twi-ny recommended events

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.

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

The Queen of the Night (Katherine Crockett) greets her loyal subjects in immersive theatrical event (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Diamond Horseshoe, Paramount Hotel
235 West 46th St. between Broadway & Eighth Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through June 28, $195-$475
212-706-7448
queenofthenightnyc.com
www.diamondhorseshoe.com

“This is the best dinner theater ever,” my companion said to me about halfway through Queen of the Night, the immersive, all-inclusive presentation running at the resurrected Diamond Horseshoe at the Paramount Hotel. The six-thousand-square-foot nightclub, which was opened by impresario Billy Rose in 1938 and hosted many a celebrity and performer until its closing in 1951, is now home to the decadently delightful Queen of the Night, a three-hour affair inspired by Mozart’s The Magic Flute and the real-life adventures of the Marchesa Luisa Casati, the Italian heiress, patron, muse, and original female dandy who once declared, “I want to be a living work of art.” And that’s exactly what she is in the show, as portrayed by Martha Graham veteran Katherine Crockett in a tantalizing mask and an elegant, dramatic flowing white gown accessorized by two life-size sculptures of caressing gold hands. The abstract narrative ostensibly follows young initiate Pamina (Valerie Benoit-Charbonneau), the Marchesa’s daughter, who is caught between the sorcerer Sarastro (Will Underwood) and her true love, Tamino (Tristan Nielsen). But Queen of the Night is really about lavish spectacle, as minor characters perform dazzling acrobatics, diving through hoops, climbing poles, juggling unusual objects, riding a Cyr wheel, and dangling from the ceiling from aerial silk. (The circus elements come courtesy of Shana Carroll and her Montreal troupe Les 7 Doigts de la Main, including Olaf Triebel, Emilie Desvergne, and Zia Zhengqi; members of the company also appear in Diane Paulus’s current revival of Pippin.)

The audience sits around the central stage at the renovated and restored Diamond Horseshoe (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Ultimately, how much you enjoy Queen of the Night is up to you; the more adventurous and open you are to just about anything, the more unpredictable and exciting the experience will be. Upon entering the transformed, glittering nightclub, you are encouraged to explore, and explore you should, checking out every nook and cranny that security allows; you’ll find strange artifacts of a time gone by, perhaps get picked to pay tribute to the queen, and maybe even help shave Pamina’s legs in a bathtub while a man reads from a book about the G-spot. During the show, you are likely to get stroked by various servant-slave butlers or the queen herself and might also be chosen to take part in some of the wild activities going on around the stage. And if you want to taste all of the food — the kitchen serves salmon Wellington, chicken, and lamb you slice yourself, with various accompaniments — you’ll have to get up from your table and trade portions with strangers.

Performers get up close and personal in immersive QUEEN OF THE NIGHT (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Conceived by Randy Weiner, the producer of the Macbeth-inspired Sleep No More and cocreator (with Paulus, his wife) of the Midsummer Night’s Dream-based The Donkey Show, Queen of the Night is directed by Tony-nominated scenic designer Christine Jones (Spring Awakening, American Idiot), who is also currently helming the very different Theatre for One piece I’m Not the Stranger You Think I Am, a show of minimalist five-minute one-actor plays by famous playwrights for one audience member at a time. QOTN requires somewhat more intensive staging than that: Also deserving praise are lighting designer Austin R. Smith, fashion designer Thom Browne, set (and scent?!) designer Douglas Little, choreographer Lorin Latarro, interior designer Meg Sharpe, creative director Giovanna Battaglia, and executive chef Jason Kallert. As immersive theater goes, Queen of the Night has it all, mixing contemporary dance, acrobatics, fab costumes, magic, audience participation, and good food. There are three ticket levels, Gala ($195), Premium ($275), and Ultimate ($475), each of which comes with dinner but otherwise includes different amenities, seating, and access. If you allow yourself to get swept up in all the titillating pageantry, well, Queen of the Night just might be the best dinner theater ever.

UHF FILM FEAST

“Weird Al” Yankovic can’t believe special menu that is accompanying screening of cult classic at Nitehawk

UHF (Jay Levey, 1989)
Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave. between Berry St. & Wythe Ave.
Tuesday, June 2, $75, 7:15
718-384-3980
www.nitehawkcinema.com

“Aw, what’s wrong, Bobbo?” George Newman (“Weird Al” Yankovic) says to Bobbo the Clown (David Bowe) in UHF. “I bet I know! You’re hungry, aren’t you? Have I got just the thing for you!” While George offers Bobbo what he thinks are “the mouth-watering, lip-smacking taste” of Mrs. Hackenberger’s Butter Cookies but in actuality are Yappy’s Dog Treats, Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema will be serving up something a little more palatable when it screens the 1989 cult classic on June 2 in its ongoing Film Feasts series. As you watch Weird Al spoof such flicks as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Conan the Barbarian, and Rambo and low-budget kids’ television shows with the help of Michael Richards, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Emo Philips, Dr. Demento, Gedde Watanabe, David Proval, Billy Barty, and Fran Drescher, you can enjoy a seven-course menu with special drinks that features “Waiters of the Lost Ark” (Big Edna burger and Twinkie Wiener sandwich), “Philo’s Chemistry Set” (Prickly Pear Limoncello shot), “Mr. Butterfingers’ Red Face” (finger sandwich), “What’s it gonna be, Weaver?” (Wheel of Fish ceviche), “Good Watermelon” (Avua Cachaça, fresh watermelon), “Cuz They’re Real Fishy” (Margherita pizza with white anchovies), and “Fifth Blood Part 1” (bahn mi). Channel 62 never tasted so good.

MANHATTANHENGE 2015

Manhattanhenge will light up crosstown traffic May 29-30 and July 12-13 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

SUNSET ON THE MANHATTAN GRID
East side of Manhattan
Half Sun: Friday, May 29, 8:12 pm
Full Sun: Saturday, May 30, 8:12 pm
Full Sun: Sunday, July 12, 8:20 pm
Half Sun: Monday, July 13, 8:21 pm
www.amnh.org
manhattanhenge slideshow

One of our favorite events of the summer season, the first of two Manhattanhenges takes place this weekend, when the sun aligns with Manhattan’s off-center (by thirty degrees) grid to send spectacular bursts of sunlight streaming across the streets. It’s a real bummer when the sky is obscured by clouds and bad weather, ruining the effect, so hopefully that won’t be a problem, as it has been in recent years. Coined by master astrophysicist and Hayden Planetarium director Neil deGrasse Tyson in 2002, Manhattanhenge takes place twice a year; for 2015, those dates are May 29-30 and July 12-13, when the sun (half the disk one night, the full disk the other) will create “a radiant glow of light across Manhattan’s brick and steel canyons, simultaneously illuminating both the north and south sides of every cross street of the borough’s grid,” Tyson explains on the planetarium website. “A rare and beautiful sight. These two days happen to correspond with Memorial Day and Baseball’s All Star break. Future anthropologists might conclude that, via the Sun, the people who called themselves Americans worshiped War and Baseball.” Photographers will once again line up along the city’s wider thoroughfares on the east side, including Twenty-third, Thirty-fourth, Forty-second, and Fifty-seventh Sts., risking their physical safety against oncoming traffic as they try to capture that exact moment when the sun is half above the horizon, half below it. Wrongly called the Manhattan Solstice, the event “may just be a unique urban phenomenon in the world, if not the universe,” Tyson explains. It’s quite a sight; don’t miss it.