this week in music

BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL

Don Kirshner (Jeb Brown) oversees intense songwriting competition between Goffin/King (Jake Epstein and Jessie Mueller) and Mann/Weil (Jarrod Spector and Anika Larsen) in BEAUTIFUL (photo by Joan Marcus)

Stephen Sondheim Theatre
124 West 43rd St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday through October 5, $75 – $252
www.beautifulonbroadway.com

Theatergoers are in for treat after treat as the hits just keep on coming in the first act of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Rising star Jessie Mueller (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever) excels in the role of Manhattan-born, Brooklyn-raised Carole Klein, beginning as the teen dreams of becoming a successful songwriter (and changes her last name to King). That dream becomes a reality when she meets lyricist Gerry Goffin (Jake Epstein) at Queens College and soon the two have an office on Broadway, where they work for Don Kirshner (Jeb Brown), composing hit songs for such popular groups as the Drifters, the Shirelles, and others. The musical, directed by Marc Bruni (Old Jews Telling Jokes, The Explorers Club) and with a book by playwright and filmmaker Douglas McGrath (Bullets over Broadway, Infamous), soars as Goffin and King do battle with office neighbors Barry Mann (Jarrod Spector) and Cynthia Weil (Anika Larsen), competing over which team can top the Billboard charts more often. Derek McLane’s dazzling multilevel set feeds the Brill Building-era frenzy with nonstop action; the focus and the set narrow down when the talented ensemble performs full versions of songs the audience just watched Goffin/King or Mann/Weil put together, bringing their exacting craft to lovely life in scenes appealingly choreographed by Josh Prince.

Carole King and Gerry Goffin’s personal and professional partnership is the focus of new Broadway musical (photo by Joan Marcus)

Unfortunately, the second act is pretty much a bore, as Goffin and King suffer through marital problems and move to the suburbs as the audience waits and waits for the plot to finally get to King’s breakout masterpiece, Tapestry, but by the time it arrives, it’s too late, baby, it’s just too late. But that thrilling first act makes it all worthwhile, succeeding where such other jukebox musicals as Motown and A Night with Janis Joplin fail, combining a compelling (mostly true) story with electrifying music. The charming cast is led by engaging performances by Epstein, Larsen, Spector, and especially, of course, Mueller, who make palpable the excitement of creating a hit song, while Brown wonderfully captures Kirshner’s nuttiness running his musical asylum. Do yourself a favor and don’t read up on the hits that Goffin/King and Mann/Weil wrote, and skip the page in the Playbill that lists all the tunes in the show, because no matter how much you think you know about the songs, you’ll be surprised by the two duos’ vast, diverse catalog.

NYCHILIFEST

Chili lovers will descend on Chelsea Market on January 26 for chili, beer, and bands at annual cook-off

CHILI, BANDS & BEER AT CHELSEA MARKET
Chelsea Market
Tenth Ave. entrance between 15th & 16th Sts.
Sunday, January 26, $50-$75, 7:00 – 9:00
www.nychilifest.com

Chili has a fabulous way of repeating on you, and this weekend the NYChiliFest will do just that in a big way at Chelsea Market. On Sunday, January 26, chefs from more than two dozen local eateries and food trucks will take part in a chili cook-off, including Cannibal, Mile End, Num Pang, Jeepney, Bubby’s, Jimmy’s No. 43, Roberta’s, Pies ‘n’ Thighs, Los Tacos 1, Morris Grilled Cheese, and Mexicue, going after the coveted Golden Chili Mug. Their fare will be judged by Umami Burger’s Adam Fleischman, Wrighteous Organics’ Martin Tessarzik, Catherine Lederer of Chop’t, and chefs Amanda Freitag and Heather Carlucci, along with multitudes of chili fanatics who, for a mere fifty bucks, can enjoy unlimited meaty, spicy delights throughout the eight-hundred-foot-long concourse — and can wash it all down with four varieties of Samuel Adams beer for only five dollars more. The primary ingredient in the dishes, one-hundred-percent dry-aged, locally raised beef, is supplied by Chelsea Market’s own Dickson’s Farmstand Meats. In addition, there will be live music by the honky-tonk band the Dixons and street-singing legend Super Bad Brad.

NHL STADIUM SERIES

The Rangers, Islanders, and Devils take their heated rivalries to the freezing Bronx for NHL Stadium Series

Yankee Stadium
1 East 161st St.
Rangers vs. Devils: Sunday, January 26, 12:30
Rangers vs. Islanders: Wednesday, January 29, 7:30
Tickets: $88-$358
www.rangers.nhl.com

Local hockey rivalries take it outside next week for the NHL Stadium Series, as the Rangers, Devils, and Islanders do battle at Yankee Stadium. The Blueshirts, led by a resurgent Henrik Lundqvist and Rick Nash, are in the thick of the playoff race, lifting their record to 27-23-3 even with two recent losses. The Devils, meanwhile, are only two points behind, at 55, while the Islanders are climbing with 49, after a surprisingly awful start. There are still tickets left for both games, available on TicketMaster for $88 to $358, but the seating is odd because of the placement of the rink in the new House That Ruth Originally Built, which holds more than fifty thousand for baseball. TicketMaster explains: “Please note that the scaling of the venue is not typical of an indoor hockey game. Due to sight lines, the higher priced seats will be in the highest levels of the building and similarly, the lower priced seats will be closest to the field.” The series will also feature live entertainment; the January 26 contest between the Broadway Blues and the Devils will include a preshow concert by the cast of Jersey Boys, three-time Tony nominee Marin Mazzie will sing the National Anthem, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes will help the crowd reach up and touch the sky during the first intermission, while on January 29, when the Rangers face off against the soon-to-be Brooklyn Islanders, CeeLo Green will take the stage before the game, Michelle Williams will handle the National Anthem, and Beatles tribute band Strawberry Fields will bring back memories during the second intermission, probably with a much better sound system than the Fab Four had when they played Shea back in 1965. The Stadium Series is also going on in California, where the Ducks and the Kings are meeting up at Dodger Stadium, and in Chicago, where the Penguins will duke it out with the champion Blackhawks at Soldier Field.

MLK DAY 2014

MLK Day features a host of special events and community-based service projects throughout the city (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Multiple venues
Monday, January 21
www.mlkday.gov

In 1983, the third Monday in January was officially recognized as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, honoring the birthday of the civil rights leader who was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Dr. King would have turned eighty-five this month, and you can celebrate his legacy tomorrow by participating in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service project or attending one of several special events taking place around the city. BAM’s twenty-eighth annual free Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. includes a keynote speech by Angela Davis, live performances by José James and the Christian Cultural Center Choir, the NYCHA Saratoga Village Community Center student exhibit “Picture the Dream,” and a screening of Shola Lynch’s 2012 documentary Free Angela and All Political Prisoners. The JCC in Manhattan will host an MLK Day blood drive and “The Living Legacy of Dr. King,” consisting of the panel discussion “Leading a Socially Responsible Life” with Ruth Messinger, Harrie Bakst, and Rabbi Joanna Samuels, interactive workshops for teens, and the “Artists Celebrate the Living Legacy of Dr. King” performance with Judith Sloan, Susannah Heschel, and Joshua Nelson, the Prince of Kosher Gospel. (Admission is free but preregistration is recommended.)

The Museum of the Moving Image is screening THE NEGRO AND THE AMERICAN PROMISE on MLK Day

The Museum of the Moving Image will be open on MLK Day, with two screenings of the 1963 documentary The Negro and the American Promise as part of its “Changing the Picture” series (free with museum admission). The Children’s Museum of Manhattan will teach kids about King’s legacy with the “Martin’s Mosaic” workshop, the “Heroic Heroines: Ruby Bridges” book talk, and live performances by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem All Stars Band, while the Brooklyn Children’s Museum has such special hands-on crafts programs as “Let’s March!,” “Let’s Join Hands,” and “Dream Clouds” and live music from the Berean Community Drumline. And the Museum at Eldridge Street will be hosting a free reading of Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist’s picture book The Great Migration: Journey to the North.

UNDER THE RADAR: BRAND NEW ANCIENTS

KATE TEMPEST / BATTERSEA ARTS CENTRE ON TOUR: BRAND NEW ANCIENTS
St. Ann’s Warehouse
29 Jay St. at Plymouth St.
Through January 19
718-254-8779
www.undertheradarfestival.com
www.stannswarehouse.org

On January 16 at St. Ann’s Warehouse, British poet, rapper, and playwright Kate Tempest prefaced her performance of her breakout hit, Brand New Ancients, with a heartfelt, off-the-cuff love letter to New York City, which has adopted the twenty-seven-year-old during her ten-show run in DUMBO. She then offered up her 2010 poem, “Balance,” a parable that deals with four kids, Ambition, Talent, Envy, and Pride, that could serve as a personal mission statement for Tempest, who started rapping when she was sixteen and has experienced widespread success. Casually dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a faded T-shirt, she then began Brand New Ancients, a compelling seventy-five-minute tale that earned her the 2013 Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. Backed by Emma Smith on violin, Natasha Zielazinski on cello, Jo Gibson on tuba, and George Bird on percussion and electronics, Tempest tells the story of two middle-class families brought together by lust and violence as they search for connections in a lonely world. Childless couple Kevin and Jane live next door to Brian and Mary, who have a son, Clive; Jane and Brian’s affair leads to the birth of Tommy, triggering years of problems for all involved. Tempest transforms the melodrama into a lurid yet insightful fable of superheroes and villains where the gods are everywhere and in everyone. In gorgeous, rhythmic cadences that avoid the staccato bravado so prevalent in much of hip-hop, Tempest says, “The myths of this city / have always said the same thing — / how we all need a place to belong, / how we all need to know / what’s right and what’s wrong, / and how we all need to struggle / to find out for ourselves / which side we are on.” She soon adds, “We’re the same beings that began, still living, / in all of our fury and foulness and friction, / everyday odysseys / dreams and decisions, / the stories are there if you listen.” The rapt, sold-out crowd listened to Tempest’s every word as she passed no judgment and cast no aspersions on her characters’ sins. The strings were particularly effective in Nell Catchpole’s minimalist score, while the drum solos during Tempest’s short breaks felt mostly unnecessary. Brand New Ancients, which is part of the Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival, is a clarion call for people to take a look at themselves, and at the world around them, and become heroes in their own everyday lives.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN IN FOCUS 1980-2012

Fans carry Bruce Springsteen during Wrecking Ball tour (photo by Debra L. Rothenberg)

Rock Paper Photo Pop-Up Gallery
Gallery 151
132 West 18th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Wednesday, January 15, free, 6:00
www.rockpaperphoto.com
www.debrarothenberg.com

Since 1980, Northern New Jersey-raised Debra L. Rothenberg has been taking pictures of hometown hero Bruce Springsteen, capturing the Boss with the genuine glee of a true fan. “My life was breathing, photography, and Bruce Springsteen; nothing else mattered,” she recently said upon the release of her first book, Bruce Springsteen in Focus 1980-2012: Photographs by Debra L. Rothenberg (Turn the Page, September 2013, $44.95). In celebration of Springsteen’s latest record, High Hopes, Rothenberg, an award-winning photographer who has contributed to such publications as Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and, since 1999, the Daily News, will be signing copies of the book at a reception for her exhibit featuring many of her best Bruce snaps at Rock Paper Photo’s pop-up spot at Gallery 151. Part of the proceeds from sales of the book will go to the Alzheimer’s Association, the Light of Day foundation for Parkinson’s research, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation. On January 18, Rothenberg will be at the Asbury Park Musical Heritage Foundation, where another display of her Springsteen photographs continues through March 2.

DAN ZHU, DODO JIN MING, AND FRIENDS

Chinese musician Dan Zhu will give a free performance inspired by DoDo Jin Ming’s “The Sky Inside” exhibit at Laurence Miller

DODO JIN MING: THE SKY INSIDE
Laurence Miller Gallery
20 West 57th St., third floor
Tuesday, January 14, free, 6:30
Exhibition continues Tuesday – Saturday through January 25
212-397-3930
www.laurencemillergallery.com
www.danzhumusic.com

In November, Chinese violinist Dan Zhu gave an impromptu solo performance at the Laurence Miller Gallery in Midtown, inspired by fellow Beijing native DoDo Jin Ming’s latest exhibit, “The Sky Inside,” which had just opened. Now that the exhibit is entering its last two weeks, Zhu is coming back, this time for an announced concert taking place January 14 at 6:30 that also celebrates the upcoming Chinese New Year. Zhu, who has played his 1763 Carlo Antonio Testore violin at festivals around the world and for such conductors as Christoph Eschenbach, Zubin Mehta, and Krzysztof Penderecki, has found inspiration in the seascapes and landscapes taken by Jin Ming, a classically trained concert violinist who gave up that instrument for a camera after seeing a Joseph Beuys show in 1988. For “The Sky Inside,” Jin Ming once again combines two black-and-white negatives to create haunting images, this time of mysterious woods and rocky shores along with, occasionally, a ghostly figure. “My pictures reflect how I feel about the world around me. They are more pictures of nature than of the landscape,” she has said about her work. “They are metaphors not description. They are like poetry and music. This is my journey, through darkness to find a way.” Zhu and Jin Ming will be making visual and aural poetry and music together on Tuesday night at 6:30, followed by a reception; admission is free.