twi-ny recommended events

LIFE OF CATS: SELECTIONS FROM THE HIRAKI UKIYO-E COLLECTION

Takahashi Hiroaki (Shotei), “Nude Playing with a Cat,” color woodblock print, ca. 1927-30 (courtesy Private Collection, New York and Tokyo)

Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Through Sunday, June 7, $12 (free Friday 6:00 – 9:00)
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org

“Whenever I write a novel, music just sort of naturally slips in (much like cats do, I suppose),” Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami said in an interview about his 2002 book, Kafka on the Shore, which features a character who has a rather unique rapport with felines. (It’s not a coincidence that we named one of our cats Haruki.) Japan’s relationship with cats goes back some fifteen hundred years, when it is believed that cats came to the islands on ships carrying Buddhist scriptures from China. Cats do more than just naturally slip in in the Japan Society exhibit “Life of Cats: Selections from the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection,” a claw-some gathering of more than 120 color woodblock prints, hanging scrolls, paintings, and sculptures. Each work contains a cat in one form or another, sometimes hovering in the background, other times front and center, for both good and evil purposes. Dating from the Edo Period (1615-1867), the works are divided into five groups: “Cats and People,” “Cats as People,” “Cats versus People,” “Cats Transformed,” and “Cats and Play,” depicting the diverse relationship between humans and felines. “A cat is just a cat, but the cat motif contains many nuances and connotations,” the catalog points out, and indeed, the nuances and connotations are many in the exhibition. Sometimes the cat is hovering in the background, barely visible, or on the pattern of a kimono, while at other times it’s front and center, providing loving warmth or performing a dastardly dance of death. People become anthropomorphized cats, with claws, whiskers, and not-so-cute ears. Housecats turn into demonic figures, while tigers and lions lurk threateningly. A cat sits on a man’s back or cuddles at a woman’s neck. Some works are tantalizing and sexy, like Takashi Hiroaki’s “Nude Playing with a Cat,” while others, known as omocha-e, or “toy pictures,” provide moral lessons for children, like “Newly Published Scenes of Good and Evil Cats,” by an unknown artist. There are works by Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kanagaki Robun, Utagawa Hiroshige, Kitagawa Utamaro, Utagawa Kunisada, Katsushika Hokusai, and even Édouard Manet, depicting cats in a multitude of ways, not always as adorable as they are in online videos. (If you saw the show prior to the end of April, you might want to go back, as nearly fifty pieces were rotated in on April 29.) Essentially, the exhibition reveals what we already know: that cats rule, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

SHANNON EBNER WITH DAVID REINFURT: A HUDSON YARD

Shannon Ebner and David Reinfurt’s “A Hudson Yard” public art collaboration will be celebrated on June 4 on the High Line (photo by Timothy Schenck)

Who: Shannon Ebner, David Reinfurt, Alex Waterman
What: Launch of art-project pamphlet with live music
Where: 14th Street Passage on the High Line at 14th Street
When: Thursday, June 4, free, 6:00 – 8:00
Why: From May 2014 to April 2015, New Jersey-born artist Shannon Ebner, who lives and works in Los Angeles and specializes in combining sculpture, photography, and language, added a four-by-six-foot wheat-pasted poster of different versions of the capital letter “A” in Chelsea and the Meatpacking District, giving odd, mysterious ratings to street corners, construction sites, and random walls, one at the beginning of each month, in collaboration with New York City-based graphic designer and writer David Reinfurt. Once put up, the posters remained for between one day and one week, depending on the weather or someone taking it down. On June 4 at 6:00, the work, known as “A Hudson Yard,” will be celebrated with the release of a pamphlet containing photographs and text by the artists, who will be on the High Line, at the 14th Street Passage, for its public unveiling, accompanied by “Clouds and Crowds for 12 Singers,” a new composition by Alex Waterman that will be performed at 6:30.

CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET FAREWELL PERFORMANCES

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, Peter Jay Sharp Building
230 Lafayette Ave.
June 3-6, $20-$55
718-636-4100
www.bam.org
cedarlakedance.com

For a dozen years, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has been one of the most innovative and entertaining American dance companies, an immensely talented troupe collaborating with an impressive collection of international choreographers. So it will be more than a little bittersweet when Cedar Lake comes to BAM this week for its final farewell performances, as it was announced earlier this year that the Chelsea-based group was closing its doors for good when its primary donor, Walmart heiress Nancy Laurie, decided to pull the plug on her contributions. Under the leadership of artistic director Alexandra Damiani, Cedar Lake will be at the Howard Gilman Opera House June 3-6, presenting two programs of company favorites and new works. Program A (June 3 & 5) consists of 2008’s Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue, choreographed by Crystal Pite, with costumes by Junghyun Georgia Lee and music from Cliff Martinez’s soundtrack for Steven Soderbergh’s remake of Solaris; the New York premiere of Rain Dogs, with choreography, sets, and costumes by Johan Inger and music by Tom Waits; and the world premiere of My Generation, choreographed by Richard Siegal, with costumes by Bernhard Willhelm and music by Atom™. Program B (June 4 & 6) includes Ten Duets as well, in addition to 2013’s Indigo Rose, with choreography and décor by Jiří Kylián, costumes by Joke Vissar, and music by Robert Ashley, François Couperin, John Cage, and J. S. Bach, and 2012’s Necessity, Again, choreographed by Jo Strømgren, with costumes by Lee, music by Charles Aznavour, text by Jacques Derrida, and additional music by Bergmund Skaslien. It’s worth mentioning each member of this versatile, virtuosic company, several of whom have been with Cedar Lake for quite some time: Jon Bond, Nickemil Concepcion, Navarra Novy-Williams, Matthew Rich, Joaquim de Santana, Vânia Doutel Vaz, Ebony Williams, Rachelle Scott, Ida Saki, Jin Young Won, Joseph Kudra, Guillaume Quéau, Madeline Wong, Raymond Pinto, and apprentices Daphne Fernberger and Patrick Coker.

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET

Richard Widmark and Thelma Ritter talk over old times in Samuel Fuller Cold War noir

PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (Samuel Fuller, 1953)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St.
May 29 – June 4
212-727-8110
filmforum.org

Three-time loser Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) gets more than he bargained for when he lifts femme fatale Candy’s (Jean Peters) wallet on the subway, landing him in trouble with mysterious Joey (Richard Kiley) and the Feds in Samuel Fuller’s fab Cold War noir set in New York City. “If you refuse to cooperate, you’ll be as guilty as the traitors that gave Stalin the A bomb,” the cops tell him, to which Skip classically replies, “Are you waving the flag at me?” Widmark is almost too good as Skip, a suave pickpocket who lives under the Brooklyn Bridge in an old bait and tackle shack. Sure, it gets a little melodramatic at the end, which comes too soon (the film is only eighty minutes long), but it’s worth every minute nonetheless. And yes, that is Brooklyn’s own Thelma Ritter as the curious little lady who sells ties for information, earning her fourth consecutive Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. One of Fuller’s best, Pickup on South Street is screening at Film Forum in a new 4K restoration May 29 to June 4.

WOLF HALL: PARTS ONE AND TWO

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES begins with music and dance before moving on to more dangerous activities (photo by Johan Persson)

Winter Garden Theatre
1634 Broadway between 50th & 51st Sts.
Wednesday – Sunday through July 5, $49.75-$122
wolfhallbroadway.com

Last season the Brits thrilled Broadway with Shakespeare’s Globe’s doubleheader of Twelfth Night and Richard III, performed as they were in the Bard’s time. This season’s biggest British theatrical event is the Royal Shakespeare Company’s twin bill — but this time they’re not doing Shakespeare. Instead, the Royal Shakespeare Company brings us its widely hailed stage production of Hilary Mantel’s Man Booker Prize–winning novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, set in the just pre-Elizabethan England of Henry VIII. The two plays, which run more than five hours together and can be seen either on separate nights or the same day (matinee and evening, with a break in between), follow the trials and tribulations of lawyer Thomas Cromwell (Ben Miles), a blacksmith’s son, as he deals with Cardinal Wolsey’s (Paul Jesson) battle with King Henry VIII (Nathaniel Parker), who wants an annulment from his marriage to Katherine of Aragon (Lucy Briers) so he can wed Anne Boleyn (Lydia Leonard) to provide an heir to the throne. The based-on-fact intrigue also involves the conniving, ambitious Stephen Gardiner (Matthew Pidgeon), the dangerous Sir Thomas More (John Ramm), the soon-to-be Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer (Giles Taylor), Henry’s former mistress Mary Boleyn (Olivia Darnley), and untrustworthy court musician Mark Smeaton (Joey Batey). In the first part, Cromwell tries to balance his life with his wife, Lizzie Wykys (Darnley), and children, Gregory (Daniel Fraser) and Grace, while negotiating between the cardinal and the king. In the second part, Cromwell’s power has grown, as he is now adviser to the king, who has married Anne. But Cromwell has learned that the new queen, who has been unable to produce a surviving male heir, might have been unfaithful to the king, who has turned his attention to Jane Seymour (Leah Brotherhead). It all comes to a head in a gripping scene in which Cromwell grills the men who have purportedly bedded down with the queen.

Thomas Cromwell (Ben Miles) battles with Anne Boleyn (Lydia Leonard) in second part of WOLF HALL (photo by Johan Persson)

Expertly adapted by Mike Poulton (A Tale of Two Cities, Fortune’s Fool), the stage version of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies is very different from the recent six-part Masterpiece television series, which stars Rylance as Cromwell, Damian Lewis as Henry VIII, and Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn. Director Jeremy Herrin (The Nether, The Absence of War) keeps things stark and spare, with all of the action taking place on Christopher Oram’s minimalist set, which is usually empty, save for an occasional chair, desk, or table. Scene changes are indicated by Paule Constable’s lighting and the actors walking to the edge of the stage, then turning back around. Oram’s costumes are elegant and dramatic, seeming to have stepped right out of classic historical paintings. The rounded front of the stage juts out into the audience, making for a spectacularly intimate experience, particularly for those in the first few rows. The acting is exceptional, led by Miles’s (The Norman Conquests, Betrayal) sensational portrayal of the complex Cromwell, who would make quite a chief of staff in contemporary America. Parker (The Audience, Speed-the-Plow) is a marvelously devious Henry VIII, Briers (Top Girls, Some Kind of Bliss) is fiery as the embittered Katherine, Jesson (The Normal Heart, Mr. Turner) brings a warm sense of humor to the cardinal, and Joshua Silver, in his Broadway debut, is steadfast as Cromwell’s loyal ward and chief clerk, Rafe Sadler. Jealousy, desire, power, ambition, and vainglory collide in Wolf Hall Parts One & Two, another must-see theatrical event from across the pond.

AN ACT OF GOD

God takes over the body of Jim Parsons in sinful new Broadway comedy (photo by Jeremy Daniel, 2015)

Studio 54
254 West 54th St. between Seventh & Eighth Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through August 2, $55-$159
212-719-1300
anactofgod.com

In the chapter “Sacred Word, Profane Image” in her book Taboo Memories, Diasporic Voices, author Ella Shohat writes, “Although according to the Bible God made man in his own image, a few films have projected God in man’s image, making casting an unusually difficult task,” citing portrayals of the Supreme Being by George Burns, Vittorio de Sica, Robert Mitchum, Morgan Freeman, Alanis Morissette, and others. David Javerbaum’s devilishly funny new Broadway comedy, An Act of God, addresses that right at the outset, as Jim Parsons descends from the heavens to take a seat on a couch and chat with the audience. “I reside in all forms, yet my essence is formless, for I transcend all dualities, including that of form and formlessness,” God (Parsons) explains. “Yet tonight I have chosen to appear in form; specifically that of beloved television star Jim Parsons. For lo, I have endowed him with a winning, likable personality; and know of a certainty that your apprehension of My depthless profundities will be aided by his offbeat charm. And then, the irony of him starring in a show called The Big Bang Theory . . . I just couldn’t resist.” For the next ninety minutes, a primarily relaxed, easygoing Almighty presents a revised and updated version of the Ten Commandments for the twenty-first century, with the help of archangels Gabriel (Tim Kazurinsky) and Michael (Christopher Fitzgerald). While Gabriel reads passages from the Bible, Michael roams the audience, taking questions, starting out with innocuous queries but quickly getting into much larger metaphysical and existential matters of the universe as God addresses slavery, abortion, evolution, homosexuality, prayer, the Holocaust, incest, masturbation, Noah, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, the history of Studio 54, and cell phones, all with tongue firmly planted in cheek. But as charming and friendly as he can be, this God can also show his wrath when necessary.

Archangels Gabriel (Tim Kazurinsky) and Michael (Christopher Fitzgerald) pose for a selfie with the Supreme Being (photo by Jeremy Daniel, 2015)

Just as former Daily Show head writer Javerbaum’s book on which the play is based, The Last Testament: With 100 Top Tweets from @TheTweetOfGod, was billed as “A Memoir by God,” An Act of God is “A One-God Show” starring the Supreme Being Himself; He even gets His own paragraph in the Playbill, identifying Him as the Creator and pointing out that this “is His first work written directly for the stage.” Emmy winner Parsons, who dealt with another imaginary figure on Broadway in 2012 when he starred as Elwood P. Dowd in the Roundabout revival of Harvey, in which his character has a giant invisible rabbit for a best friend, is appealing and charismatic as the Lord, wearing sneakers with his long white robe and pushing the merch. He has the audience eating out of the palms of his hands from the get-go, and it willingly gives him the benefit of the doubt even when the script gets too clever for its own good or plays too fast and loose with some very serious subjects. SNL vet Kazurinsky (Police Academy) and two-time Tony nominee Fitzgerald (Finian’s Rainbow, Young Frankenstein) are fine foils for Parsons, the former standing steadfastly at his podium, worshiping his Bible, the latter moving about like Phil Donahue or Jerry Springer, ultimately angering his boss when demanding deeper insight. Tony-winning director Joe Mantello (Airline Highway, Other Desert Cities) maintains a graceful pace on Tony favorite Scott Pask’s (Pal Joey, The Book of Mormon) elegant set, highlighted by a staircase leading up to the stars (and evoking the Merrie Melodies logo), where Peter Nigrini’s projections add an extra touch. The breezy show might not quite answer the questions of the universe that have perplexed humankind throughout the centuries, but An Act of God is a wickedly sinful way to laugh your head off at the foibles of our modern-day, religion-crazed culture, where even the Almighty can be a celebrity.

BROOKLYN SPACES BOOK LAUNCH

Who: Oriana Leckert, Hungry March Band, Morgan O’Kane, Batala NYC, Stefan Zeniuk, DJ Dirtyfinger, the Artist Formerly Known as Anya Sapozhnikova and others from House of YES, Dani Leigh & Demi Fyrce of Big Sky Works
What: Book party celebrating the launch of Brooklyn Spaces: 50 Hubs of Culture and Creativity (Monacelli Press, May 19, $29.95)
Where: Gowanus Ballroom, 55 Ninth St.
When: Saturday, May 30, free (suggested donation $10), 7:00 – late
Why: In her new book expanded from her popular website, Brooklyn Spaces, Oriana Leckert selects fifty of the most unusual and fascinating places in Brooklyn, documenting, as she writes in the introduction, “the Brooklyn I know, the Brooklyn that is mine, the Brooklyn that endlessly inspires me with its passion, innovation, and experimentation.” On May 30, Leckert will host a crazy-mad book party at the Gowanus Ballroom, one of the locations detailed in the book. “One of the most perfect representations of a Brooklyn underground arts space, the Gowanus Ballroom succeeds beautifully at artistic exhibition, cultural advancement, and creative commerce, all within a gorgeously strange historic building,” Leckert writes. (Other spots included in the book are Brooklyn Brainery, Flux Factory, the Invisible Dog, the Morbid Anatomy Museum, the Schoolhouse, Superhero Supply Co., and the Swamp.) The all-night book launch will feature art, music, dance, photography, and lots of unpredictable goings-on, selected from other cultural institutions and artist houses singled out in the book.