twi-ny recommended events

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: FERUS FEST

Jojo Abot’s Power to the God Within will kick off National Sawdust Ferus Festival

A SHOWCASE OF UNTAMED VOICES
National Sawdust
80 North Sixth St.
January 4-8
646-779-8455
nationalsawdust.org

National Sawdust’s annual Ferus Fest: A Showcase of Untamed Voices takes place January 4-8 at the Williamsburg venue, presenting unique voices transcending traditional genres. The 2019 edition consists of Jojo Abot’s Power to the God Within, an immersive experience about the divinity of blackness; multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón’s opera Chimera, starring Alexis Michelle, Miz Jade, Desmond Is Amazing, and members of the Knights, preceded by a performance by Kayla Cashetta and maenu; Huang Ruo’s multimedia opera Resonant Theatre: The Sonic Great Wall, which investigates the barrier between performer and audience; Folds, a collaboration between violinist Miranda Cuckson, intermedia artist Katharina Rosenberger, and projection designer John Burnett; and Brooklyn Youth Chorus’s Amplify, performing compositions by National Sawdust cofounder and artistic director Paola Prestini, National Sawdust artist-in-residence Angélica Negrón, National Sawdust curator Daniel Bernard Roumain, David Lang, Olga Bell, and others.

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: PROTOTYPE

Train with No Midnight, (photo by Maria Baranova)

Joseph Keckle’s Train with No Midnight is part of 2019 Prototype festival (photo by Maria Baranova)

PROTOTYPE
Multiple venues
January 5-13
www.prototypefestival.org

Now in its seventh year, the Prototype festival pushes the bounds of experimental music and opera, presenting world premieres and works-in-progress at multiple venues in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Below are some of the highlights.

Pancho Villa from a Safe Distance, by composer Graham Reynolds, librettists Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol (Luisa Pardo and Gabino Rodríguez), and directed by Shawn Sides of Rude Mechs, BRIC House, January 5-8, $30-$75

Train with No Midnight, written, composed, and performed by Joseph Keckler, HERE, January 5-8, 10-13, $30-$75

4.48 Psychosis, US premiere, adapted by Philip Venable from the play by Sarah Kane, directed by Ted Huffman, Baruch Performing Arts Center, January 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, $30-$75

Out of Bounds: Partita for 8 Voices, by Caroline Shaw, new vocal work inspired by Sol LeWitt, square dance calls, Inuit hocketing, and American folk hymn “Shining Shore,” Times Square, January 7, free, 4:00 & 7:00

Stinney: An American Execution, by composer-librettist Frances Pollock and co-librettist Tia Price, directed by Emma Weinstein and Jeremy O. Harris, conducted by Alexander Lloyd Blake, Florence Gould Hall, FIAF, January 12-13, $30

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: AMERICAN DANCE PLATFORM

Stephen Petronios Hardness 10 is part of American Dance Platform at the Joyce (photo by Yi-Chun Wu)

Stephen Petronios Hardness 10 is part of American Dance Platform presentation at the Joyce (photo by Yi-Chun Wu)

The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at 19th St.
January 3-7, $10-$40
212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

The Joyce welcomes in 2019 with American Dance Platform, a five-day program consisting of works by six exciting companies. On January 3 and 7, the bold and always entertaining Stephen Petronio Company will present 2018’s Hardness 10, with music by Nico Muhly and costumes by Patricia Field, and Steve Paxton’s 1986 Excerpt from Goldberg Variations. Also on the double bill is Martha Graham Dance Company, performing Steps in the Street and Prelude to Action from 1936’s antiwar Chronicle and Pontus Lidberg’s 2016 Woodland. On January 4 and 6, Philly’s Ballet X takes the stage with Trey McIntyre’s 2018 The Boogeyman, featuring music by Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Gilbert O’Sullivan, and Earth, Wind & Fire, Matthew Neenan’s 2014 Increasing, set to the first movement of Franz Schubert’s Quintet in C Major, and a surprise premiere; the company is sharing the bill with another Philadelphian, Rafael Xavier, making his Joyce debut with Point of Interest. And on January 5 and 6, Ephrat Asherie Dance presents the new Nazareth Suite #1 and 2016’s Riff This, Riff That, the latter a collaboration between Bessie winner Ephrat and her brother, jazz pianist Ehud Asherie, with an all-star lineup, while the inimitable Ronald K. Brown/Evidence teams up with Arturo O’Farrill and Resist for this year’s New Conversations: Iron Meets Water, inspired by the huntress spirit Oxossi; Evidence will also perform Upside Down, an excerpt from 1998’s Destiny.

45th ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S DAY MARATHON BENEFIT READING

Annual Poetry Project marathon is highlight of New Year’s Day (photo by Ted Roeder)

Who: The Poetry Project
What: Forty-fifth annual New Year’s Day Marathon Reading
Where: The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church-in-the-Bowery, 131 East Tenth St., 212-674-0910
When: Monday, January 1, $20-$25, 2:00 pm
Why: More than 150 writers, musicians, actors, dancers, and other artists will take the podium in this annual benefit for the Poetry Project, which “promotes, fosters, and inspires the reading and writing of contemporary poetry by (a) presenting contemporary poetry to diverse audiences, (b) increasing public recognition, awareness, and appreciation of poetry and other arts, (c) providing a community setting in which poets and artists can exchange ideas and information, and (d) encouraging the participation and development of new poets from a broad range of styles.” This year’s forty-fifth annual marathon boasts another fab lineup to welcome in the new year, including Andrea Abi-Karam, Ammiel Alcalay, Justin Allen, Julie Alsop, Ed Askew, J. Mae Barizo, Jim Behrle, Anselm Berrigan, Lee Ann Brown & Janice Lowe, Yoshiko Chuma, Lauren Clark, Todd Colby, John Coletti, Lydia Cortes, Brenda Coultas, Alex Cuff, r. erica doyle, Marcella Durand, Mel Elberg, Betsy Fagin, Avram Fefer, Jennifer Firestone, Kay Gabriel, Marwa Helal, Barbara Henning, Bob Holman, Sophia Hussain, Paolo Javier, Pierre Joris, Millie Kapp & Matt Shalzi, Vincent Katz, erica kaufman, Amy King, Sue Landers, Denizé Lauture, Rachel Levitsky, Matt Longabucco, Filip Marinovich, Douglas A. Martin, Andriniki Mattis, Caits Meissner, Carley Moore, Dave Morse, Sahar Muradi, Uche Nduka, Precious Okoyomon, Laura Ortman, Trace Peterson, Nicole Peyrafitte, Lorelei Ramirez, El Roy Red, Bob Rosenthal, Judah Rubin, John Rufo, Tom Savage, Purvi Shah, Jayson Smith, Sean D. Henry Smith, Pamela Sneed, Patricia Spears Jones, Max Steele, Sara Jane Stoner, Bridget Talone, Susie Timmons, Edwin Torres, Tony Towle, Cat Tyc, Aldrin Valdez, Anna Vitale, Morgan Vo, Asiya Wadud, Anne Waldman with Fast Speaking Music, Lewis Warsh, Jacqueline Waters, Candace Williams, Rachael Wilson, Matvei Yankelevich, the Double Yews, Don Yorty, Sparrow / Foamola, and many others.

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: AMERICAN REALNESS

Jack Ferver’s Everything Is Imaginable was one of the best shows of 2018 (photo by Maria Baranova)

AMERICAN REALNESS
Abrons Arts Center and other venues
466 Grand St. at Pitt St.
January 4-13
americanrealness.com

Since 2010, Abrons Arts Center has presented American Realness, a multidisciplinary festival of dance, music, theater, discourse, literature, and more. The 2019 lineup features a stellar lineup of creators, including Marjani Forté-Saunders, Jack Ferver, nora chipaumire, Reggie Wilson, Julian F. May, Miguel Gutierrez, Gillian Walsh, and the Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble staging works across four boroughs, at such venues as Performance Space New York, the Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project, La MaMa, and Gibney. Below are only some of the highlights.

Moon Fate Sin, by Gillian Walsh, location and ticketing TBD, January 4-6

100% Pop / Shebeen Remix, by nora chipaumire, Jack, January 4-6 and 10-12, $25

Everything Is Imaginable, by Jack Ferver, New York Live Arts, January 7-12, $15-$25

The Bridge Called My Ass, by Miguel Gutierrez, Chocolate Factory Theater, January 8-19, $20

Folk Incest, by Juliana F. May, Abrons Arts Center, January 9-12, $21

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: UNDER THE RADAR

Eva von Schweinitz’s The Space between the Letters is part of Incoming! section of Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival (photo by Alejandro Fajardo)

UNDER THE RADAR
Public Theater and other venues
425 Lafayette St. by Astor Pl.
January 3-13
publictheater.org

The Public Theater’s annual Under the Radar Festival invites adventurous theatergoers to experience cutting-edge, experimental theater and music from around the world. The 2019 iteration features works from twenty-one artists from nine countries, with most tickets costing a mere thirty bucks. Below are some of the highlights.

Hear Word! Naija Woman Talk True, by Ifeoma Fafunwa, January 3, 5, 6, 7, Public Theater, Martinson Theater, $30

Frankenstein, by Manual Cinema, concept by Drew Dir, January 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, Public Theater, LuEsther Theater, $30

Minor Character, New Saloon adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, January 4-13, Public Theater, Martinson Theater, $30

BITCH! DYKE! FAGHAG! WHORE! The Penny Arcade Sex and Censorship Show, by Penny Arcade, January 3, 6, 10, 12, 13, Joe’s Pub, $35

Incoming! Macbeth in Stride, by Whitney White, Public Theater, Shiva Theater, $25

WINTER PERFORMANCE FESTIVALS: WINTER JAZZFEST NYC

Meshell Ndegeocello is artist-in-residence for 2019 Winter Jazzfest (photo by Charlie Gross)

WINTER JAZZFEST NYC
Multiple venues
January 4-12
www.winterjazzfest.com

Winter Jazzfest is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary with special tributes, talks, listening sessions, and events supporting social justice. As always, it’s highlighted by amazing marathons, taking place January 5, 11, and 12 at such venues as LPR, the Bitter End, Subculture, Zinc, the Sheen Center, the Bowery Ballroom, and the Mercury Lounge. This year’s artist-in-residence is Meshell Ndegeocello. Below are only some of the highlights.

We Resist!, with Fandango at the Wall with Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, with special guests Marc Ribot’s Songs of Resistance, Samora Pinderhughes Transformations Suite, Word*Rock*Sword: A Musical Celebration of Women’s Lives featuring Toshi Reagon, Allison Miller, Ganessa James, and others, Le Poisson Rouge, January 6, $25, 7:00

The Bad Plus, Terence Blanchard featuring the E-Collective, Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science, Le Poisson Rouge, January 7, $30-$35, 7:00

Medeski Martin & Wood, Alarm Will Sound, Brooklyn Steel, January 9, $55, 8:00

Meshell Ndegeocello Catalog — An Intimate Set, with Chris Bruce, Jebin Bruni, and Abraham Rounds, Nublu, January 10, $35-$45, 7:00

Winter Jazzfest Marathon, multiple artists at numerous venues, January 11-12, $50-$60 one day, $90-$105 both days, 6:00