twi-ny recommended events

GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR — FROM GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE AND BEYOND: AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

Lise (Leslie Caron) and Jerry (Gene Kelly) fall in love in the City of Lights in Vincente Minnelli’s AN AMERICAN IN PARIS

AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (Vincente Minnelli, 1954)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Saturday, June 20, 8:00, and Tuesday, June 23, 7:00
Series runs through August 5
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
212-875-5601
www.moma.org

To borrow a phrase from the Gershwins, Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris “’s wonderful, ’s marvelous.” In the 1951 MGM musical, which won six Academy Awards — including Best Picture, Best Color Cinematography, and Best Musical Score — it’s love at first sight for ex-pat artist Jerry Mulligan (a delightful Gene Kelly) upon seeing squirrely parfumerie girl Lise Bouvier (ballerina Leslie Caron, making her film debut after having been discovered by Kelly dancing with Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit). While Mulligan pursues Lise, he is pursued by wealthy socialite Milo Roberts (Nina Foch), who lures him in by buying one of his paintings and promising him a show. Complicating matters is French singer Henri Baurel (Georges Guétary), who has taken Lise under his wing. An American in Paris is a charmer from start to finish, with Kelly leading the way singing in the streets, tapping atop a piano, and romancing Caron on cheesy Hollywood sets doubling for the City of Lights. The fanciful film features a classic collection of songs by George and Ira Gershwin, including “Embraceable You,” “Nice Work If You Can Get It,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Our Love Is Here to Stay,” and “’S Wonderful,” all choreographed by Kelly, who won an honorary Oscar in 1952 for “his versatility as an actor, singer, director, and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.” Adding to the fun is Oscar Levant as Jerry’s irritable neighbor Adam Cook, a cynical concert pianist who gets a terrific dream sequence in which he plays an entire orchestra by himself. The film culminates in the dazzling sixteen-minute “An American in Paris Ballet,” a glorious Technicolor production number shot by cinematographer John Alton. An American in Paris — which has been stunningly transformed into a Tony-winning Broadway musical — is screening on June 20 & 25 as part of MoMA’s “Glorious Technicolor: From George Eastman House and Beyond” series, a celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Technicolor, which continues through August 5 with such other delights as Richard Thorpe’s Ivanhoe, Norman Taurog’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Michael Curtiz’s The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, and Rouben Mamoulian’s Blood and Sand.

HOLLANDSE NIEUWE HARING 2015

The new Dutch herring arrives in the city on June 18 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Grand Central Oyster Bar, Grand Central Terminal, lower level, 212-490-6650
Russ & Daughters, 179 East Houston St., 212-475-4880
Restaurant Aquavit, 65 East 55th St., 212-307-7311

The new herring is here! The new herring is here! After being sampled by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, the Hollandse Nieuwe Haring from Scheveningen has been air-expressed to New York City, where it is available at three prime locations for approximately three weeks. The Grand Central Oyster Bar is serving the Silver of the Sea from a special cart (marked De Haringkoning — the Herring King) in a cozy nook by the bar, accompanied by chopped egg, diced raw onion, and seeded flatbread, along with genever (Dutch gin) as desired. Each bite is a delectable taste sensation that should be slowly savored, never rushed. You can also delight in the new catch at Russ & Daughters, where the marvelous matjes herring, two fillets attached at the tail, is available for takeout at the counter, although you should strongly consider ordering in advance; there’s a reason why their latest book is called Russ & Daughters: Reflections and Recipes from the House That Herring Built. Tickets are also still available for the Russ & Daughters Herring Pairing at the Astor Center on June 24 ($79), with Fung Tu chef Jonathan Wu preparing special herring dishes accompanied by sparkling wine, vodka, and other cocktails, along with live music by Matt Bauder’s Hearing Things. And Aquavit’s annual Herring Festival continues through July 10, with a herring plate available as an appetizer (five types of herring) or a main course (nine types) as part of a $52 prix-fixe meal. Advice columnist Ann Landers once said, “If you want to catch trout, don’t fish in a herring barrel.” Well, for the next few weeks, fishing in a herring barrel is definitely the way to go.

THE 2015 MERMAID PARADE

Coney Island
Saturday, June 20, free, 1:00
Parade starts at West 21st St. & Surf Ave.
www.coneyisland.com

Two years ago, there was almost no Mermaid Parade. This year, there will be no Mermaid Parade Ball, but the thirty-third annual parade itself is a go, led by the husband-and-wife team of Julie Atlas Muz (This or That!) as Queen Mermaid and Mat Fraser (American Horror Story) as King Neptune. An annual tradition since 1983, harkening back to the Coney Island Mardi Gras, which was held from 1903 to 1954, the parade gets started at West Twenty-First St. & Surf Ave., heads east onto West Tenth St., then turns south toward the boardwalk and Steeplechase Plaza, with antique cars, motorized and pulled floats, and tons of folks dressed in wild sea regalia. Over the years, the Mermaid Parade has gone from a relatively small, intimate gathering — we marched in it way back when, and we were a manta ray, not Batman, thank you very much — to a huge celebration, part Village Halloween Parade, part Gay Pride March. It’s just the right time and place to let it all hang out and release that inner sea creature that has been lurking within you, ready to burst free.

GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR — FROM GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE AND BEYOND: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Gene Kelly dazzles during unforgettable solo scene in classic MGM musical SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952)
MoMA Film, Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Saturday, June 20, 5:00, and Thursday, June 25, 4:30
Series runs through August 5
Tickets: $12, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk beginning at 9:30 am
212-708-9400
212-875-5601
www.moma.org

The 1952 MGM musical Singin’ in the Rain is one of the all-time-great movies about movies, in this case focusing on the treacherous transition from silent films to talkies. It’s the mid-1920s, and the darlings of the silver screen are handsome Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and blonde bombshell Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). They’re supposedly just as hot offscreen as on, as Don explains to radio gossip host Dora Bailey (Madge Blake, later best known as Aunt Harriet on the Batman TV series) at their latest Hollywood premiere, but in actuality the debonair Don can’t stand the none-too-bright yet still conniving Lina. After accidentally bumping into Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), an independent-thinking young woman who claims to not even like the movies, Don is soon trying to chase her down, determined to get to know her better. Meanwhile, studio head R. F. Simpson (Millard Mitchell) decides he has to capitalize on the surprise success of the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, by turning the latest Lockwood-Lamont movie, The Dueling Cavalier, into a talkie, with initially disastrous results, threatening to bring everything and everyone crashing down.

Cyd Charisse joins Gene Kelly for fantastical Broadway Melody ballet in SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN

Written by the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green and directed by Kelly and Stanley Donen (On the Town, Charade), Singin’ in the Rain is an endlessly thrilling and entertaining film, featuring gorgeous Technicolor set pieces photographed by Harold Rosson (the Broadway Melody ballet with Cyd Charisse is particularly spectacular), terrific tunes adapted from previous productions (“Fit as a Fiddle [And Ready for Love,]” “Moses Supposes,” “Good Morning”), and delightful performances by Kelly, whose solo foray through the title song is deservedly iconic; Donald O’Connor as Don’s longtime best friend, Cosmo Brown, who dazzles with a comic Fred Astaire-like turn in “Make ’em Laugh”; and Hagen channeling Judy Holliday from Born Yesterday. (Hagen served as Holliday’s understudy when Born Yesterday hit Broadway in 1947.) While all the elements come together beautifully (although things do get a little too mean-spirited in the end), this is Kelly’s film all the way, his smile and charm dominating the screen as only a genuine movie star can, so to see him playing a movie star merely doubles the fun. (It’s hard to imagine that Howard Keel was supposedly the first choice to play the role.) Curiously, Singin’ in the Rain was nominated for only two Oscars, with Hagen getting a nod for Best Supporting Actress and Lennie Hayton for Best Musical Score. Singin’ in the Rain’ is screening on June 20 & 25 as part of MoMA’s “Glorious Technicolor: From George Eastman House and Beyond” series, a celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of Technicolor, which continues through August 5 with such other delights as Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession, Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris, Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Victor Fleming’s Gone with the Wind.

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK: THE TEMPEST

Miranda (Francesca Carpanini) and her father, Prospero (Sam Waterston), make magic in Central Park (photo by Joan Marcus)

Central Park
Delacorte Theater
Through July 5, free, 8:00
publictheater.org/tempest

In the brief synopsis of The Tempest in the program for the Public Theater’s latest Shakespeare in the Park presentation, which opened at the Delacorte on June 16, it says in bold caps, “The play opens with a storm. . . . The storm isn’t natural.” But the night I saw it, real blasts of thunder accompanied the beginning, a striking depiction of the sudden squall that deposits a group of noblemen on a remote island. The elements are always part of the fun in these Public Theater productions, so the darkening clouds and threatening rain — which never came — added to the drama, which at times needed a little help. The island is occupied by the gray-bearded, professorly magician Prospero (Sam Waterston), his fifteen-year-old daughter, Miranda (Francesca Carpanini), and his two slaves, the playful sprite Ariel (Chris Perfetti) and the brooding, deformed Caliban (Louis Cancelmi). Formerly the duke of Milan, Prospero was exiled twelve years earlier when his brother, Antonio (Cotter Smith), usurped his title, and Prospero has been planning his revenge ever since; it is no coincidence that the shipwrecked boat was carrying Antonio, along with Alonso, the king of Milan (Charles Parnell), his brother, Sebastian (Frank Harts), and Ferdinand, the son of the king of Naples (Rodney Richardson), along with several others, including the honest councilor Gonzalo (Bernard White), Alonso’s jester, Trinculo (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), and the drunken butler Stephano (Danny Mastrogiorgio). Promising him freedom, Prospero sends out Ariel to do his dirty work, turning the men against one another so he can regain his title, while also playing matchmaker to Miranda and Ferdinand, who take an instant liking to each other.

Prospero (Sam Waterston) orchestrates strange doings on a remote island in THE TEMPEST (photo by Joan Marcus)

“Your tale, sir, would cure deafness,” Miranda says to her father when he is filling her in about their past, but unfortunately, Waterston (Law & Order, Grace and Frankie), wearing what appears to be a kind of tallit (Jewish prayer shawl), is marble-mouthed as Prospero, hesitant and uneasy in his line readings, particularly in the first act, making it hard to understand him as he strains to find a rhythm. This is his tenth Shakespeare in the Park appearance, an illustrious resume that dates back to his starring role in Hamlet back in 1975, so his performance is somewhat confounding, although he does settle down significantly in the second act. Perfetti’s (Sons of the Prophet) Ariel, clad in a mildly S&M body harness, is also questionable and ill-defined. But the rest of the cast is strong and engaging; current Juilliard student Carpanini and Richardson (Pulse) have infectious chemistry as the potential lovers, Ferguson (Modern Family, The Comedy of Errors) and Mastrogiorgio (Lucky Guy, Golden Boy) provide necessary comic relief, and Cancelmi (Father Comes Home from the Wars, The Hallway Trilogy) is excellent as the native “monster,” a character who evokes colonialism, bigotry, and fear of the other. Through it all, Arthur Solari’s percussion, played from his own booth at the corner of the stage, is filled with emotion itself as it goes from anger and ire to passion and love. Director Michael Greif (Next to Normal, Our Lady of Kibeho,), who helmed the well-received 2007 Shakespeare in the Park production of Romeo and Juliet with Lauren Ambrose and Oscar Isaac, never quite finds his own rhythm, the three story lines bumpy until all coming together in the end on Riccardo Hernandez’s scaffold-based set. And speaking of the end, when Waterston stood alone onstage to deliver the epilogue, asking for applause to help him return to Milan, a goose flew overhead as if on cue, honking like a warped metronome, the outdoor elements once again becoming part of the show. This brave goose might not have laid a golden egg, but it did recall Mercutio telling Romeo, “Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five: was I with you there for the goose?”

TICKET GIVEAWAY: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM

Nick Cearley stars as a musical Puck in Masterworks Theater (photo by Russ Rowland)

Nick Cearley stars as a musical Puck in the Masterworks Theater Company production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (photo by Russ Rowland)

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
47th Street Theatre
304 West 47th St. between Eighth & Ninth Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through June 28, $19-$65
212-279-4200
www.masterworkstheatercompany.org

It’s hard to get New Yorkers to pay to see Shakespeare in the summer, what with so many free productions in parks, parking lots, and other outdoor spaces around the city. (You can check out an updated day-by-day list here.) But the Masterworks Theater Company is defying the odds, staging the Bard favorite A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the 47th St. Theatre. Clocking in at a breezy ninety minutes, this version, which features a lot of music and pop-culture references, stars Nick Cearley as Puck, Warren Jackson as Bottom, Jenny Strassburg as Hippolyta/Titania, Andrew Ramcharan Guilarte as Theseus/Oberon, Sheria Irving as Hermia, Becca Ballenger as Helena, Reynaldo Piniella as Lysander, Emilio Paul Tirado as Demetrius, and Jack Herholdt as Snout and Wall. Tamilla Woodard directs, with choreography by Shannon Stowe. The show is set in a modern-day playground designed by Raul Abrego.

TICKET GIVEAWAY: A Midsummer Night’s Dream is running through June 28 at the 47th St. Theatre, and twi-ny has three pairs of tickets to give away for free. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and favorite Midsummer Night’s Dream production (film or theater) to contest@twi-ny.com by Wednesday, June 17, at 12 noon to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; three winners will be selected at random.

ANYWHERE IN TIME: A CONLON NANCARROW FESTIVAL

The life and career of one-of-a-kind composer Conlon Nancarrow will be celebrated at twelve-day fest at the new Whitney (photo courtesy Charles Amirkhanian)

Whitney Museum of American Art
Susan and John Hess Family Theater, third floor
99 Gansevoort St.
June 17-28, $22 (includes admission to galleries)
212-570-3600
whitney.org

In a 1981 letter to Charles Amirkhanian, György Ligeti wrote, “This music is the greatest discovery since Webern and Ives . . . something great and important for all music history! His music is so utterly original, enjoyable, perfectly constructed but at the same time emotional . . . for me it’s the best of any composer living today.” Ligeti was referring to the little-known Conlon Nancarrow, an American-born composer who had become a Mexican citizen and had done extraordinary work with the player piano. The recipient of a MacArthur genius grant, Nancarrow, who passed away in 1997 at the age of eighty-four, will be celebrated at the new Whitney Museum of American Art with “Anywhere in Time: A Conlon Nancarrow Festival,” twelve days of special live performances, talks, and films paying tribute to Nancarrow’s influential career. Among those taking the stage in the Susan and John Hess Family Theater will be Steve Coleman and Five Elements, dancers from the Merce Cunningham Trust Fellowship Program performing Crises (1960) (reconstructed and staged by Jennifer Goggans), percussionist Chris Froh, Alarm Will Sound, and Henry Kaiser and Lukas Ligeti with Charles Amirkhanian. Cocurated by Dominic Murcott and Jay Sanders, “Anywhere in Time” also features screenings of James Greeson’s 2012 documentary Conlon Nancarrow: Virtuoso of the Player Piano, the panel discussion “Nancarrow Deconstructed” with Froh and Murcott, and a 1921 Marshall and Wendell Ampico upright player piano on view on the veranda with Nancarrow’s “Study #36” piano roll, which will occasionally play. “Conlon Nancarrow had perhaps the most single-minded career of any great American composer, devoting his life to exploring the rhythmic possibilities of juxtaposing multiple simultaneous tempos,” notes Alarm Will Sound conductor and artistic director Alan Pierson. “The combination of Nancarrow’s catchy materials and the complex way he deals with them puts his work in a sweet spot of immediacy and complexity occupied by much of the music we love. And the challenge of performing music not meant to be played by human beings is a stimulating one.” The festival comes to a close on June 28 with the eight-hour “Complete Studies for Player Piano: A Marathon Concert Event,” presented in numerical order from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and including appearances by Nancarrow’s wife, Yoko, and their son, Mako. Most of the events require ticketing, and it’s best if you get them in advance; the cost is the same as museum admission, and the ticket gets you into all the galleries.