twi-ny recommended events

SUMMER OF SURREALISM: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

The beautiful weirdness never ends in Jodorowsky cult classic THE HOLY MOUNTAIN

LIVE SOUND CINEMA: THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (Alejandro Jodorowsky, 1973)
Nitehawk Cinema
136 Metropolitan Ave. between Berry St. & Wythe Ave.
Friday, June 27, and Saturday, June 28, $16, 12:05 am
Series runs June 27 – July 26
212-924-7771
www.nitehawkcinema.com
www./twitter.com/alejodorowsky

Inspired by Rene Daumal’s Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s The Holy Mountain also involves symbolically non-Euclidean adventures in mountain climbing, funneled through Carlos Castaneda, Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and magic mushrooms and LSD galore. What passes for narrative follows a Jesus look-alike thief (Horacio Salinas) and an alchemist with a thing for female nudity (Jodorowsky) on the path to enlightenment; along the way they encounter the mysterious Tarot, stigmata, stoning, eyeballs, frogs, flies, cold-blooded murder, naked young boys, chakra points, life-size plaster casts, Nazi dancers, sex, violence, blood, gambling, turning human waste into gold, death and rebirth, and the search for the secret of immortality via representatives of the planets, each with their own extremely bizarre story to tell. Jodorowsky, who is credited with having invented the midnight movie with the 1970 acid Western El Topo, literally shatters religious iconography in a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of jaw-droppingly gorgeous and often inexplicable imagery composed from a surreal color palette, set to a score by free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry and Archies keyboardist Ron Frangipane. (Frangipane also worked with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who produced this film with their business manager, Allen Klein.)

The Holy Mountain — which brings a whole new insight to Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle — is filled with psychedelic mysticism centered around the human search for transcendence in a wilderness of the sacred and profane. Jodorowsky’s work can move you deeply, but don’t expect it to make much sense. Sit back and let in pour in and over you — you’ll feel it. You may hate it, but you’ll feel it. Although you’ll definitely hate the very end. The Holy Mountain is kicking off Nitehawk Cinema’s “Summer of Surrealism” series, screening June 27 & 28 at 12:05 am with a live score by Guizot; meanwhile, Jodorowsky’s brilliant, surreal autobiographical The Dance of Reality is playing an extended run at the Landmark Sunshine. The Nitehawk festival, influenced by the forthcoming January 2015 publication of Adam Lowenstein’s Dreaming of Cinema: Spectatorship, Surrealism, and the Age of Digital Media, continues through July 26 with such other crazy films as David Lynch’s Inland Empire, Richard Lester’s The Bed Sitting Room, Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man.

MACBETH

Kenneth Branagh makes his rousing New York City stage debut in immersive production of MACBETH (photo by Johan Persson)

Park Avenue Armory
Wade Thompson Drill Hall
643 Park Ave. between 66th & 67th Sts.
May 31 – June 22
www.armoryonpark.org

Kenneth Branagh took care of a lot of firsts in the thrilling immersive production of Macbeth that just concluded its sold-out run at the Park Avenue Armory. Branagh makes his New York stage debut with the Scottish Play; it is also the first time he has appeared in Macbeth and marks his return to Shakespeare after a ten-year absence. Commissioned by the armory and the Manchester International Festival, this Macbeth was first presented in England in a deconsecrated church, but its impressive scope was further expanded for the armory production. Upon picking up tickets, each audience member also receives a wristband and clan designation, gathering in one of the rooms in the armory, then marching in unison into the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, which has been transformed into a dark and mysterious heath littered with tumbleweeds, rocks, and slowly moving figures in brown cloaks. The audience is seated by clan in two sets of bleachers separated by a narrow path of dirt: At one end of the path is an altar decorated with numerous candles and altarpieces of the adult and baby Jesus, Mary, and a saint, while on the other end is a Stonehenge-like arrangement of large stones.

Audience members are immediately put into the mood in thrilling version of the Scottish Play at the Park Ave. Armory (photo by Stephanie Berger)

The play, directed by Branagh and eight-time Tony nominee Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying), begins with a breathtaking battle scene in the rain, which turns the dirt into mud as Macbeth and Banquo (Jimmy Yuill) lead King Duncan’s (John Shrapnel) army to victory. Following the fight, the Weird Sisters (Charlie Cameron, Laura Elsworthy, and Anjana Vasan), seemingly floating in the rock formation, make their prediction of Macbeth’s rise to the throne, and soon he and Lady Macbeth (Alex Kingston, in her New York City stage debut) are plotting their way to the top, with only Macduff (Richard Coyle) and Malcolm (Alexander Vlahos) in their way. A thoroughly convincing Branagh digs deep into Macbeth’s psyche, pulling out a wide range of intense emotions that give added depth to a familiar character, while Kingston plays Lady Macbeth with a mature, thoughtful vulnerability. The supporting cast, particularly Yuill, Shrapnel, Coyle, and Tom Godwin as the wretched porter, is outstanding as well, but they almost get swallowed up in the awe-inspiring stagecraft, highlighted by Christopher Oram’s terrific set — which often evokes a hellish pit of doom — Neil Austin’s divine lighting, and Christopher Shutt’s haunting sound design. The gripping two-hour intermissionless show feels right at home at the armory, which has its own military history, one that Branagh’s Macbeth is now a part of in its own unique way.

BROADWAY IN HD: THE NANCE

Stagecast of THE NANCE starring Nathan Lane comes to Symphony Space as part of Broadway in HD series (photo by Joan Marcus)

Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th St.
June 25 & 30, July 14 & 20, $23, 7:00
212-864-5400
www.symphonyspace.org
www.screenvision.com

Miss a big show because tickets were too expensive or too hard to get or the production took place overseas? Screenvision is now offering a second chance to check out select Broadway, Canadian, and British plays by showing them in movie theaters across the country. Earlier this month, the company, which specializes in movie-theater advertising, presented a filmed version of the Australian production of Alfred Uhry’s Driving Miss Daisy, starring Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones. Now, in conjunction with Gay Pride Week, Screenvision and Broadway on Screen have teamed up with Lincoln Center Theater to present a stagecast of last year’s Broadway hit The Nance, Douglas Carter Beane’s poignant and engaging tale of a police clampdown on gay subculture in 1930s New York City. In the play, directed by Jack O’Brien (The Coast of Utopia, Much Ado About Nothing), Tony nominee Nathan Lane stars as Chauncey, a closeted burlesque performer who is trying to avoid getting arrested while picking up younger men in specific meeting points. The show also stars Andréa Burns, Jenni Barber, and Cady Huffman as a trio of strippers, Lewis J. Stadlen as Chauncey’s onstage partner, and Jonny Orsini as a one-night stand who turns into something more. The Nance will be screening June 25 & 30 and July 14 & 20 at 7:00 at Symphony Space as part of the Broadway in HD series, which also includes a June 24 showing of Christopher Plummer and Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon, Les Misérables) in the 2008 Stratford Festival production of George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar & Cleopatra. In addition, Symphony Space will be screening the current revival of Alan Ayckbourn’s A Small Family Business on June 26 & 29 and July 9 & 17 as part of its ongoing National Theatre Live series.

TICKET ALERT: NEW YORK CITY WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL

NYCWFF
Multiple locations
Tickets go on sale Monday, June 23, at midnight
Festival runs October 16-19, $20-$300
www.nycwff.org

Tickets go on sale to the general public for the feeding frenzy that is the New York City Wine & Food Festival on Monday, June 23, at midnight, and you better not wait if you want to get in to the coolest culinary events, which sell out extremely quickly. (In fact, the American Express presale has resulted in six sold-out programs already.) For four days, dozens of chefs and food celebrities will be serving special meals and mingling with gourmands at seminars, classes, late-night parties, intimate dinners, walk-around tastings, and demonstrations. Below are ten highlights from the more than one hundred events, which range in price from $20 to $300.

Wednesday, October 15
Le Cirque 40th Anniversary Dinner, hosted by Sirio Maccioni, with courses by David Bouley, Daniel Boulud, Jacques Torres, and Raphael François and wine-pairing discussion with Christophe Salin, Le Cirque, $300, 7:00

Thursday, October 16
Bank of America Dinner Series: Beyond the Butcher Block, hosted by Pat LaFrieda, with Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, Noir, $250 (includes copy of LaFrieda’s Meat: Everything You Need to Know), 7:00

Cooking Channel Presents Chicken Coupe, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, the Loeb Boathouse, Central Park, $200, 7:00

Friday, October 17
Hot Dog Happy Hour, with Mo Rocca, the Standard Biergarten, $150, 5:00

Dominique Ansel’s Wonderland, dessert buffet with Dominique Ansel, Richard Capizzi, Stephen Collucci, Benjamin Grué, Lauren Resler, Ghaya Oliveira, Miroslav Uskokovic, and Zac Young, the Refectory at the High Line Hotel, $125, 10:00 pm

Saturday, October 18
New York Sideline Pass: Jets + Chefs, the Ultimate Tailgate, hosted by Joe Namath and Mario Batali, with food by Mario Batali, Lucas Billheimer, Jean-Paul Bourgeois, Josh Bowen, Emile Castillo, Gabriel Cruz, Ratha Chaupoly, Ben Daitz, Sylvain Delpique, Joe Dobias, Simon Glenn, Will Horowitz, Michael Lomonaco, Lolo Manso, Julian Medina, Danny Mena, Myron Mixon, Tracy Obolsky, Erin O’Shea, Natasha Pogrebinsky, Erik Ramierz, Joel Reiss, Anthony Ricco, Mark Rosati, Adam Schop, and Thiago Silva, and special appearance by the New York Jets Flight Crew, Pier 92, 52nd St. & the West Side Highway, $120-$220, 11:30 am

The Lobster Place Presents Oyster Bash, hosted by Tyler Florence, with Ed Brown, Michael Cressotti, Tyler Florence, Hung Huynh, Jehangir Mehta, Seamus Mullen, Ben Pollinger, Ron Rosselli, and David Seigal, the Standard Biergarten, $150, 12 noon

TimesTalk: Alain Ducasse, Daniel Boulud, and Eric Ripert, moderated by Sam Sifton, the TimesCenter, $35, 2:00

Sunday, October 19
Down-Home Country Brunch, hosted by Trisha Yearwood, with Richard Brown, Darrell Darwood, Lev Gewirtzman, Elizabeth Karmel, Kyle Knall, Damian Laverty-McDowell, Damaris Phillips, and Melba Wilson, New York Hilton Midtown, $150, 12 noon

Dale’s Dim Sum Party, with Justin Bazdarich, Leah Cohen, Daniel Holzman, Yang Huang, Hung Huynh, Chris Jaeckle, Joel Javier, Brian Ray, Ralph Scamardella, Daniel Skurnick, Dale Talde, and Jason Wang, Buddakan, $115, 2:00

CAHIERS DU CINÉMA’S TOP PICKS: GOODBYE FIRST LOVE

Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky) and Camille (Lola Créton) experience the pleasure and pain of young romance in GOODBYE FIRST LOVE

CINÉSALON: GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (UN AMOUR DE JEUNESSE) (Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011)
French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall
55 East 59th St. between Madison & Park Aves.
Tuesday, June 24, $13, 4:00 & 7:30
212-355-6100
http://www.fiaf.org
www.ifcfilms.com

French filmmaker Mia Hansen-Løve’s third film is an infuriating yet captivating tale that runs hot and cold. Goodbye First Love begins in Paris in 1999, as fifteen-year-old Camille (Lola Créton) frolics naked with Sullivan (Sebastian Urzendowsky), her slightly older boyfriend. While she professes her deep, undying lover for him, he refuses to declare his total dedication to her, instead preparing to leave her and France for a long sojourn through South America. When Camille goes home and starts sobbing, her mother (Valérie Bonneton), who is not a big fan of Sullivan’s, asks why. “I cry because I’m melancholic,” Camille answers, as only a fifteen-year-old character in a French film would. As the years pass, Camille grows into a fine young woman, studying architecture and dating a much older man (Magne-Håvard Brekke), but she can’t forget Sullivan, and when he eventually reenters her life, she has some hard choices to make. Créton (Bluebeard) evokes a young Isabelle Huppert as Camille, while Urzendowsky (The Way Back) is somewhat distant as the distant Sullivan. There is never any real passion between them; Hansen-Løve (All Is Forgiven, The Father of My Children) often skips over the more emotional, pivotal moments, instead concentrating on the after-effects and discussions. While that works at times, at others it feels as if something crucial was left out, and not necessarily with good reason. Still, Créton carries the film with her puppy-dog eyes, lithe body, and a graceful demeanor that will make you forgive her character’s increasingly frustrating decisions. Goodbye First Love is screening June 24 at 4:00 and 7:30 as part of the FIAF CinéSalon series “Cahiers due Cinéma’s Top Picks”; the later screening will be introduced by Richard Peña, and both showings will be followed by a wine reception.

NYC PRIDE 2014

The centerpiece of Pride Week is the annual March, bringing together a vast array of participants from across the spectrum (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Multiple locations
June 24-29, free – $500
www.nycpride.org

The forty-fifth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots will be commemorated during NYC Pride Week, with events honoring the ongoing fight for LGBTQ rights scheduled from Tuesday through Sunday. The celebration begins with a free family screening of The Wizard of Oz on Tuesday night in Hudson River Park and continues with such annual traditions as the Rally, PrideFest, the March, and Dance on the Pier. The ticketed events are selling out fast, so you better act quickly if you want to shake your groove thang at some pretty crazy parties. The host organization is Heritage of Pride, which “works toward a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law.”

Tuesday, June 24
Family Night: The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming et al., 1939), with games and other entertainment, Pier 46, Hudson River Park at Charles St., free, 8:30 pm

Friday, June 27
The Rally, with live performances by Sharon Needles and Betty Who, emceed by Michelle Visage, Pier 26, Hudson River Park, free, 6:00 pm

Click Fridays, weekly dance party for men, with DJs Ivan Gomez, Tony Moran, and Wayne G, BPM New York, 516 West 42nd St., general admission $20, VIP $60, 11:00 pm

Saturday, June 28
VIP Rooftop Party, with DJs Dave Audé, Escape, and Nacho Chapado, Hudson Terrace, 621 West 46th St., $35-$500, 2:00 – 10:00 pm

Teaze, formerly known as Rapture on the River, exclusive party for women only, with DJs Dimples and Susan Levine, Pier 26, Hudson River Park at Laight St., general admission $25, VIP $75, 4:00 – 10:00 pm

WE Party, dance party and casino, with DJs Isaac Escalante and Micky Friedmann, Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th St., $85-$110, 10:00 pm – 7:00 am

Sunday, June 29
PrideFest, street fair with music, food, merchandise, and live performances by De’Borah, Kim Joyce, Garek, Detoxx Busti-ae, Safiel Vonay, Cherie Lily, Karine Hannah, Caracole A Richards, Samia, Mighty Real, Adam Joseph, Vanessa Valtre, Dimitri Minucci, Godfrey Arbulu, and Ray Isaac, emceed by Dina Delicious, Hudson St. between Abingdon Sq. & West 14th St., free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

The March, with grand marshals Laverne Cox, Rea Carey, and Jonathan Groff, Lavender Line from 36th St. & Fifth Ave. to Christopher & Greenwich Sts., free, 12 noon

Dance on the Pier, with live performance by Demi Lovato and DJs Pagano and Grind, Pier 26, Hudson River Park at Laight St., $50-$209, 4:00 – 10:00 pm

SOLSTICE IN TIMES SQUARE 2014

Saturday, June 21, free, 5:30 am – 9:15 pm
Sunday, June 22, free, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm
www.timessquarenyc.org

Times Square is generally not considered a place to bring together one’s mind, body, and soul in soothing contemplation and calming meditation, but it will be just that on June 21 & 22, when the Crossroads of the World celebrates the longest day of the year with a weekend of special physical and mental activities being held in conjunction with the summer solstice. “Life is thrilling, but it can be tough. Urban life can be even tougher,” explains Tim Tompkins, who cofounded the public event, now in its twelfth year, with Douglass Stewart. “The flip side of the astonishing array of choices, activities, and aspirations that we have in a place like New York is how hard it is to stay centered, focused, and present. Nowhere is that more true than in Times Square, one of the most intense and frenetic places on the planet. In a place that fuels our desires and offers distractions galore, achieving santosa (the Sanskrit word for contentment) can be a challenge.” On Saturday, Athleta Mind Over Madness Yoga will take on that challenge with eight yoga classes, including Sunrise Vinyasa taught by Tompkins, Salutations to Summer with Heather Lilleston, Sun Sequence for Bent on Learning with Barbara Verrochi, Kristin Leigh, and Annie Piper, and Sunset Flow instructed by Ali Cramer. On Sunday, the MINDBODY Sol conference at the Marriott Marquis begins at 8:00 in the morning with Rodney and Colleen Yee’s From Twists to Backbends and continues with such classes as Meditation for Real Life with Ethan Nichtern, Ayurveda’s Wisdom — Aligning with Our True Nature with Nicole Naclerio, and Dream Weaver — Shamanic Healing with Jenna Walter. If the specific class is already booked or you can’t make it to Times Square, you can take part by following the celebration online here.