere April 21 - May 7 at Dance Theater Workshop (photo by Michael Brosilow)

UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th St.
April 21 – May 7, $20-$35, 7:30
212-924-0077
www.dancetheaterworkshop.org
www.siti.org

Founded in 1992 by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, Manhattan-based SITI Company specializes in presenting original multidisciplinary works that examine the nature of theater itself as well as unique interpretations of plays and text by such writers as August Strindberg, Virginia Woolf, Noël Coward, and William Shakespeare. In 2001, artistic director Bogart and playwright Charles L. Mee began a four-part road trip through the concept of the United States with bobrauschenbergamerica, followed in 2006 by Hotel Cassiopeia, set in the boxlike world of Joseph Cornell. The third part of the American Museum Cycle, Under Construction, which melds the down-home charm of Norman Rockwell with the visual flair of contemporary installation artist Jason Rhoades, holds its New York premiere April 21 – May 7 at Dance Theater Workshop as part of DTW’s Guest Artist Series. The always engaging Bogart and Mee will participate in preshow Lobby Talks April 25-27 and May 2 at 6:30, but you can get some of the inside scoop from her now in the below twi-ny talk.

twi-ny: You recently wrote on your blog that SITI “offers a gym for the soul.” How would you say Under Construction fits that description?

Anne Bogart: Because the play has no obvious narrative structure, Under Construction asks the viewer to put together the pieces. But when you do put the pieces together, using your associative and imaginative toolbox, the journey will be a buoyant and adventurous one.

Artistic director Anne Bogart and SITI Company are on a mission to redefine and revitalize contemporary theater (photo by Michael Brosilow)

twi-ny: Under Construction is the third part of the American Museum Cycle, in which the work of American artists influences the productions directly and/or indirectly, including Robert Rauschenberg in bobrauschenbergamerica, Joseph Cornell in Hotel Cassiopeia, Norman Rockwell and Jason Rhoades in Under Construction, and James Castle in the upcoming Soot and Spit. How do you and Chuck decide which artists to build your stories around? Were there any artists you wanted to use that just didn’t work out?

Anne Bogart: It was Chuck Mee who suggested Robert Rauschenberg, Joseph Cornell, and James Castle. But for many years both Chuck and I had secretly harbored a fascination for Norman Rockwell. This mutual interest led toward Under Construction. But, in typical Chuck fashion, it was he who had the brilliant idea to juxtapose Norman Rockwell and his vision of America with the wild and woolly world of installation-artist Jason Rhoades. I once suggested to Chuck the idea of doing a play based upon Andy Warhol, but Chuck did not take the bait. The subject matter must be of interest to both of us. But in general, it is Chuck Mee who takes the lead in the choice of subject and the format of the play.

twi-ny: SITI’s stated mission is “to redefine and revitalize contemporary theater in the United States through an emphasis on international cultural exchange and collaboration.” How would you say the company is doing as it looks toward its twentieth anniversary next year? Do you think contemporary theater in general still needs to be redefined and revitalized?

Anne Bogart: Theater is the art form that perhaps, more than any other, needs to be redefined and revitalized on a regular basis. New forms and audience/actor relationships are in a constant state of flux. What was revolutionary fifteen years ago now feels antiquated. As for how SITI Company is doing, as we move into our nineteenth year of existence, we are reevaluating our processes and our methods of existence and looking with fresh eyes at our mission statement. Here is the new one that we just composed:

“SITI Company was built on the bedrock of ensemble and we believe that through the practice of collaboration, a group of artists could make a life together and have a significant impact upon both contemporary theater and the world at large. Through our performances, educational programs and collaborations with other artists and thinkers, SITI Company will continue to challenge the status quo, to train to achieve artistic excellence in every aspect of our work, and to offer new ways of seeing and of being as both artists and as global citizens. SITI Company is committed to providing a gymnasium-for-the-soul where the interaction of art, artists, audiences, and ideas inspire the possibility for change, optimism, and hope. We are hopeful for the future and look forward to the adventures that lie ahead.”

RACHEL FEINSTEIN: THE SNOW QUEEN

Rachel Feinstein’s “The Snow Queen” fairy-tale installation is on view through Friday (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Lever House
390 Park Ave. at 54th St.
Through April 22
Admission: free
www.leverhouseartcollection.com
the snow queen slideshow

This is the last week to see Rachel Feinstein’s inventive reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” on view at the glassed-in Lever House lobby gallery through Friday. Feinstein divides her sculptural representation of the 1845 classic fairy tale of good and evil into five distinct elements: “The Soldiers,” a group of nutcracker soldiers in the middle of the space (the smallest one looks a lot like Rudy Giuliani); the elegant “Snow Queen’s Room,” a dramatic white space that can only be seen in its entirety from out on the street and that includes the classical sculptures “Goblin and Children” and “Goblin and Mirror”; “The Mirror Room,” a two-walled mirrored area with the abstract sculpture “Girl and Reindeer” and the painted mural “Ruins,” covered with animals, houses, and, well, ruins; the colorful, Play-Doh-like “Flower Girl,” who is picking roses from the planter, surrounded by birds; and “Golden Carriage,” an upended vehicle in the outside plaza, with a flickering eternal light. “One day, when he was in a merry mood, he made a looking-glass which had the power of making everything good or beautiful that was reflected in it almost shrink to nothing, while everything that was worthless and bad looked increased in size and worse than ever,” Andersen’s story begins. “The most lovely landscapes appeared like boiled spinach, and the people became hideous, and looked as if they stood on their heads and had no bodies. Their countenances were so distorted that no one could recognize them, and even one freckle on the face appeared to spread over the whole of the nose and mouth. The demon said this was very amusing.” Although the Arizona-born Feinstein includes no boiled spinach, she does make great use of of looking-glasses, lovely landscapes, demons, and distortions, mixing childlike wonder with Baroque finery.

CONNOTATION

Dan Cartwright, Emily Epstein (pre–sex change), and Selena Coppock are reviving free Wednesday-night comedy show at Luca Lounge

Luca Lounge
222 Ave. B between 13th & 14th Sts.
Wednesdays at 7:00 starting April 20
Admission: free
212-674-9100
www.connotationshow.com
www.lucaloungenyc.com

Comedians Selena Coppock, who promises more than just great hair, Dan Cartwright, who is also a “self-impressed” musician, and Emily Epstein, who brings the funny to her blog, “b’scuse me? The Life and Times of an Ethnically Ambiguous Little Lady,” are reviving the “Connotation” show every Wednesday night at Luca Lounge on the Lower East Side, featuring stand-up, storytelling, sketches, and music from up-and-coming and established performers. Things get under way on April 20 with Victor Varnado, Becky Yamamoto, Jon Fisch, and Jess Wood. Epstein, taking over the cohosting spot previously held by Adam Cozens, promises good times for all. And it’s free, too, with no minimum.