this week in food & drink

HARLEM PRESENTS: OPERA EBONY IN MARCUS GARVEY PARK

Who: Opera Ebony
What: The Harlem Opera Festival
Where: Richard Rodgers Amphitheater, Marcus Garvey Park, Fifth Ave. at 124th St.
When: Saturday, July 26, free (advance RSVP recommended), 7:00
Why: Now in its fifty-first season, the nonprofit Opera Ebony is the longest continually operated Black opera company in the world. Founded in 1973 by bass baritone Benjamin Matthews with mezzo-soprano Sis. Elise Sisson (SBS), music director Wayne Sanders, and conductor Margaret Harris, the troupe has staged works around the globe, from Carmen, Aida, and La Traviata to Porgy & Bess, Faust, and Cosi Fan Tutte in addition to such original pieces as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, The Meetin’, and O’Freedom.

As part of Harlem Presents, Opera Ebony is holding a pair of concerts prior to the Classical Theatre of Harlem’s production of Will Power and Carl Cofield’s Memnon at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park. The forty-five-minute concerts start at 7:00, the play at 8:30; arriving early to see the music has the added benefit of garnering you an excellent seat for Memnon, as the amphitheater fills up pretty quickly.

On July 19, baritone Shavon Lloyd sang “Silvio’s Aria” from Pagliacci, the spiritual “Ride on King Jesus,” H. Leslie Adams’s “Prayer,” and “Make Them Hear You” from Ragtime, while mezzo soprano Daveda Browne performed “Seguidilla” from Carmen, “Mon Coeur” from Samson and Delilah, “When I Am Laid” from Dido and Æneas, and the spiritual “Wade in the Water.” They were both accompanied by pianist Kyle P. Walker; the program for July 26 will feature soprano Linnesha Crump and tenor David Morgans performing pieces by Wagner, Bizet, Puccini, Cilea, and Gershwin and duetting on William Still’s “Calm as the Bayou Waters.” Be sure to check out the pop-up market with community outreach booths, fashion and beauty boutiques, and food and drink from Creole Soul, Lizzy’s Treats, Kiki’s Cookies, Greensicle, Campbell & Carr, and Bee Favored. (The preshow music and market will be different on July 25 and July 27.) The concert and play are free; advance RSVP is recommended.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

DINING AROUND DOWNTOWN FOR FIVE TO TEN BUCKS

DINE AROUND DOWNTOWN
Fosun Plaza
Between Liberty & Pine and Nassau & William Sts.
Wednesday, June 11, free (dishes $5-$10), 11:00 am – 2:30 pm
www.downtownny.com

Presented by the Downtown Alliance since 1997, Dine Around Downtown will take place June 11, featuring signature dishes from nearly fifty Lower Manhattan restaurants, from pizza places and burger joints to steak and seafood houses. Among the participating eateries selling plates for $5 to $10 are Beckett’s Bar & Grill, Boogie Lab Bakery, Café Patoro, Delmonico’s, Fraunces Tavern, Harry’s, Luke’s Lobster, Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson, Monk McGinn’s, Poulette Rotisserie, Stone Street Tavern, and Tin Building by Jean-Georges. You can find the menu for what each eatery will be serving here; this year’s special guest is Rocco DiSpirito.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

A COFFEE HOUSE TONY AWARDS PREVIEW WITH MARK RIFKIN, SIMON JONES, DAVID BARBOUR, AND MARTHA WADE STEKETEE

Who: Simon Jones, David Barbour, Martha Wade Steketee, and Mark Rifkin, plus Steve Ross
What: Tony Awards preview and cabaret concert
Where: The Coffee House Club at the Salmagundi Club, 47 Fifth Ave. between Eleventh & Twelfth Sts.
When: Wednesday, June 4, free for members, $10 for nonmembers, 5:30
Why: The seventy-eighth annual Tony Awards take place Sunday, June 8, at Radio City Music Hall, but you can get a sneak peek at who the winners might be when the prestigious Coffee House Club hosts its popular Tony Awards preview on June 4. Discussing the shows nominated in the major categories will be the inimitable Martha Wade Steketee, the incomparable David Barbour, and me, moderated by the wonderful actor and raconteur Simon Jones. You can read our bios below.

The event begins at 5:30 at the Salmagundi Club and will be followed at 6:30 by “Steve Ross & Friends: Cole Porter, Sung & Unsung,” in which the legendary Crown Prince of New York Cabaret will perform favorite and surprise Porter tunes. Admission is free for members and $10 for guests; everyone is invited to an a la carte dinner afterward to continue the party with advance RSVP.

Simon Jones will moderate Tony Awards preview at the Coffee House Club on June 4 (photo by Conrad Blakemore)

Simon Jones has starred opposite Joan Collins, Lauren Bacall, Rex Harrison, Claudette Colbert, and Angela Lansbury over thirteen productions on Broadway. His most recent appearance was in Trouble in Mind at the Roundabout Theatre in 2021–22. He has recorded more than two hundred audio books. He played King George V in the first Downton Abbey movie, and his other film credits include Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street, Twelve Monkeys, Brazil, and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. In a TV career spanning forty years, he remains well known for his performances as Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Bridey in Brideshead Revisited, and Sir Walter Raleigh in Blackadder, and currently he is one of the stars of The Gilded Age on HBO/MAX, as Bannister the butler. Season three begins June 22.

Martha Wade Steketee is a theater-loving public policy researcher who currently practices in the fields of dramaturgy, criticism, and theater research. She serves as chair of the Drama Desk nominating committee and on several play prize committees, is a member of the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee and past chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association, and author of the Women Count report series analyzing gender in hiring trends off Broadway since 2010.

David Barbour is editor-in-chief of Lighting & Sound America, which covers design and technology in live entertainment. He is also copresident of the Drama Desk and a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle and the Henry Hewes Design Awards Committee.

Mark Rifkin is a member of the Drama Desk and the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and has been running the online newsmagazine This Week in New York since 2001, covering art, film, theater, literature, dance, music, food, and anything else that requires someone to leave their apartment in the five boroughs. You can follow his “mad transit” adventures on Substack.

BOOKS & ODDITIES: THE INAUGURAL CONEY ISLAND BOOK FAIR

CONEY ISLAND BOOK FAIR
Coney Island USA
1208 Surf Ave.
Saturday, May 10, fair free, panels $20, variety show $25, $40 for both
www.coneyislandbookfair.org

Coney Island has been a poignant location in such books as Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s A Coney Island of the Mind, Sol Yurick’s The Warriors, Joseph Heller’s Now and Then: From Coney Island to Here: A Memoir, Billy O’Callaghan’s My Coney Island Baby, and Alice Hoffman’s The Museum of Extraordinary Things.

The Brooklyn home of the Cyclone, the Wonder Wheel, Luna Park, and the New York Aquarium is now taking the next step in its literary history with the inaugural Coney Island Book Fair, done in its usual style, with more than a touch of freaky entertainment. On May 10, there will be four panel discussions, books for sale, art vendors, jewelry, food and drink, and a concluding variety show with special guests. Below is the full schedule.

Buy Books & Oddities!, book fair, Shooting Gallery Annex, free, noon – 6:00

Sip, Search, and Swap Stories!, Freak Bar, noon – last call

Writing the City: New York as Muse, with Eddie McNamara, John Strausbaugh, and Laurie Gwen Shapiro, moderated by Heather Buckley, 1:00

Writing the Creepy: Books That Go Bump in the Night, with Leila Taylor, S. E. Porter, Colin Dickey, Alix Strauss, and Sadie Dingfelder, moderated by Laetitia Barbieri, 2:00

Writing the Shimmy: The Politics of Pasties and Performance, with Jo Weldon, Linda Simpson, and Elyssa Goodman, moderated by Ilise S. Carter, 3:00

Writing the Bally: Sideshow as a Main Character, with James Taylor, Jim Moore, and Dawn Raffel, hosted by Trav S.D., 4:00

Body of Work: A Literal Literary Variety Show, with Jo Weldon, Johnny Porkpie, Fancy Feast, Victoria Vixen, Garth Schilling, and more, hosted by journalist, author, writer, sword swallower, fire-eater and straitjacket escape artist the Lady Aye, $25, 7:00

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

DISCOVERING JAPAN: CONCERT, PARADE, AND STREET FAIR CELEBRATION

Japan Parade and Street Fair returns to NYC May 10 (photo courtesy Japan Parade)

Who: Masaharu Morimoto, Sayaka Yamamoto, Sandra Endo, the cast of ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, Koji Sato, Soh Daiko, COBU, Taiko Masala Dojo, Harlem Japanese Gospel Choir, Japanese Folk Dance Institute of NY, Yosakoi Dance Project — 10tecomai / KAZANAMI, IKO Kyokushinkaikan, New York Kenshinkai, Anime NYC, Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, more
What: Japan Parade and Street Fair and Japan Night concert
Where: Parade: Central Park West between Sixty-Eighth & Eighty-First Sts.; concert: Edison Ballroom, 240 West Forty-Seventh St.
When: Concert: Friday, May 9, $81.88-$108.55, 5:30; parade and street fair: Saturday, May 10, free, 11:00 – 5:00
Why: The fourth annual Japan Parade and Street Fair takes place on May 10, celebrating the long friendship between the United States and Japan. Among the many participants in the parade, which kicks off at 1:00 at Central Park West and Eighty-First St. (the opening ceremonies are set for 12:30 at West Seventy-First St.), will be the cast of ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kuromi, taiko drummers, Japanese dance troupes, martial arts organizations, language schools, a gospel choir, singer-songwriter Sayaka Yamamoto, and members of Anime NYC. The grand marshal is Iron Chef restauranteur and author Masaharu Morimoto, the community leader is JAANY president Koji Sato, the honorary chairman is Ambassador Mikio Mori, and the emcee is television news correspondent Sandra Endo. In addition, there will be a street fair from 11:00 to 5:00 on West Seventy-Second St. between CPW and Columbus Ave., featuring food and drink, calligraphy, Yukata, origami, tourist and cultural information, a donation tent, prizes, and more.

“I am deeply honored to be appointed the grand marshal of this year’s Japan Parade in New York City,” Chef Morimoto said in a statement. “This role gives me a unique opportunity to celebrate and share the rich, dynamic culture of Japan with the heart of one of the world’s most vibrant cities.”

The parade will be preceded on May 9 by Japan Night at the Edison Ballroom in the Theater District, with performances by the cast of ATTACK on TITAN: The Musical, Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble with Masayo Ishigure, and Sayaka Yamamoto, the former captain of NMB48, in addition to a sake tasting and a crafts presentation by ASP Group. The event will be hosted by NBC News correspondent Emilie Ikeda; tickets are $81.88-$108.55.

“The Japan Parade, a community-wide effort, represents the interwoven cultural and economic ties between Japan and New York, reflecting — and deepening — the strong alliance between Japan and the US,” Ambassador Mori added. “And right now, with the world in considerable need of unity, goodwill, and hope, Japan–US relations are more vital than ever, demonstrating what can be accomplished by working together towards common goals. So, by extension, the Japan Parade is also vital — the greater the celebration, the greater our cooperation!”

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

FASHION TALKS AT SHINE BY RANDI RAHM: BROADWAY NIGHT WITH SIERRA BOGGESS AND LAURA BELL BUNDY

Who: Sierra Boggess, Laura Bell Bundy, Nicole Ryan
What: Live, unscripted conversation with drinks, snacks, shopping, and cocktail gathering
Where: Shine by Randi Rahm pop-up boutique, 501 Madison Ave. between Fifty-Second & Fifty-Third Sts.
When: Wednesday, April 2, free with RSVP, 5:30
Why: Randi Rahm’s Fashion Talks at Shine kicked off March 5 with Bachelor Night, featuring Golden Bachelorette Joan Vassos, Bachelorette Charity Lawson, and moderator Nicole Ryan from SiriusXM, followed by Music Night with Jillian Hervey of Lion Babe on March 19. The third edition of the live podcast takes place April 2 with Broadway Night, when Ryan will be joined by actor, singer, and figure skater Sierra Boggess, who has starred in such shows as The Little Mermaid, The Phantom of the Opera, School of Rock, and Harmony, and actor, singer, and Tony nominee Laura Bell Bundy, whose Great White Way career includes Hairspray, Legally Blonde, and The Cottage.

“I always say, I’m in the art of fashion. To me, that means creating something that tells a story — something that moves people,” Rahm said in a statement. “These talks are an extension of that. They’re about connection, creativity, and the courage it takes to share who you really are. Laura Bell and Sierra embody all of that. They’re not only incredible artists but women who lead with heart, humor, and authenticity — and I’m so honored to have them join me in this space.”

Randi Rahm is hosting a series of fashion talks at Shine pop-up boutique

The intimate, candid conversation will be preceded by a chance to explore Rahm’s new ready-to-wear Shine collection and followed by a cocktail reception and more shopping; tickets are free with advance RSVP.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

LET THEM EAT CAKE: TWO EDIBLE MONO-OPERAS AT ASYLUM NYC

THERE WILL BE CAKE!
Asylum NYC
123 East Twenty-Fourth St. between Lexington & Park Aves.
December 12-14, $10-$35, 1:30
www.operapraktikos.org
asylumnyc.com

Will there be cake at There Will Be Cake! Yes indeed, there will be cake at the two afternoon mono-operas taking place December 12-14 at 1:30 at Asylum NYC, presented by Opera Praktikos (OPrak).

The pair of related works are set in the same kitchen fifty years apart; Bon Appetit!, by Lee Hoiby, Julia Child, and Mark Shulgasser, features mezzo-soprano Hailey McAvoy singing the role of the beloved host of the breakthrough cooking program The French Chef, while OPrak’s first commission, Fluffernutter, by composer-lyricist Spicer Carr and librettist-playwright Marianna Mott Newirth, features Zwisenfach Shanley Horvitz as Sarah Karmichael and piano arrangements by Patrick Tice-Carroll.

The works, which deal with memory and food, are directed by Gwynn MacDonald, with music direction by Calvin Hitchcock. The December 14 performance is already sold out, although it is also available via livestream.

As Child once said, “Drama is very important in life: You have to come on with a bang. You never want to go out with a whimper. Everything can have drama if it’s done right. Even a pancake.”

And certainly cake.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]