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TICKET ALERT: NEW YORK COMIC CON 2015

The mad rush for New York Comic Con begins on May 13, when tickets go on sale for the October event (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Who: Spotlight Guests Jewel Staite, John Rhys-Davies, Adam Hughes, Chris Claremont, Greg Capullo, Masashi Kishimoto, Scott Snyder, Todd McFarlane, and John Rhys-Davies, Featured Guests Allison Sohn, Amy Reeder, Charles Soule, Terry Dodson, and many, many more to be announced
What: New York Comic Con
Where: Javits Center, 655 W 34th St. at 12th Ave.
When: October 8-11, single day $40-$50, three-day pass $75, four-day pass $105, tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 13, at 12 noon
Why: New York Comic Con continues its exponential growth as it reaches its tenth anniversary, making it harder and harder to get tickets, so there’s no time to waste if you want to go to the annual celebration of pop culture, with particular focuses on gaming, science fiction and fantasy books and films, anime, and all things comic-book-related. The four days, part of New York Super Week, are chock full of panel discussions, sneak-peek screenings, photo and autograph opportunities, book signings, and tons and tons of costumed fans. It’s getting so that those who come dressed in regular clothes are the minority. Tickets will go very quickly, so get yours now; don’t wait around until the big-time celebrity attendees are announced, as there will be plenty of major stars there to promote their latest work and smile for the camera with you.

THE PAINTED ROCKS AT REVOLVER CREEK

Leon Addison Brown and Caleb McLaughlin star in what might be Athol Fugard’s final play (photo by Joan Marcus)

The Pershing Square Signature Center
The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre
480 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through June 7, $25-$65
212-244-7529
www.signaturetheatre.org

In 2011, South African writer-director Athol Fugard won a Tony Award for lifetime achievement the day after his seventy-ninth birthday, but that hasn’t slowed down the now-eighty-three-year-old man responsible for such important plays as Sizwe Bansi Is Dead and “Master Harold” . . . and the Boys. The next year he was the Signature Theatre’s playwright-in-residence, presenting stirring revivals of Blood Knot and My Children! My Africa! as well as the New York debut of The Train Driver. He is now back at the Signature with the world premiere of The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, a potent tale of apartheid and its effects on three people that distills right to the core the policy of racial segregation that dominated South Africa for nearly fifty years, and its legacy today. Inspired by real-life outsider artist Nukain Mabusa, who painted flowers on rocks in a stone garden in Revolver Creek for more than a decade, the play takes place in 1981, as an elderly farm laborer (Leon Addison Brown) and his young helper (Caleb McLaughlin) prepare to paint the Big One, an enormous rock on a hill on land owned by Elmarie Kleynhans (Bianca Amato) and her husband, an Afrikaner couple who employ the man, called Tata (“father”) by the boy, known as Bokkie (“small buck”), and Outa (“old father”) by Elmarie, who uses the generic, derisive Afrikaaner terms for them rather than their names. Bokkie is eager for Tata to paint the Big One, but Outa is hesitant. “He is bigger than me. And I know that he is my last one . . . so I am frightened,” Tata says of the inanimate object. “But he is only a rock,” Bokkie explains. “I have got no more flowers in me, Bokkie,” Tata replies. However, soon Bokkie and Tata are painting the rock together, the old man sharing the story of his hard life, passing it on for future generations. “What do you see standing here? Old Man? Just another old kaffer?” he says to the rock, asserting himself for maybe the first time ever. “No, Big One, I am not old man. I am not kaffer. I am MAN.” When the religious Elmarie arrives, she doesn’t understand what Outa has painted and wants him to replace it with something much prettier. “Next Sunday, why don’t you wipe that all away and make it a big flower, your biggest flower . . . to thank the Lord for all his blessings,” she says. The old man is faced with a choice, a decision that will have great impact not only on himself but on his young friend as well.

Jonathan Sejake (Sahr Ngaujah) and Elmarie Kleynhans (Bianca Amato) argue over the new South Africa in THE PAINTED ROCKS AT REVOLVER CREEK (photo by Joan Marcus)

In the second act, it’s twenty-two years later, and the boy, now a grown teacher (Sahr Ngaujah), returns to Revolver Creek, in a South Africa that has ended apartheid and has a new constitution giving equal rights to blacks. He is met by Elmarie, who does not recognize him at first, holding a gun on him until he explains who he is and tells her why he is there. “So what gives you the right to come here and paint that rock without permission? Let me remind you, this is private property, Bokkie,” she says. “Nobody calls me that anymore, Mrs. Kleynhans. My real name is Jonathan Sejake,” he responds with pride and determination. He also explains that Tata/Outa had a name as well, Nukain Mabusa. Jonathan and Elmarie then engage in a heated verbal battle over the current state of the nation, the way things used to be, and what the future promises, arguing about land ownership, violence, and personal identity. As in the first act, Fugard, who also directed the production, includes long, sharply written monologues that both expand on the characters and serve as a microcosm for the arguments that have plagued South Africa since even before apartheid officially began in 1948. The absorbing dialogue is expertly performed by the outstanding cast, who lend nuance and believability to roles that could have been clichéd and predictable. Christopher H. Barreca’s set features an array of rocks covered in fading painted flowers, centered by the Big One, which embodies the seemingly impenetrable gap that exists between blacks and Afrikaners. Just as Tata and Bokkie gave eyes to the rock, Fugard invites the audience to see the vast intricacies of apartheid rule. He imbues The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek with a captivating sensitivity, avoiding becoming overly treacly or didactic as the well-drawn, multidimensional characters make their cases. And although the play is specifically about South Africa, it also relates to the racial tensions that have gripped America in Baltimore, Ferguson, and elsewhere. The play is part of the Signature’s Legacy Program, and Fugard has stated that it might be his “farewell to the stage.” If that is indeed true, he has left behind quite a legacy himself, concluding with one of his most softly intelligent, illuminating works.

FIASCO THEATER’S THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA

Fiasco Theater’s affectionate production of THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA has been extended at Theatre for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center (photo by Gerry Goodstein)

Theatre for a New Audience, Polonsky Shakespeare Center
262 Ashland Pl. between Lafayette Ave. & Fulton St.
Tuesday – Sunday through June 7, $20-$100
866-811-4111
www.tfana.org
www.fiascotheater.com

The Fiasco Theater continues its mission “to offer dynamic, joyful, actor-driven productions of classic and new plays” with a dynamic, joyful, actor-driven production of what is believed to be Shakespeare’s first play, The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The New York City–based company of Brown graduates, which has previously staged Twelfth Night, Cymbeline, Measure for Measure, and this past season’s utterly delightful, Drama Desk–nominated Into the Woods, has stripped down Shakespeare’s early comedy of letters and loyalty, mistaken identity and misplaced love, many elements of which would be explored more deeply in his future works, to its bare essentials. “Upon delving into it we quickly discovered that Two Gents is not merely a ‘shallow story,’ like those that Valentine mocks in the first scene, but a human and layered play that reveals questions and ideas of surprising depth,” a directors note in the program explains. While that might be a bit of a stretch, Fiasco does reveal Two Gents to be a fun-filled frolic through romantic folly. As the play opens, Valentine (Zachary Fine) is telling his compatriot Proteus (Noah Brody) that he is leaving Verona to court a fair lady. “To Milan let me hear from thee by letters / Of thy success in love, and what news else / Betideth here in absence of thy friend. / And I likewise will visit thee with mine,” Valentine declares. Proteus wishes him well, but because of a mix-up with Valentine’s servant, Speed (Paul L. Coffey), Proteus soon turns away from his true love, Julia (codirector Jessie Austrian), and decides instead to woo Valentine’s intended, Sylvia (Emily Young). But Sylvia’s father, the Duke of Milan (Andy Grotelueschen), favors her wealthy suitor Thurio (Coffey), setting off a three-way fight for her hand. “Sir, if you spend word for word with me, I shall make your wit bankrupt,” Thurio says, to which Valentine retorts, “I know it well, sir. You have an exchequer of words and, I think, no other treasure.” But as Speed has previously told Valentine, “Love is blind,” leading to a frantic conclusion.

Lucetta (Emily Young) and Julia (Jessie Austrian) dream about love in early Shakespeare comedy (photo by Gerry Goodstein)

Set designer Derek McLane (Into the Woods, The Heiress) has covered the ceiling, walls, and backdrop with hundreds of crumpled-up handwritten letters; the stage at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center also features two white columns that serve as trees, in addition to benches on either side where the actors sit when not involved in the action (and seem to enjoy everything onstage as much as the crowd does). Regular Fiasco costume designer Whitney Locher has dressed the performers in springtime pastels,1950s-prepster style, the men sporting color-coded saddle-shoe bucks, the women in lacy cap-sleeves. Codirectors Austrian and Ben Steinfeld have the cast speak Shakespeare’s lines in contemporary rhythm, not iambic pentameter, giving it a more intimate feel and quickening the pace. The company is uniformly excellent — a particular treat is Launce’s (Grotelueschen) two monologues with his dog, Crab, played with great humor by Fine wearing a fake nose — singing a few songs and, before the first act and during intermission, mingling with the audience, giving out smiles and hugs. As is Fiasco’s style, the whole production is filled with an intoxicating affection, which works extremely well with one of Shakespeare’s lesser, though plenty charming, comedies. (The May 16 matinee will be followed by a free TFANA Talk with Re-Dressing the Canon: Essays on Theater and Gender author Alisa Solomon and members of the company. And after the May 17 matinee, food historian Francine Segan will host “Shakespeare Primavera,” a Talk & Taste inspired by Shakespeare’s Italian plays, catered by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Events; tickets are $45, or $35 if you attended the show or have a season package.)

HAUTE COUTURE ON FILM: HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE

CinéSalon: HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (Jean Negulesco, 1953)
French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Tuesday, May 12, $13, 4:00 & 7:30
Festival runs through May 26
212-355-6100
www.fiaf.org

Fox’s first CinemaScope romantic comedy, How to Marry a Millionaire, is not exactly a feminist’s dream, as a trio of gorgeous blonde models concoct a dubious plan to snare rich husbands in très chic 1950s Manhattan. Mastermind Schatze Page (Lauren Bacall), blind-as-a-bat Pola Debevoise (Marilyn Monroe), and far-from-genius Loco Dempsey (Betty Grable) move into a luxury Manhattan high-rise on Sutton Place when the previous tenant, Freddie Denmark (David Wayne), has to suddenly disappear because of tax problems. The three women are going for the gold, so Schatze refuses the constant attention of Tom Brookman (Cameron Mitchell), a man she thinks is a “gas pump jockey” but is actually one of the richest men in the city. Instead, she soon drapes herself all over aging widower and Texas cattleman J. D. Hanley (William Powell), while Loco goes away with married businessman Waldo Brewster (Fred Clark) and Pola takes up with mysterious oil baron J. Stewart Merrill (Alex D’Arcy). But no one ends up with who they brought to the dance in this outdated, old-fashioned, often annoying, yet still fun farce.

Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall go wealthy husband hunting in 1950s romantic comedy

Director Jean Negulesco (Humoresque, Johnny Belinda) tries to inject some class into the proceedings by beginning the film with Alfred Newman conducting the Twentieth Century-Fox Symphony Orchestra performing part of his score for the 1932 film Street Scene before the opening credits. Cinematographer Joseph MacDonald’s (My Darling Clementine, Pickup on South Street) camera lingers over shots of such iconic locations as Rockefeller Center, the George Washington Bridge, and the United Nations as Monroe, Grable, and Bacall seek out a ritzy future built on the wallets of men. Screenwriter producer Nunnally Johnson (The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Three Faces of Eve), who based the story on two plays, Zoë Akins’s The Greeks Had a Word for It and Dale Eunson and Katherine Albert’s Loco, includes inside jokes for each of the three female stars, Bacall referencing husband Humphrey Bogart, Grable mentioning hubby Harry James, and Monroe being told that “diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” Just because the filmmakers know the premise is silly doesn’t excuse it for several ridiculous plot twists and its not-so-subtle misogyny. But it all looks great, especially the lead actresses, who are dressed to the nines in dazzling Christian Dior outfits that earned Charles LeMaire and Travilla an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design (Color), so it is appropriate that How to Marry a Millionaire is screening in the French Institute Alliance Française CinéSalon series “Haute Couture on Film,” part of the larger “Fashion at FIAF” festival, being shown May 12 at 4:00 & 7:30; both presentations will be followed by a wine reception, and Wesleyan professor and All We Know: Three Lives author Lisa Cohen will introduce the later show. The series continues through May 26 with Luis Buñuel’s Belle de jour and Deborah Riley Draper’s Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution.

FREE SUMMER FILMS 2015

Roy Scheider cant believe JAWS is coming back for another summer

There’s nothing quite like catching a free movie in the summer in New York City, lying on a blanket in a park, gathering on an aircraft carrier, or huddling in an air-conditioned theater. The season’s free festivals are slowly being announced, with more to come. Below are the day-by-day listings of favorites as well as lesser-known festivals, including the Intrepid Summer Movie Series, Syfy Movies with a View, SummerScreen, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Films on the Green, SummerStage, RiverFlicks, Celebrate Brooklyn!, Coney Island Flicks on the Beach, the Central Park Conservancy Film Festival, Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series, Passport Thursdays at the Queens Museum, the Urban Drive-In at Abrons Arts Center, Red Hook Flicks at Valentino Pier, and other movies in the parks. Keep watching this page as more festivals are announced. (Films without exact start times generally begin around sunset.)

Friday, May 15
Movie Night: Annie (Will Gluck, 2014), Victor Hanson Recreation Center, Rochdale Park

Friday, May 22
Summer Movie Series: Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986), introduced by Scott D. Altman, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Friday, May 29
Films on the Green: . . . And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim, 1956), Central Park, 79th St. & Fifth Ave.

Movie Night: Space Jam (Joe Pytka, 1996), Frederick B Judge Playground

Tuesday, June 2
FAB Flicks: Soul Power (Jeff Levy-Hinte, 2008), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Thursday, June 4
Rooftop Films: Sundance Film Festival Shorts, with Palm Rot (Ryan Gillis), The Face of Ukraine (Kitty Green), Papa Machete (Jonathan David Kane), Mynarski Death Plummet (Matthew Rankin), Volta (Stella Kyriakopoulos), Pop-Up Porno: m4m (Stephen Dunn), Mulignans (Shaka King), Myrna the Monster (Ian Samuels), and Storm Hits Jacket (Paul Cabon), MetroTech Commons, live music by Balancer at 8:30, screening at 9:00

Friday, June 5
Films on the Green: Caramel (Nadine Labaki, 2008), Washington Square Park

Free Summer Movies: The Lego Movie (Chris Miller & Phil Lord, 2014), Crocheron Park

Sunday, June 7
SummerStage: BattleFest League Dancers and screening of Flex Is Kings (Michael Beach Nichols & Deidre Schoo, 2013), Red Hook Park, 7:00

Tuesday, June 9
FAB Flicks: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (Michel Gondry, 2006), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Thursday, June 11
Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, 2012), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

Friday, June 12
Films on the Green: Pépé le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937), Washington Square Park

Movie Night: Frozen (Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck, 2013), MacNeil Park

Monday, June 15
Outdoor Movie Night: Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Tuesday, June 16
FAB Flicks: Shake! Otis at Monterey (D. A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus, 1987) and Jimi Plays Monterey (D. A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus, 1986), Putnam Triangle Plaza

Friday, June 19
Films on the Green: Priceless (Pierre Salvadori, 2008), Tompkins Square Park

Sunday, June 21
SummerStage: The Bullitts + DJ Spinna, with screening of They Die By Dawn (Jeymes Samuel, 2013), Herbert Von King Park, 7:00

Monday, June 22
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Ghostbusters (Ivan Reitman, 1984), Bryant Park

Friday, June 26
Films on the Green: Zarafa (Rémi Bezançon & Jean-Christophe Lie, 2012), Tompkins Square Park

Monday, June 29
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Killers (Richard Siodmark, 1946), Bryant Park Lawn

Tuesday, June 30
Summer Movie Night: Despicable Me 2 (Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, 2013), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson Community Garden

Wednesday, July 1
Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Outdoor Cinema: Don’t Look Back (D. A. Pennebaker, 1967), with a prescreening performance by Pam Reyes and Guests, Socrates Sculpture Park

Friday, July 3
Free Summer Movies: The Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Démy, 1967), Castle Clinton, Battery Park

Monday, July 6
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: The Poseidon Adventure (Ronald Neame, 1972), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Terminator (James Cameron, 1984), West Tenth St.

The Iron Giant rules the Rockaways on June 7

The Iron Giant rules the Rockaways on July 7

Tuesday, July 7
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: The Iron Giant (Brad Bird, 1999), Beach 17th St. & Seagirt Blvd.

Red Hook Flicks: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 8
SummerScreen: Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995), McCarren Park

Outdoor Cinema: Live-in Maid (Jorge Gaggero, 2005), with a prescreening performance by the Adam Tully Trio, Socrates Sculpture Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: The Imitation Game (Morten Tyldum, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton, 1990), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Thursday, July 9
Summer Movie Series: October Sky (Joe Johnston, 1999), introduced by Kayla Rajsky, the Intrepid sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: His People (Edward Sloman, 1925), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Pride & Prejudice (Joe Wright, 2005), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

Friday, July 10
Films on the Green: Goha (Jacques Baratier, 1958), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St.

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water (Paul Tibbitt, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Sunday, July 12
SummerStage: Gerardo Contino y Los Habaneros and screening of Celia: The Queen (Joe Cardona & Mario de Varona, 2008), St. Mary’s Park, 7:00

Monday, July 13
Outdoor Movie Night: Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 2989), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: I’m No Angel (Wesley Ruggles, 1933), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 14
Summer Movie Night: All Dogs Go to Heaven (Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, & Dan Kuenster, 1989), 103rd St. Community Garden

Rooftop Films @ Bronx Terminal Market: The Lego Movie (Chris Miller & Phil Lord, 2014), Bronx Terminal Market

Red Hook Flicks: Coming to America (John Landis, 1988), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 15
SummerScreen: Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: The Natural (Barry Levinson, 1984), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Neighbors (Nicholas Stoller, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

POSTPONED UNTIL AUGUST 26: Outdoor Cinema: Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (Joann Sfar, 2010), with a prescreening performance by Ginkgoa, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 16
Passport Thursdays – Caribbean: Braata Folk Singers, Pan! Our Music Odyssey (Jérôme Guiot, 2014), Queens Museum

Summer Movie Series: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), introduced by Dr. Charles Marmar, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: The Naked City (Jules Dassin, 1948), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Sharknado 2 (Anthony C. Ferrante, 2014), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 17
Films on the Green: Queen to Play (Caroline Bottaro, 2011), Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th St.

Celebrate Brooklyn! The Son of the Sheik (George Fitzmaurice, 1926) with live score by Alloy Orchestra, and Ghost Train Orchestra, Prospect Park Bandshell, 7:30

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: The BoxTrolls (Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi, 2014), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Sunday, July 19
SummerStage: Pete Rock and screening of Time Is Illmatic (One9, 2014), Queensbridge Park, 7:00

Monday, July 20
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: The Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 21
Summer Movie Night: The Rescuers Down Under (Mike Gabriel & Hendel Butoy, 1997), Westervelt Community Garden

Red Hook Flicks: Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 22
SummerScreen: Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, 1987), McCarren Park

The Great Gatsby brings the party to Riverside Park on July 22

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Selma (Ana DuVernay, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Outdoor Cinema: Iron Crows (Bong-nam Park, 2009), with a prescreening performance by Bangladeafy, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 23
Passport Thursdays – Taiwan: Taiwanese Music Ensemble of New York, Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast (Zung Pou Si, 2013), Queens Museum

Summer Movie Series: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977), introduced by Dr. Steve B. Howell, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

Urban Drive-In: Hester Street (Joan Micklin Silver, 1975), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Attack the Block (Joe Cornish, 2011), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 24
Films on the Green: La Dérive (Paula Delsol, 1964), Transmitter Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Saturday, July 25
Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: The Wiz (Sidney Lumet, 1978), Firefighters Field

Monday, July 27
Summer of Music: Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (D. A. Pennebaker, 1973), introduced by D. A. Pennebaker, preceded by Night of 1000 Bowies’ Dance Party and Look-a-Like Contest with DJ Cosmo Baker, Reel Harlem: The Historic Harlem Parks Film Festival, Morningside Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Footloose (Herbert Ross, 1984), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielberg, 1984), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, July 28
Summer Movie Night: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dean DeBlois, 2014), Swindler Cove, Sherman Creek

Red Hook Flicks: Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, July 29
SummerScreen: Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Beasts of the Southern Wild (Behn Zeitlin, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: St. Vincent (Theodore Melfi, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Outdoor Cinema: Kings of the Wind & Electric Queens (Gaspard Kuentz & Cédric Dupire, 2015), with a prescreening performance, Socrates Sculpture Park

Thursday, July 30
Passport Thursdays – India: Parul Shah Dance Company, Haider (Vishal Bhardwaj, 2014), Queens Museum

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Animation Block Party, with Almost There (Julia Glassman), Meanwhile (Stephen McNally), Beach Flags (Sarah Saidan), Aubade (Mauro Carraro), Little Doorman (Matt Marblo), Stella Nova (Ted Wiggin), Positronic (Ryan Mauskopf), Itch (Su-An Ng), Harvey Beaks (C. H. Greenblatt), and sneak peaks from Dreamworks TV, 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Summer Movie Series: Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008), the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum

CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER: Urban Drive-In: Crossing Delancey (Joan Micklin Silver, 1988), Abrons Arts Center

SyFy Movies with a View: Clue (Jonathan Lynn, 1985), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, July 31
Films on the Green: La Collectionneuse (Eric Rohmer, 1967), Transmitter Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Annie (Will Gluck, 2014), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Racing Extinction (Louie Psihoyos, 2015), 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Lincoln Center Out of Doors — “Silent” Movie: Rocky Horror Picture Show (Jim Sharman, 1975), Damrosch Park Bandshell, 11:45

Saturday, August 1
Lincoln Center Out of Doors: A Celebration of the Life of Geoffrey Holder, with the panel discussion “The Life and Work of Geoffrey Holder” and screening of documentary Carmen and Geoffrey (Nick Doob, 2005) and rare archival footage, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 1:00

Rooftop Films at Brookfield Place: Stop Making Sense (Jonathan Demme, 1999), 230 Vesey St., live music at 7:30, films at 8:45

Monday, August 3
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Marathon Man (John Schlesinger, 1976), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 4
Movie Nights in the Rockaways: Back to the Future Part II (Robert Zemeckis, 1989), Beach 17th St. & Seagirt Blvd.

Red Hook Flicks: When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996), Valentino Pier

Nitehawk Presents BuzzFeed Throwback Theater: Twentieth anniversary screening of Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995), preceded by a DJ set by Steve Reynolds and a Q&A with Smith and costar Jason Mewes, 50 Kent, Brooklyn

Wednesday, August 5
Outdoor Cinema — Cold Conflicts: Swedish Short Films, with I Turn to You (Victor Lindgren, 2015), Bath House (Niki Lindroth von Bahr, 2014), and Pussy Have the Power (Lovisa Sirén, 2014), with a prescreening performance, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Movies in the Park: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Flushing Meadows Corona Park

SummerScreen: Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg 1993), McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Francis Lawrence, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 6
Passport Thursdays – Colombia: M.A.K.U. Sound System, Mateo (Maria Gamboa, 2014), Queens Museum

SyFy Movies with a View: Friday (F. Gary Gray, 1995), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 7
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Jumanji (Joe Johnston, 1995), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Saturday, August 8
Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Richard Brooks, 1958), Firefighters Field

Monday, August 10
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Desk Set (Walter Lang, 1957), Bryant Park Lawn

Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazaon, 1951), Firefighters Field

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Mrs. Doubtfire (Chris Columbus, 1993), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 11
Summer Movie Night: Flight of the Navigator (Randal Kleiser, 1986) 103rd St. Community Garden

Rooftop Films @ Bronx Terminal Market: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Bronx Terminal Market

Red Hook Flicks: High Fidelity (Stephen Frears, 2000), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 12
Outdoor Cinema: Wadjda (Haifaa al-Monsour, 2012) and Me and My Moulton (Torill Kove, 2014), with a prescreening performance by Nashaz with Shelley Thomas, Socrates Sculpture Park

SummerScreen: Audience Pick, McCarren Park

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (Chris Renaud &Kyle Balda, 2012), Pier 1, Riverside Park South

A young boy grows up before our eyes in BOYHOOD

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 13
Passport Thursdays – South Korea: Korean Traditional Music & Dance Center, Miss Granny (Hwang Dong-hyuk, 2014), Queens Museum

Summer on the Hudson Picture Show Extension: The Fantastic Mr. Fox (Wes Anderson, 2009), Riverside Park, 72nd Track and Lawn

SyFy Movies with a View: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964), Pier 1, Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 14
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Paddington (Paul King, 2015), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Monday, August 17
Outdoor Movie Night: Frozen (Jennifer Lee & Chris Buck, 2013), Touchdown of the 103rd St. Footbridge, Randall’s Island Park

Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunnn, 2014), West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 18
Summer Movie Night: An American Tail (Don Bluth, 1986), Westervelt Community Garden

Red Hook Flicks: The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 19
Outdoor Cinema: Alice (Jan Svankmajer, 1988), with a prescreening performance by Xeon and Oaklander, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Movies in the Park: Guardians of the Galaxy (James Gunn, 2014), Flushing Meadows Corona Park

Hudson RiverFlicks, Big Hit Wednesdays: Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014), Pier 63, Hudson River Park, Chelsea Piers

Thursday, August 20
Passport Thursdays – South Africa: Azanian People’s Movement, Felix (Roberta Durrant, 2013), Queens Museum

SyFy Movies with a View: Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday, August 21
Hudson RiverFlicks, Family Fridays: Hook (Steven Spielberg, 1991), Pier 46, Hudson River Park, Greenwich Village

Monday, August 24
Bryant Park Summer Film Festival: Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985), Bryant Park Lawn

Coney Island Flicks on the Beach: film TBA, West Tenth St.

Tuesday, August 25
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Fame (Alan Parker, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Roosevelt Island’s Outdoor Summer Movie Series: Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1952), Firefighters Field

Summer Movie Night: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982), Swindler Cove, Sherman Creek

Red Hook Flicks Neighborhood Choice: The Bad News Bears (Michael Ritchie, 1976), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, August 26
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Outdoor Cinema: Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life (Joann Sfar, 2010), with a prescreening performance by Ginkgoa, Socrates Sculpture Park

Free Summer Movies: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), Highland Park

Thursday, August 27
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, Jerry Zucker & David Zucker, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

SyFy Movies with a View: Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988), Brooklyn Bridge Park

Friday August 28
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Saturday, August 29
Central Park Conservancy Film Festival: Superman II (Richard Donner & Richard Lester, 1980), Sheep Meadow and the 72nd St. Cross Drive, beginning with a DJ at 6:30

Tuesday, September 1
Red Hook Flicks: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990), Valentino Pier

Wednesday, September 2
Free Summer Movies: Big Hero 6 (Chris Williams, 2014), George Seuffert Bandshell, Forest Park

Thursday, September 10
Films on the Green: The Rabbi’s Cat (Joann Sfar & Antoine Delesvaux, 2012), Columbia University at 116th St.

EVEREST AWAKENING: A GATHERING FOR NEPAL AND BEYOND

Who: Patti Smith, Loudon Wainwright, Kaki King, Jesse Paris Smith, Martha Mooke, Shyam Nepali, Nicole Atkins, Tara Lobsang, Karanjit Singh, Pema Kunsang, and more to be announced
What: An afternoon of live music and art to raise funds and awareness about the plight of Nepal (and Tibet, India, and Bangladesh) following the devastating earthquake, through Everest Awakening
Where: City Winery, 155 Varick St. at Spring St., 212-608-0555
When: Sunday, May 17, $40-$55, 1:00
Why: More than seven thousand people have died as a result of the April 25 earthquake, so Jesse Paris Smith was inspired to found Everest Awakening. Given that appellation by Tenzin Choegyal, the group’s mission statement explains, “The name represents a symbol of the issues faced today in the Himalaya. We think of Everest as so firm, untouchable, and almighty, and yet it was fragile, not spared in the face of this disaster. Mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence, so we need to rise up to awaken our hearts.” On May 17, a group of musicians and artists will perform at a benefit at City Winery, including Smith, her mother, Patti, folk troubadour Loudon Wainwright III, guitarist and composer Kaki King, electro-violist and composer Martha Mooke, sarangi player Shyam Nepali, singer-songwriter and painter Nicole Atkins, photographer Karanjit Singh, master calligrapher Tara Lobsang, Buddhist translator Pema Kunsang, and others. You can also contribute to the relief effort by purchasing a copy of Everest Awakening: Prayer for Nepal and Beyond, a collection of seventy-eight songs by such artists as Patti Smith, Flea, Krishna Das, Shilpa Ray, Philip Glass, Anne Waldman, Larkin Grimm, Holly Miranda, Lenny Kaye, and dozens more.

THE VILLAGE VOICE FOURTH ANNUAL CHOICE STREETS FOOD TRUCK EVENT

Food trucks lined up at the Intrepid for fourth annual Choice Streets festival (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex
Pier 86, West 46th St. & 12th Ave.
Tuesday, May 5, 7:00 – 11:00
www.villagevoice.com/choicestreets
choice streets 2015 slideshow

Hundreds of gourmands enjoyed a different Cinco de Mayo last Tuesday at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum Complex at Choice Streets 2015, the Village Voice’s fourth annual outdoor gathering of mobile eateries. The music this year was particularly appropriate, as the all-female Mariachi Flor de Toloache band provided the tunes as attendees enjoyed amazing views of NYC from the decks of the Intrepid as well as cool information about an array of fighter planes and jets on display. Below on the pier, ticket holders sampled fare from more than a dozen trucks, including the ever-popular Korilla BBQ and Domo Taco; two types of grilled cheese sammies (Snowday’s maple-sweetened offering beat Gorilla Cheese, hands down); three kinds of pizza, from Valducci’s, Pizza Luca, and a surprise Pizza Luna; and, for dessert, eclairs and Bomb Pops from Vintage Ice Cream’s Good Humor truck, cookies and brownies from the Treats Truck, and more than three dozen flavors of Andy’s Italian Ice. Unfortunately, some crowd-pleasing favorites canceled at the last minute; the Brooklyn Organic Coffee & Tea Truck, Carl’s Steaks, King of Falafel and Shawarma, Solber Pupusas, and Yankee Doodle Dandy’s were particularly missed, especially by those who paid $85 for VIP treatment, although there were a few additions to try to make up for it, including Mofongo. You definitely needed patience, as some of the lines stretched out pretty far, and several of the offerings were pretty scant (and you could only get one sample per truck), so the smarter streeters filled up their beer and wine before settling in for longer waits. The evening’s highlight was our introduction to the Langos Truck’s amazing fried dough Hungarian specialty, which we’ll be seeking out on the streets.