twi-ny recommended events

SUMMER 1993

Paula Robles and Laia Artigas give superb performances in Carla Simón’s award-winning Summer 1993

SUMMER 1993 (Carla Simón, 2017)
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, Francesca Beale Theater
144 West 65th St. between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave.
Opens Friday, May 25
212-875-5050
www.filmlinc.org
summer1993.oscilloscope.net

Named Best First Feature at the 2017 Berlinale, Summer 1993, Carla Simón’s autobiographical full-length debut, is an exquisite, deeply involving tale about an extraordinary young girl facing a new life after both her parents die of AIDS. Six-year-old Frida (Laia Artigas) must move from Barcelona to La Garrotxa in the Catalan countryside, where she will live with her uncle Esteve (David Verdaguer), her mother’s brother; his wife, Marga (Bruna Cusí); and their four-year-old daughter, Anna (Paula Robles). Unsurprisingly, Frida has a difficult time adjusting. When she plays with other kids and skins her knee, a scared mother whisks away her child immediately, afraid of the virus. Frida begins acting out, first in small ways, then in bigger ones, taking advantage of her cousin Anna’s caring, innocent nature. She somewhat relaxes when her grandparents (Fermí Reixach and Isabel Rocatti) and other friends and relatives visit, including Lola (Montse Sanz), Angela (Berta Pipo), Irene (Etna Campillo), and Cesca (Paula Blanco), but going back to Barcelona is not an option. Esteve keeps giving his niece the benefit of the doubt while Marga grows more and more worried about Frida’s behavior, which becomes more complex and dangerous, especially toward Anna. All the while, Frida feigns innocence, until even she realizes she may be taking things too far.

Esteve (David Verdaguer) and Marga’s (Bruna Cusí) life changes when their niece comes to live with them in Summer 1993

Summer 1993 plays out like an intricate, intellectual horror film, reminiscent of such genre classics as Robert Mulligan’s The Other, Mervyn LeRoy’s The Bad Seed, and even Richard Donner’s The Omen, though without any supernatural elements. Frida is not inherently evil, but from the minute she tells Anna not to touch her doll collection, it is clear she is teetering on the brink. Artigas, who was cast after Simón had interviewed nearly one thousand other children, is absolutely riveting as Frida, in complete control of her complicated character, her knowing eyes revealing wisdom well beyond her years. Cinematographer Santiago Racaj’s camera adores Artigas, exploring her face and expertly revealing her point of view. Accompanied by a lovely, emotive score, the camera is almost always in motion, sometimes just the slightest bit, representing Frida’s slightly askew, on-edge world. Robles is a charmer as Anna, seemingly too young to know what she is doing as an actress yet physically and emotionally right on target. Cusí excels as Marga, who is suspicious of Frida early on but understands that she is a girl in the midst of terrible grief, in desperate need of real connection to deal with her loss. Writer-director Simón uses water as a threat throughout the film, the pure, fresh liquid, from a bathtub to a swimming pool to a forest stream, a counterpart to the diseased blood that might have been passed down to Frida from her parents. At its core, Summer 1993 is a wise, heartfelt drama about the fears of both adults and children as they try to find their place in an ever-shifting world that can be as cold and cruel as it can be warm and loving.

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS

(images courtesy of MGM / Cineteca di Bologna / Park Circus)

Clint Eastwood introduces the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars (photo courtesy MGM / Cineteca di Bologna / Park Circus)

A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI) (Sergio Leone, 1964)
Metrograph
7 Ludlow St. between Canal & Hester Sts.
May 25-31
212-660-0312
metrograph.com

Clint Eastwood made a name for himself on the big screen playing the Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s 1964 spaghetti Western, A Fistful of Dollars, which is being shown in a new 4K restoration at Metrograph May 25-31. In his first lead movie role, Eastwood, the costar of the television series Rawhide, is a gunslinger draped in a poncho and smoking a small cigar who rides on a mule into San Miguel, a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, home to an ongoing feud between the gun-running Baxters and the liquor-dealing Rojos. The stranger decides to play both sides against the middle, caring only that he earns lots of cash. “Never saw a town as dead as this one,” the stranger tells saloon owner Silvanito (Jose Calvo), who explains, “The place is only widows. Here you can only get respect by killing other men, so nobody works anymore.” The stranger hears the sound of banging outside and says, “Somebody doesn’t share your opinion.” Silvanito opens the window to reveal old man Piripero (Joe Edger) making coffins. “You’ll be a customer,” Silvanito tells the stranger with assurance. The stranger goes back and forth between the Baxters, led by the sheriff (W. Lukschy), and the Rojos, who follow the dangerous, unpredictable Ramón (Gian Maria Volontè). Also caught up in the Hatfield-McCoy battle are the sheriff’s wife, Consuelo (Margherita Lozano), and brother, Antonio (Bruno Carotenuto), along with Rojo brothers Benito (Antonio Prieto) and Esteban (S. Rupp) and their enforcer, Chico (Richard Stuyvesant). Ramón, meanwhile, has his eyes set on Marisol (Marianne Koch), who is married to Julio (Daniel Martín), who does not want to get involved in any fighting. Carefully watching it all is Juan de Díos (Raf Baldassarre), who rings the church bell at every death.

The Italian-German-Spanish production is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo, which led to legal entanglements when the Japanese auteur demanded, well, a fistful of dollars in financial compensation. According to Christopher Frayling’s Sergio Leone — Something to Do with Death, Leone received a note from Kurosawa that read, “Signor Leone — I have just had the chance to see your film. It is a very fine film, but it is my film. Since Japan is a signatory of the Berne Convention on international copyright, you must pay me.” Frayling also suggests that Leone was influenced by Dashiell Hammett’s Red Harvest and Carlo Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters and did not feel he was stealing only from Kurosawa. In The BFI Companion to the Western, Frayling quotes Leone as saying, “Kurosawa’s Yojimbo was inspired by an American novel of the serie-noire so I was really taking the story back home again.” (For a montage of similarities between the two films, check out this video.). Regardless, A Fistful of Dollars, made for about two hundred grand, set the standard for the new genre, and Eastwood was its antihero. He and Leone would team up again on the sequel, For a Few Dollars More, which is not a direct remake of Kurosawa’s Yojimbo follow-up, Sanjuro, as well as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, the best of the Dollars Trilogy.

Clint Eastwood watches his back in first of the Dollars Trilogy (photo courtesy MGM / Cineteca di Bologna / Park Circus)

Fistful is steeped in violence and death, from Iginio Lardani’s rad title sequence of silhouettes in black, white, and blood red to an early shot of the stranger riding under a noose and giving it a long look. Whereas Toshirô Mifune played the bodyguard in Yojimbo with a devilish glee, Eastwood — in a role that had been previously offered to Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, and others — is much more serious as the Man with No Name, who would become more sympathetic in future outings. The extremely poor dubbing only adds to the film’s magnificence. To enhance its foreign appeal to American audiences, several members of the cast and crew appear under pseudonyms in the credits, including Leone (Bob Robertson), cinematographer Massimo Dallamano (Jack Dalmas), actor Gian Maria Volontè (John Wells), and composer Ennio Morricone (Leo Nichols or Dan Savio). There is no mention of Kurosawa or Yojimbo anywhere.

SPRINGSTEEN ON BROADWAY

Springsteen on Broadway continues at the Walter Kerr Theatre through December 15 (photo by Rob DeMartin)

Walter Kerr Theatre
219 West 48th St. between Broadway & Eighth Ave.
Tuesday/Wednesday – Friday/Saturday through December 15, $75-$800
brucespringsteen.net/broadway

A few minutes into Springsteen on Broadway, sirens could be heard outside the Walter Kerr Theatre. Bruce, who was standing at the front microphone, acoustic guitar strapped across his chest, backed away, looked offstage, and said, “They’re coming to get me. They know I don’t belong here.” If there’s one thing the New Jersey native has proved since October 3, 2017, it’s that he is right at home on the Great White Way, so much so that what was initially a limited run through November 26 of that year has been extended several times, now through December 15 of this year. And despite most tickets going for $400 to $800 a pop, the shows still sold out in minutes. The Boss is famous for his four-hour concerts with the E Street Band, but Springsteen on Broadway is more reminiscent of his solo tours behind such records as The Ghost of Tom Joad and Devils and Dust. Yet it is not a concert; written and directed by Bruce, Springsteen on Broadway is a moving, powerful exploration of a man and his innate, unquenchable desire to become a successful musician. Inspired by a secret performance he presented to President Barack Obama and about 250 White House staffers as a thank-you just before the end of Obama’s second term, Springsteen has crafted a two-hour show that combines personal stories from his childhood to the current day with songs from throughout his career. Many of the intimate tales are adapted from his bestselling 2016 memoir, Born to Run, but this is no mere book reading with music. The sixty-eight-year-old Springsteen has always been an engaging storyteller, and he takes it to the next level on Broadway, unafraid to reveal his faults along with his triumphs. As he details, years of therapy have helped him face his demons.

Bruce Springsteen shares his personal adventure in intimate ways on Broadway (photo by Rob DeMartin)

On the road, Springsteen changes his setlist night after night, playing deep cuts, reinventing old favorites, and taking requests, reacting to signs held up in the crowd, but Springsteen on Broadway is a much tighter affair, even if it feels loose and improvisational. Heather Wolensky’s spare set evokes the feel of a small club, with music trunks scattered about, a piano at stage left, a glass of water on a stool, and a bare brick wall, with no adornment anywhere. Going back and forth between guitar and piano, Springsteen, in a black T-shirt, boots, and jeans, plays fifteen songs related to episodes from his life, from acquiring his first guitar to jamming in clubs in Asbury Park, from falling in love to raising a family. He discusses his relationship with both his father, which he has documented in many songs, and his beloved mother, for whom he wrote one of his sweetest tunes. He often steps away from the microphone while continuing to talk or sing, his voice fading from the speakers but instead gently and dramatically drifting across the theater. To give away any of the numbers would be unfair, so you’ll find no spoilers here, but know that he doesn’t stray from the script, except for a few shows when his wife, singer-songwriter Patti Scialfa, was sick and he replaced one section of the show with a different story and song about raising his kids.

Bruce Springsteen has won a special Tony for his Broadway debut (photo by Rob DeMartin)

And proper etiquette demands that you don’t sing along; at one point, as some audience members started to join Bruce on one of his biggest hits, he stopped and said, “You know this is a fucking one-man show, right?” He later encouraged audience participation on a treasured classic. “My vision of these shows is to make them as personal and intimate as possible. I chose Broadway for this project because it has the beautiful old theaters which seemed like the right setting for what I have in mind,” Springsteen explained in a statement announcing the run. “My show is just me, the guitar, the piano, and the words and music. Some of the show is spoken, some of it is sung, all of it together is in pursuit of my constant goal — to communicate something of value.” As he has been doing since the late 1960s, Springsteen has again communicated something of value. Early in the show, the Grammy, Oscar, and now Tony winner — Bruce has been awarded a special Tony for his “once-in-a-lifetime theatregoing experience” — notes that he has spent his entire existence avoiding the dreaded five-day-a-week job. But now he can’t get enough of it, all told spending more than a year on Broadway, sharing his poignant, personal, life-affirming story as only he can.

LEON GOLUB: RAW NERVE

Leon Golub (American, 1922–2004). Gigantomachy II (detail), 1966. Acrylic on linen, 9 ft. 11 1/2 in. x 24 ft. 10 1/2 in. (303.5 x 758.2 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts and Stephen, Philip, and Paul Golub, 2016 (2016.696). Art © The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Leon Golub, “Gigantomachy II,” acrylic on linen, 1966 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts and Stephen, Philip, and Paul Golub, 2016. Art © The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY)

The Met Breuer
945 Madison Ave. at 75th St.
Through May 27, suggested admission $12-$25
212-535-7710
www.metmuseum.org

The outstanding Met Breuer retrospective “Leon Golub: Raw Nerve” is meant to touch a raw nerve, and it does. In his primarily figurative, often large-scale works, the Chicago-born artist focused on the brutal side of humanity, exploring violence, hatred, bigotry, torture, cruelty, and war. He would even attack the canvases themselves, scratching and scraping at them, at times using a meat cleaver. When visitors get off the elevator, they are suddenly face-to-face with Golub’s “Gigantomachy II,” a ten-foot-by-twenty-four-foot acrylic painting on linen of a group of men fighting, their skin flayed from their bodies; the title evokes the battle between the Greek Gigantes and Olympian gods. Golub, who was married to artist and activist Nancy Spero for nearly fifty years, often used classical and art-historical imagery in his works; he also kept an archive of clippings from newspapers and magazines to use as reference. The riveting show, which is meant to jolt viewers, to shock them into action, features works from such series as “White Squad,” “Interrogation,” “Horsing Around,” “Napalm,” and “Pylons,” with the vast majority of his subjects being male, although he occasionally includes women. In the disturbing “Horsing Around IV,” a white man holding a bottle of alcohol exposes the breast of a black female prostitute. In “Two Black Women and a White Man,” two black women are sitting on a bench while a white man to their left leans against a wall, his hands in his pocket, looking away, trying to avoid them or pretend they’re not there. The wall behind the women is a light color, while the wall behind the man is blue; Golub slyly has the hand of one of the women casually lean over into the blue frame, gently infringing on his fear.

Right: Leon Golub (American, 1922–2004). Vietnamese Head, 1970. Acrylic on linen, 24 x 18 in. (61 x 45.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Dan Miller, in loving memory of the artist, 2016 (2016.529.1). Art © The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Leon Golub, “Vietnamese Head,” acrylic on linen, 1970 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of Dan Miller, in loving memory of the artist, 2016. Art © The Nancy Spero and Leon Golub Foundation for the Arts/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY)

Other works depict skeletons, angry dogs, men with rifles, a woman in an S&M-like mask surrounded by blood, and a quartet of portraits of Brazilian president and general Ernesto Geisel as he ages and loses his power. In a 1996 catalogue statement reprinted in the 1997 book Do Paintings Bite?, Golub, who passed away in 2004 at the age of eighty-two, wrote, “The history of the twentieth century is in large part a record of war, violence, and atrocities. This is not of course the only history which is recorded but nevertheless it is extraordinary in both its virulence and in its widespread extensions. . . . Despite the apparent pessimism of negativity of the subject matter in the very reportage, in the very reporting of all this, there is retained a residual optimism in the very freedom to tell, that is to make and exhibiting these paintings.” The Met Breuer exhibit ably displays that sentiment, revealing an artist who was determined to face the violence in contemporary society head-on through daring works of art that attempt to force viewers out of their complacency and realize what is happening all around them.

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF THE SISTERHOOD: SOOOO . . . THAT HAPPENED!

secret society of the sisterhood

Green-Wood Cemetery Chapel Steps
Fifth Ave. & Twenty-Fifth St.
Tuesday, May 29, $25-$30, 7:00 – 11:00 pm
www.green-wood.com
www.thesssshow.com

The Secret Society of the Sisterhood is making its New York City debut on the night of the full moon, May 29, at historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Dubbed “An Evening of Storytelling for Women and Fierce Allies of Women,” the show is hosted by BanterGirl founder Trish Nelson, a self-identified producer, performer, writer, and waitress who hopes “that other women across the land will be able to see that no matter where you come from, or where you currently are in life, you do not have to wait around for someone else to give you permission to execute your dreams.” The theme of the May 29 event is “Soooo… THAT happened!,” with actress and poet Amber Tamblyn, writer and activist Lorri Davis, bestselling author Dhonielle Clayton, and comedian Ayanna Dookie sharing true tales. There will also be live music by Kaki King and a song by Treya Lam, visual art by Aditi Damle, Rebekah Harris, and Marguerite Dabaie, and a dance party led by DJ Tikka Masala. Proceeds from the festivities will go to Girls Write Now, which provides mentoring programs, college prep courses, reading series, digital exhibitions, workshops, and more to empower young women. So you’re not going to want to miss this opportunity not only to hear and see cool things — it all takes place under candlelight — but also to get to hang out at an amazing cemetery during a full moon. We already can’t wait to tell people, “Soooo… THAT happened!”

WORLD SCIENCE FESTIVAL 2018

Brian Greene will moderate a discussion on black holes at World Science Festival

Multiple venues
May 29 – June 3
Most events free – $100
www.worldsciencefestival.com

The eleventh annual World Science Festival is another foray into the future, an inner exploration of the mind as well as an outer adventure into space. There will be lectures, panel discussions, workshops, labs, film screenings, readings, and more, at such locations as NYU, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Ace Hotel. Below are only some of the highlights.

Tuesday, May 29
Gala celebrating Marie Curie, Alice Ball, Rosalind Franklin, Vera Rubin, and Maryam Mirzakhani, with performances by Carolee Carmello, Hannah Elless, Rosemary Loar, Ingrid Michaelson, Alice Ripley, Michelle Wilson, and others, Jazz at Lincoln Center, $1,000+, 6:00 – 10:30

Wednesday, May 30
Cheers to Science: The Absence of Absinthe, Distilling the Science of the “Green Fairy,” with Kevin Herson and others, moderated by Shannon Odell, Liberty Hall at Ace Hotel, $40 (twenty-one and older only), 7:00

Bump: The Magic, Mystery, and Mechanics of Pregnancy, new play (Bump) by Chiara Atik, directed by Claudia Weil, performance followed by talkback, with Catherine Birndorf, Linsay Firman, and others, moderated by Lynn Sherr, Ensemble Studio Theatre, $25-$40, 7:00

Thursday, May 31
Planting the Seeds, Seeding the Plants: Can CRISPR Save the World?, with Dave Jackson, Carolyn Neuhaus, Yiping Qi, Friedrich Soltau, and Matthew R. Willmann, moderated by Brooke Borel, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 4:00

A Merger in Space: Black Holes and Neutron Stars, with Duncan Brown, Vicky Kalogera, Frans Pretorius, and Jocelyn Read, moderated by Mario Livio, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 6:00

World Science Festival includes special Lab Tours for Girls

Deep Dive Live: Trivia Night at the American Museum of Natural History, hosted by Faith Salie, $45-$100, 6:00 (includes special exhibition access)

Friday, June 1
World Science U, with Andrea Ghez, Sara Walker, and others, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, free with advance registration, 10:30

Carl Zimmer: She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, with Carl Zimmer, moderated by Maria Konnikova, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 6:00

The Matter of Antimatter: Answering the Cosmic Riddle of Existence, with Marcela Carena, Janet Conrad, Michael Doser, Hitoshi Murayama, and Neil Turok, moderated by Brian Greene, Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College, $20-$100, 8:00

Saturday, June 2
Great Fish Count: 1 Fish, 2 Fish, I Fish, You Fish, Great Fish Count Sites, free (advance registration suggested), 9:00 am – 6:30 pm

Cook-off will pit human against machine at World Science Festival

Science and Story Cafe: The Story of Science, One Book at a Time, with Lisa Barrett, Michael Benson, Susana Martinez-Conde, Oren Harman, Janice Kaplan, Stephen Macknik, Barnaby Marsh, Ken Miller, and Andrew Revkin, moderated by Budd Mishkin and Richard Panek, NYU Kimmel Center, free (advance registration suggested), 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Notes on the Folds: Why Music Makes Us Shiver, with Meagan Curtis, Mari Kimura, Edward Large, Psyche Loui, and others, moderated by John Schaefer, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 11:00

Backyard Wilderness, 3D film and postscreening BioBlitz,Lefrak Theater, the American Museum of Natural History, 2:30

To Be or Not to Be Bionic: On Immortality and Superhumanism, with Jessica Brillhart, S. Matthew Liao, Hod Lipson, and Max Tegmark, moderated by Mariette DiChristina, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 4:00

Saturday Night Lights: Stargazing in Brooklyn Bridge Park, with Ken Blackburn, Steve Howell, Kent Kirshenbaum, Steve Liddell, Hod Lipson, Scott M. Smith, Nicole Stott, Jennifer Swanson, and Bill Yosses, Pier 1, free (advance registration suggested), 7:00 – 11:00

World Science Festival features free stargazing in Brooklyn Bridge Park

Sunday, June 3
Science and Storytime: Science Books Come to Life, with Helaine Becker, Ken Blackburn, Lynn Brunelle, “Science Bob” Pflugfelder, Jennifer Swanson, and Mike Vago, moderated by Jana Grcevich and Olivia Koski, NYU Kimmel Center, free (advance registration suggested), 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

Alien Contact: What Happens Next?, with Kathryn Denning, David Kipping, Karen Lewis, and Marcelo Magnasco, moderated by Wendy Zukerman, NYU Global Center, Grand Hall, $15-$25, 11:00

Flame Challenge: “What Is Climate?,” with Michael Bronski, Cyndy Desjardins, Soumyadeep Mukherjee, and Bernadette Woods Placky, moderated by Alan Alda, NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, $15-$100, 1:30

SEA (SINGULAR EXTREME ACTIONS)

Elizabeth Streb’s Action Heroes return to Brookfield Place for five free performances May 24-26 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brookfield Place
230 Vesey St.
May 24-26, free
www.artsbrookfield.com
streb.org

You’re not going to find Arnold Schwarzegger, Bruce Willis, Harrison Ford, or Jackie Chan at Brookfield Place May 24-26 as part of SEA: Singular Extreme Actions. But you will see associate artistic director Cassandre Joseph, Jackie Carlson, Daniel Rysak, Felix Hess, Loganne Bond, Tyler DuBoys, Luciany Germán, and Justin Ross, the action heroes who make up STREB Extreme Action Company. Based in Brooklyn and under the leadership of Elizabeth Streb, the troupe combines dance and movement with breathtaking acrobatics using specially created apparatuses from which they propel themselves. Having seen the company perform several times, including at the World Financial Center, which is now known as Brookfield Place, I can vouch for the phenomenal abilities of these action heroes, who most definitely do not ever use stunt doubles. From May 24 to 26, they will be flirting with danger in the air and on the ground, performing pieces from their repertoire, which features “Air,” “Tilt,” “Squirm,” “Steel,” “Tied,” “Slam,” “Quake,” “Little Ease,” “Falling,” “Rock,” and “Silver.” The free shows, as always with DJ/MC Zaire Baptiste, will take place at 12:30 and 6:00 on May 24 and 25 and at 12:30 on May 26. In addition, there will be a KIDACTION class at 9:00 in the morning on May 26; advance registration is recommended.