this week in music

SWOON: SUBMERGED MOTHERLANDS

Swoon’s “Submerged Motherlands” fills the Brooklyn Museum’s fifth-floor rotunda (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brooklyn Museum
Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, fifth floor
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Wednesday – Sunday through August 24, $12 ($15 including “Ai Weiwei: According to What?”)
Art Off the Wall: Swoon’s “Submerged Collaborations,” June 12, $15, 6:30
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org
www.facebook.com/SwoonStudio

“Is this insane? Is this dangerous? Should I not do this?” Brooklyn-based artist Caledonia Dance Curry, aka Swoon, asked an engineer when she first began putting together “Submerged Motherlands,” her enormous, environmentally conscious installation at the Brooklyn Museum. Filling much of the institution’s fifth-floor rotunda, the site-specific exhibit features two rickety-looking handmade junk rafts, Alice and Maria, that Swoon constructed using found materials, then sailed in New York waters for “Miss Rockaway Armada” and along Venice’s Grand Canal as part of her “Swimming Cities of Serenissima” project. At the center is a tall tree, made of dense layers of dyed fabric and elaborately detailed white cut-paper leaves, that rises to the rotunda’s seventy-two-foot-high circular skylight. The walls of the room suggest water and submersion, splattered with swoops of blue and green paint applied using fire extinguishers, interacting with light and shadow. “Submerged Motherlands” references climate change, Hurricane Sandy, and Doggerland, the Ice Age-era landmass that connected Great Britain and Europe and was destroyed by a tsunami; it also has conceptual ties to the Konbit Shelter sustainable building project in Haiti begun by Swoon and other artists shortly after the 2010 earthquake, as well as Swoon and art collective Transformazium’s Braddock Tiles community-based microfactory being built in an abandoned church in Pennsylvania. “Submerged Motherlands” also includes a healing gazebo decorated with corrugated cardboard honeycombs and wasp nests, and large-scale prints and drawings that recall Swoon’s wheatpastes, which dotted the streets of the city in recent years; here she depicts mothers and children and taliswomen, from a homeless Buddha figure to a friend breast-feeding to depictions of Swoon’s mother’s life cycle; her drug- and alcohol-addicted mother passed away from lung cancer last year.

There’s a distinctly feminist quality to Swoon’s site-specific installation at the Brooklyn Museum (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Is it insane and dangerous? Probably, but we’re all the better for Swoon’s having gone ahead with “Submerged Motherlands,” an intimate, compelling, and welcoming exploration of life, death, and rebirth. The exhibition continues through August 24; on June 12, Swoon will participate in “Art Off the Wall: Swoon’s ‘Submerged Collaborations,’” which will include a screening of Flood Tide, Todd Chandler’s fictional film about the “Swimming Cities” project; a talk with Swoon and some of her collaborators; and a silent procession from the auditorium to the installation for a live performance by the Submerged Motherlands Orchestra (consisting of Mirah, Marshall LaCount, Chandler, the band North America, and violinist Chloe Swantner).

JUST JIM DALE

Jim Dale waits for applause — of which there’s plenty — in new one-man show (photo by Joan Marcus)

Laura Pels Theatre
Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre
111 West 46th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through August 10, $79
212-719-1300
www.roundabouttheatre.org

Jim Dale shares his love of the footlights in his charming new one-man show, Just Jim Dale. Over the course of one hundred minutes, the Tony- and Grammy-winning, Oscar-nominated British actor traces his life and career, from his birth in the small town of Rothwell, “the dead center of England — in every way,” to his more recent fame as the man who voices the Harry Potter audiobooks. Dale, who will turn seventy-nine in August, is a tall, lanky performer who took his father’s words to heart: “Learn how to move,” his dad told him when young Jim Smith, Dale’s real name, expressed interest in show business after they saw Me and My Girl. Dale recalls his early days as a dancer, a British music hall comedian, and a pop singer, including a very funny bit in which he re-creates a pas de deux he was supposed to do with his cousin Ruth in a ballet competition when he was about eleven, but she missed the bus and Jim did the duet himself. Accompanied by co-arranger Mark York on piano, Jim performs songs from Me and My Girl and Barnum, for which he won a Tony playing Phineas Taylor Barnum; sings the music hall standard “Turned Up” and songs that he wrote, including the pop hit “Dicka Dum Dum” and “Georgy Girl”; and tells lots of old, purposely groan-worthy jokes. (“I said, ‘Waiter, what’s this?’ He said, ‘It’s bean soup.’ I said, ‘I don’t care what it’s been. What is it now?’”)

Jim Dale looks back at his life and career in charming Roundabout production (photo by Joan Marcus)

Dale also recites the climactic scene from Noël Coward’s Fumed Oak; gives a tour-de-force lesson in quoting Shakespeare in contemporary language (“If you can’t understand an argument and you say, ‘It’s all Greek to me,’ you’re quoting Shakespeare.”); and performs the powerful opening moments from Peter Nichols’s Joe Egg, getting the audience involved. In fact, throughout the show, Dale interacts with the crowd, occasionally ad-libbing and making everyone feel comfortable and welcome. He’s an amiable fellow, so it’s easy to forgive some of the transitions that need tightening, the timeline that occasionally gets confusing, and a few of the bits that go on too long (the Fumed Oak scene, for example). Dale begins the show, which is directed by Richard Maltby Jr. (Ain’t Misbehavin’, Fosse), with “I Gotta Be Me,” in which he sings, “So I’ve got to be me / I’ve said it before / A juicieful actor / for folks to adore.” Just Jim Dale reveals the many surprising facets of this juicieful actor who is easy to adore.

RAISING THE ROOF

Topol will be among the participants in gala tribute to Sheldon Harnick FIDDLER ON THE ROOF, and the National Yiddish Theatre — Folksbiene

Topol will be among the participants in National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene gala tribute to Sheldon Harnick and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF

The Town Hall
123 West 43rd St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Monday, June 9, $75-$500, 7:30
www.thetownhall.org
www.nationalyiddishtheatre.org

In the summer of 1964, a little show about a Jewish community struggling to survive in a Russian shtetl played in Detroit, of all places, and Washington, DC, before moving to Broadway in September, where it went on to make history, running for 3,242 performances, with numerous revivals in the decades since and another version expected next year. As part of the National Yiddish Theatre – Folksbiene’s centennial celebration, the longest continuously running Yiddish theater company in the world will pay tribute to the fiftieth anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof with a gala June 9 at the Town Hall. The evening will also honor the ninetieth birthday of lyricist Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the words to Jerry Bock’s music; the book was written by Joseph Stein, based on the writings of Sholom Aleichem, and the show was directed by Jerome Robbins. The gala will bring together the largest reunion ever of Fiddler on the Roof alumni, nearly four dozen men and women, including Topol, who played Tevye on Broadway and in Norman Jewison’s 1971 film and just performed the role at the Detroit Opera House, as well as Adrienne Barbeau, Fyvush Finkel, Liz Larsen, Rosalind Harris, Michèle Marsh, Neva Small, Andrea Martin, Austin Pendleton, Pia Zadora, Jerry Zaks, Karen Ziemba, and Louis Zorich. There will also be appearances by Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Bel Kaufman, Jewison, Jeffrey Lyons, Jackie Hoffman, Frank London’s Klezmer All Stars, Joshua Bell, Alisa Solomon, and a thirty-six-children choir. The event’s honorary cochairs are Frank Rich, Harold Prince, who produced the original Fiddler, and Harvey Fierstein, who played Tevye in the 2004 Broadway revival.

DAYLIFE 2014

DayLife block party on Lower East Side welcomes summer season

Orchard St. between East Houston and Delancey Sts.
Sunday, June 1, free, 12 noon – 5:00 pm
www.lowereastsideny.com

The Lower East Side BID welcomes the summer season with a block party on June 1 featuring food, fashion, live music, food, sports, and other activities. Covering three blocks of Orchard St. between East Houston and Delancey, DayLife will include bocce ball, a dance tent (with Scratch DJ Academy and DJ Hurrikeen), fashion booths (Urban Cricket, the Hoodie Shop, Yaf Sparkle, and others), face painting, pet portraits, yoga, live performances (Alcala, Bruce Tantum, Ellen Kaye), and more. Among the more than two dozen food vendors will be Brooklyn Taco, Georgia’s Eastside BBQ, Goodfella’s Pizza, Khao Man Gai NY, Korilla Korean BBQ, the Meatball Shop, Melt Bakery, Mission Cantina, Moscow 57, the Roasting Plant, and Sweet Buttons.

CELEBRATE ISRAEL PARADE: 50 REASONS TO CELEBRATE ISRAEL

The Mideast comes to Midtown as Israel will celebrate its sixty-sixth birthday with a parade up Fifth Ave. on June 1 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The Mideast comes to Manhattan as Israel will celebrate its sixty-sixth birthday with a parade up Fifth Ave. on June 1 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

57th to 74th St. up Fifth Ave.
Sunday, June 1, free, 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
celebrateisraelny.org
2013 parade slideshow

On May 14, 1948, “The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel” proclaimed, “The State of Israel will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” Israel’s existence has been fraught with controversy since the very beginning, but the nation perseveres, and on June 1 its sixty-sixth birthday will be honored with the annual Celebrate Israel Parade. This year’s theme is “50 Reasons to Celebrate Israel,” a tribute to the parade’s golden anniversary, as some thirty thousand marchers are expected to make their way from Fifty-Seventh to Seventy-Fourth St. up Fifth Ave. Among the performers will be Hagit Yaso, Chen Aharoni, Howard Leshaw Klezmer & Yiddish Soul, Donny Baitner & the BaRock Orchestra, DJ Mr. Black, the Ramaz Band, and Sandy Shmuely. The grand marshal is Robert Benrimon, with such special guests as Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Ernie Anastos, Becky Griffin, SOULFARM, Ambassadors Ido Aharoni and Sofa Landver, and members of the Israeli Knesset. The day begins with the 4K Celebrate Israel Run through Central Park and concludes with the unaffiliated Israel Day Concert in the Park, a free show in Rumsey Playfield (2:30 – 7:30) featuring Gad Elbaz, Lipa, Edon, Benny Friedman, Ari Lesser, the Shloime Dachs Orchestra, and others participating in what is being billed as “The Concert with a Message” and “The Concert of the Century.”

TICKET ALERT: TOM PETTY AND THE HEARTBREAKERS

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released its first seven studio albums in less than eleven years, including such classics as You’re Gonna Get It, Damn the Torpedoes, and Hard Promises. It took more than twice as long for their next seven studio records to come out, beginning with the great Into the Great Wide Open in 1991 through their latest, Hypnotic Eye, due July 29 from Reprise. The album, said to evoke the early years of the band, features eleven tracks, including “American Dream Plan B,” “Red River,” “Shadow People,” “Faultlines,” and “Burn Out Town.” (The double-LP version has a bonus track.) Petty and the Heartbreakers, who have consistently put on among the best live shows going back now some forty years, will tour behind the disc, kicking things off in San Diego on August 3 and heading our way for a September 10 show at the Garden. Steve Winwood will again open; the two are likely to play a few tunes together, as they have in the past. The Heartbreakers currently consist of the amazing Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont Tench on keyboards, Ron Blair on bass, Steve Ferrone on drums, and Scott Thurston on guitar, keyboards, and harmonica. Tickets go on sale to the general public on May 31 at 10:00 am and come with a copy of Hypnotic Eye; members of various fan clubs can start buying tickets now. Petty once declared, “Let me up; I’ve had enough.” Clearly, he hasn’t, and neither have we.

TWI-NY TALK: BRIDGET BARKAN / THE LOVE JUNKIE

Bridget Barkan plays multiple characters in THE LOVE JUNKIE, returning to Joe’s Pub on May 31

BRIDGET BARKAN IN THE LOVE JUNKIE
Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette St.
Saturday, May 31, $15, 9:00
www.joespub.publictheater.org

Bridget Barkan is a practitioner of the healing power of music, having worked as a music therapist for special-needs children. The native New Yorker, a singer, actor, and Scissor Sisters regular who appeared on Sesame Street as a child and as an adult in such films as Sherrybaby and Everyday People and has a recurring role as a one-legged hooker on Law & Order: SVU, is doing some public healing of her own in her one-woman show, The Love Junkie. In the solo performance, returning to Joe’s Pub on May 31, the fiery redhead and self-described “douche bag magnet” — whose father, Mark, coproduced what might be the first psychedelic album, the Deep’s 1968 Psychedelic Moods: A Mind Expanding Phenomena — employs a mélange of musical styles and genres, including cover songs and originals, while portraying multiple characters to explore recovery from such intimate addictions as love and sex. Barkan, who has been busily posting short “Love Junkie Episodes” on her YouTube channel, recently discussed Times Square, the ’80s, gender roles, and hunting with twi-ny.

twi-ny: You were born and raised in New York City, where you started taking the subway by yourself to school when you were eleven. There are people today who would have your parents locked up for allowing such a thing. What was your childhood in the city like?

Bridget Barkan: Well, taking the subway wasn’t such a huge deal; kids younger than me did and still do. An old man once touched my ass when I was seven and I screamed bloody murder. New York was more edgy. I spent a lot of time going to play pinball or to the movies with my dad in the dirty Times Square, not the Disney version. One time, these two guys tried to mug my dad under some scaffolding, but he was raised in Brooklyn and ended up scaring the shit out of them. It was a very sexually vibrant city and I was excited about it all. It was also oozing with creativity. Sex and art come from the same place, so it makes sense. I think growing up here has given me a real love and connection to many different cultures and sense of openness. I live on the stage of life with no fourth wall.

twi-ny: You got fired from Sesame Street when you were six. What happened?

BB: Well, the rumor is that Bert and Ernie were having a fight in between takes and I came over and tried to fix the problem like I usually did with my parents. But then Big Bird stuck his big head in and Cookie Monster lost his cool. It got pretty messy and for the sake of the show, I took the fall.

No, the truth is, I was apparently bossing the older kids around and a parent complained. I was always an actress, but directing is my real passion . . . haha.

twi-ny: You have a special fondness for the style of the ’80s. What is it about that decade that appeals to you?

Bridget Barkan is looking for love in one-woman show

BB: Well, I grew up in NYC in the ’80s. Damn, I didn’t want to reveal my age, but oh well, I’m already an old hag in this industry anyway. You gotta be twelve years old but look thirty to be of any interest. I believe the ’80s was the last era of real unique expression. Everything that has come after seems to be regurgitated from the past. The ’90s definitely had some moments too. But to me, the real metamorphosis and discovery of hip-hop was a major game changer in the ’80s.

twi-ny: You recently tweeted, “I’ve always been more of the beast than the beauty.” What did you mean by that?

BB: I talk about this in the show, feeling like I’m a hunter. It’s rare that I meet a guy who is coming for my hide with a strong and ferocious intention. I’ve always had the instinct to woo men, shower them, serenade their hearts. Could be attributed to my growing up around three big brothers, having more testosterone. I generally played the boy when playing house or I was the evil witch. Never really the damsel in distress. Maybe I was a dude in my past life or maybe our gender role ideas and concepts are really screwed up. But I’m kind of a closeted hunter. I’ve realized I’m more afraid of going after men the way I used to. I dip my toes in it but I don’t go in for the full attack. I’m like a cowardly lion.

twi-ny: You’ve noted that you’ve wanted to do a one-woman show since you saw Lily Tomlin in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. What was it about that show that so deeply affected you?

BB: There was this amazing web of stories. They were all connected so magically, intertwined and mirroring one another. I’ve always loved movies and books that express and highlight how we are all connected. And how a life can be this pure explosion of seeing what other stars you are connected to in your constellation. At the end of the show, this giant mirror comes down, so the audience can see themselves. I was just in tears, and it has stayed with me ever since: The power of art that opens your heart, breaks it, then heals it again.

twi-ny: What was the genesis of The Love Junkie?

BB: I started writing many different one-woman shows over the past years and they were always about heartbreak and failed love. One show started where I played every guy I was with but I could never find an ending, because I kept doing the same thing over and over again. I needed to actually change something in my life so I could write the show I wanted to. I did just that, this time around. I ended a relationship and committed to the relationship with myself.

During the last two years on tour with Scissor Sisters, I researched every artist and show that I loved. I journaled, I wrote weird songs, made tracks, improvised for hours on my computer, danced, did solo photo shoots. I also got lots of advice from [Scissor Sisters] Jake [Shears], Ana [Matronic], Del [Marquis], and Babydaddy, in different ways. Just being who they were inspired me, but they also took time to let me share with them. But it was the actual doing that got me running. I tried out a different performance art piece once a month at an art party called ArtErotica, curated by Dinna Alexanyan. I found a spiritual comedy coach named Alicia Dattner, who guided me through some healing work. She also had been going through love pain as well.

twi-ny: You play multiple characters in the show. Do you have any particular favorites?

BB: I think my favorite character to play is the Old Me, the jaded, lonely, fat, sick, dying, washed-up me. Playing her with a fat suit, cigarette, and cane is a lot of fun. On a personal level it’s like I’m exorcising that idea from my head, that I won’t ever really become her.

twi-ny: You’ll be performing The Love Junkie on May 31 at Joe’s Pub. What are the plans for the show after that?

BB: I love Joe’s Pub; it’s become a real home to me. I would like to have a consistent run of it in NYC, maybe weekly, biweekly, then take it to L.A., London, and beyond! I am looking into spaces and always looking for people to help it grow. I’m excited to let it evolve. Not every show will be the same. It’s an organism in itself. I designed it to be a journey. Maybe this show will be the first step. There could be eleven more. It is a healing experiment for me. So I will walk the road to recovery and see where it takes me.