this week in music

LiveLabs — ONE ACTS: ON LOVE

Who: Tẹmídayọ Amay, Keith David, Antwayn Hopper, Chiké Johnson, Patrice Johnson, Zonya Love, Anastacia McCleskey
What: Seven short vignettes focusing on the eight different types of love
Where: MCC Theater
When: Thursday, February 11, $7, 6:30 (available on demand through February 13 at midnight); open mic night February 12, free with RSVP, 5:30
Why: MCC’s LiveLabs series of one-act virtual plays has included Talene Monohan’s Monty Python-esque farce Frankie & Will, directed by Jaki Bradley and starring real-life partners Ryan Spahn and Michael Urie, the latter a playwright attempting to write his own plague version of “King Leir”; Aziza Barnes’s Pues Nada, directed by Whitney White and starring Ito Aghayere, Alfie Fuller, Karen Pittman, and Kara Young, a very funny satire dealing with some strange goings-on at a bar in East LA (complete with puking and a brutal murder), inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” and Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies; Matthew Lopez’s poignant and honest The Sentinels, directed by Rebecca Taichman and starring Jane Alexander, Denee Benton, and Katrina Lenk as three 9/11 widows whose significant others all worked in the Twin Towers and who meet in a diner on the anniversary of the tragedy every year, the action moving backward in time, with Priscilla Lopez as the waitress and reading stage directions; and C. A. Johnson’s When, directed by Taylor Reynolds and starring Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and Kecia Lewis as a daughter going through a breakup and her Downton Abbey-obsessed mother on a long Zoom call that gets pretty personal. The plays run between twenty-five and forty-five minutes each, followed by a discussion facilitated by Ianne Fields Stewart.

The series continues February 11-13 with Mfoniso Udofia’s On Love, exploring eight types of love through seven short vignettes, poems, and songs, consisting of Philautia: Self Love, Ludus: Playful Love, Storge: Family Love, Eros: Erotic Love, Agape: Love within Community, Pragma: Enduring Love, Philia: Friendship Love, and Mania: Obsessive Love. The terrific cast features Tẹmídayọ Amay, Keith David, Antwayn Hopper, Chiké Johnson, Patrice Johnson, Zonya Love, and Anastacia McCleskey; Awoye Timpo (The Homecoming Queen, The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d) directs the play, Udofia’s online follow-up to such previous works as Sojourners, runboyrun, and Her Portmanteau. Tickets are only seven dollars. In addition, MCC is hosting a free On Love open mic Zoom night on February 12 at 5:30, where you can sit back and watch or share your own spoken word, poem, or song.

THE ORCHESTRA NOW: SCHOENBERG & BACH / NEW & CLASSIC WORKS FOR STRINGS

The Orchestra Now (TŌN) will present livestreamed concerts from the Fisher Center this month (photo courtesy the Orchestra Now)

Who: The Orchestra Now (TŌN)
What: Two livestreamed concerts
Where: Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard
When: Sunday, February 7, free – $35, 2:00, and Sunday, February 21, free – $35, 2:00
Why: The Orchestra Now (TŌN), which features young musicians handpicked from around the world, will be presenting two live programs this month, broadcast from the Fisher Center at Bard in Annandale-on-Hudson. On February 7 at 2:00, “Schoenberg & Bach” features Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, Lutosławski’s Funeral Music, Teresa Carreño’s Serenade for Strings, and Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), conducted by Leon Botstein. On February 21 at 2:00, “New & Classic Works for Strings” consists of a timely world premiere by Sarah Hennies, Jonny Greenwood’s Popcorn Superhet Receiver, Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, and Grieg’s Holberg Suite, conducted by James Bagwell. Tickets to each concert are free to $35 depending on what you can afford, and each will be available on demand on the STAY TŌNED digital platform beginning the Thursday following the live performance.

THE NOURISH PROJECT

THE NOURISH PROJECT
WP Theater
January 28 – February 7, free, 7:30
wptheater.org

New York City’s WP (formerly Women’s Project) Theater seeks to soothe and feed your soul with The Nourish Project, an interactive virtual presentation continuing through February 7. Conceived and directed by associate artistic director Rebecca Martínez, who was part of the team that took us on an audio tour through the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine community in Sanctuary and helmed one of the microplays in the sensational Here We Are series, The Nourish Project is a multidisciplinary production featuring dance, music, storytelling, poetry, food, and more from a collective of BIPOC creators. Admission is free, but there are three levels of suggested donations if you can afford it, from $10 to $100; when you register, you have to select an element — water, earth, fire, or air — that will determine which breakout room you go to about halfway through the show.

Natalie Benally is one of several BIPOC creators participating in The Nourish Project (photo courtesy WP Theater)

The seventy-minute experience includes songs by Edna Vazquez, opening and closing words written by Jaisey Bates, a cooking demonstration and song from Joaquin Lopez, poems by Latrelle Bright and Camryn Bruno, element hostings by Natalie Benally, Nikiko Masumoto, Jono Eiland, and Bright, dance by Brittany Grier, Megan J. Minturn, and Joya Powell, and other contributions from Siobhan Juanita Brown, Sage Chanell, Madeline Sayet, Dr. Michelle Tom, and Meghan “Sigvanna” Topkok. Along the way, you will be asked intimate questions in the chat, and you are encouraged to turn your camera on at several points to share a few objects visually. You will also hear such lines as “I, the spirit in constant motion, wafting across the planet ever present, holding everything that ever was” and “We are storied bodies, made of stars.” The Nourish Project is earnest, New Agey, reverential, and crunchy, with flourishes of organic spirituality and ASMR, but if that’s your thing, give it a shot. These days, you gotta find comfort and community wherever you can.

WORKS & PROCESS: ISOLATION TO CREATION DOCUSERIES

Works & Process at the Guggenheim
WNET’s All Arts
Wednesdays, January 27, February 3, 10, 17, free, 8:00
allarts.org/schedule
www.worksandprocess.org

“When we really didn’t know what this pandemic was going to be, times got really, really, really rough. And then, around late March, the entire ecosystem just completely collapsed,” Works & Process general manager Duke Dang says in The Way Forward, the film that kicks off the docuseries Isolation to Creation, which premieres on WNET’s All Arts channel on January 27 at 8:00. The half-hour film follows the creative process of a group of artists who found their previously commissioned works postponed so they had to adapt to the shutdown of indoor venues, in this case the 273-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater under the Guggenheim rotunda, where Works & Process has been hosting sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes looks at dance, theater, opera, and music productions since 1984. The organization quickly transitioned to the new digital world, presenting a wide range of daring and beautiful virtual pieces, more than six dozen so far, all under ten minutes and premiering Sunday and Monday nights, filmed outdoors or from wherever the artists are sheltering in place.

In The Way Forward, Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, Archie Burnett, Omari Wiles and Kya Azeen of Les Ballet Afrik, Joshua Bergasse, Sara Mearns, Chris Celiz, José Cruzata, Jamar Roberts, Dr. Wendy Ziecheck, and others discuss the metamorphosis to virtual productions, including Covid-19 testing, forming quarantine bubbles in the Hudson Valley (at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Mount Tremper Arts, and Petronio Residency Center), and collaborating while socially distancing. “It’s a complete launch into the unknown for us, and Duke especially just grabbed it and ran,” W&P producer Caroline Cronson explains. The series, directed by Nic Petry of Dancing Camera, continues February 3, 10, and 17 as the artists get ready for showtime, preparing their works in such styles as Afrik, ballet, ballroom, break, flex, Krump, modern, tap, and vogue. W&P has been more than a breath of fresh air during the coronavirus crisis, streaming exhilarating short pieces that remind us of the power of and intrinsic need for art and all that it brings us, particularly when we’re stuck in our homes, and Isolation to Creation enhances that experience in a big way, holding us over until we can once again return to the Peter B. Lewis Theater and be together in the same space.

SHE ROCKS AWARDS – CELEBRATING WOMEN IN ROCK

Who: Nancy Wilson, the Go-Go’s, Cherie Currie, Cindy Blackman Santana, Amy Lee, Margaret Cho, Starr Parodi, Ann Mincieli, Sharon Hennessey, Gwen Bethel Riley, Kim Warnick, Lzzy Hale
What: Ninth annual ceremony honoring women in rock
Where: She Rocks Awards
When: Friday, January 22, free with RSVP, red carpet 8:00, preshow 9:00, awards 9:30
Why: The ninth annual She Rocks Awards, whose mission is “to create a hub to connect women in all facets of the music industry,” will take place virtually on January 22, with a stellar cast of honorees. Among those being celebrated for their accomplishments are Nancy Wilson of Heart, the Go-Go’s, Cherie Currie or the Runaways, Cindy Blackman Santana, Amy Lee of Evanescence, and Margaret Cho; the main event will be hosted by Lzzy Hale of Halestorm, with Lyndsey Parker emceeing the preshow festivities. In a statement, She Rocks Award founder Laura B. Whitmore said, “The She Rocks Awards was created to bring us together and lift us all up with an evening of positive community and shared experience. This year is no different! I am so thrilled to honor these amazing role models and share their inspiring stories.”

Also being honored are behind-the-scenes veterans Starr Parodi, Sharon Hennessey, Ann Mincieli, Gwen Bethel Riley, and Kim Warnick; blues rock band Magnolia Boulevard opens the show. You can check out the introductory press conference above; in addition, there is a silent auction where you can pick up items donated by the honorees and others, including tech gear, signed guitars, vocal lessons, private Zoom chats, and more. Everyone is invited to the red carpet, preshow entertainment, and awards section; the VIP experience is already sold out.

MLK DAY 2021

Multiple venues
January 17-18, free – $15
www.mlkday.gov

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have turned ninety-two years old on January 15; he was only thirty-nine when he was assassinated. 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 shot and killed in Memphis on April 4, 1968. You can celebrate his legacy on Monday by participating in the twenty-sixth annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service or attending one of numerous special events taking place online, from concerts and film screenings to panel discussions and BAM’s annual tribute. Below are some of the highlights.

Sunday, January 17
Celebrating MLK Day: Reclaiming the Beloved Community, with Sweet Honey in the Rock and special guests, the Town Hall, $15 per concert, $50 for bundle including conversation with the group, 3:00 & 8:00

Soul to Soul: A Celebration in Honor of MLK Day, advance screening benefit, with Lisa Fishman, Magda Fishman, Elmore James, Zalmen Mlotek, Tony Perry, and Tatiana Wechsler, free – $250 (pay-what-you-can), 6:00

Monday, January 18
Cinematters: NY Social Justice Film Festival, “Pursuing Justice: Strategies for Families Committed to Racial Justice,” interactive workshop with Megan Pamela Ruth Madison and Adina Alpert, free with RSVP, 11:00 am

Hear Our Voices: Free MLK Day Celebration, Stop the Hate Essay Writing Workshop 11:00 am, March Toward Freedom, an Interactive Family Event 1:00, Race, Racism, and the Jim Crow Museum: A Discussion with Dr. David Pilgrim 3:00, Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, free with RSVP

The Thirty-fifth Annual Brooklyn Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., BAM, with Eric L. Adams, Sing Harlem!, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Laurie A. Cumbo, Ashley August, Timothy DuWhite, Letitia James, Charles E. Schumer, Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, Kirsten Gillibrand, Corey Johnson, Eric Gonzalez, Scott Stringer, Hakeem Jeffries, Jumaane D Williams, PJ Morton, and keynote address by Alicia Garza, free with RSVP, 11:00 am

Cinematters: NY Social Justice Film Festival, Q&A about Shared Legacies (Shari Rogers, 2020), with Dr. Shari Rogers, Susannah Heschel, and Reverend Jacques Andre De Graff, moderated by Yolanda Savage-Narva, $13, 2:00

WNYC and Apollo Theater Present: MLK and the Fierce Urgency of Now!, with James Clyburn, Nikole Hanna-Jones, Letitia James, Queen Afua, Dr. Jeff Gardere, Dr. Reverend William Barber Jr., Leslé Honoré, and others, hosted by Brian Lehrer, Jami Floyd, and Tanzina Vega, free with RSVP, 3:00

Cinematters: NY Social Justice Film Festival, screening of Black Boys (Sonia Lowman, 2020) and Q&A with director Sonia Lowman, producer Jon-Thomas Royston, and others, $5, 4:00

Soul to Soul: African American and Jewish Music Meet in Celebration of Two Cultures, the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene, with Lisa Fishman, Magda Fishman, Elmore James, Zalmen Mlotek, Tony Perry, and Tatiana Wechsler, $12, 4:00

2021 Female + Forward Festival: Revolutionary New Works Featuring Female+ Artists, See Her, premiere of cinematic theatrical production with Iman Schuk, Kenita Miller, and Gabrielle Sprauve, Royal Family Productions YouTube, free, 5:00

Cinematters: NY Social Justice Film Festival, Q&A about John Lewis: Good Trouble (Dawn Porter, 2020), with Ben Arnon, Wanda Mosley, and Myrna Perez, moderated by Brittany Luse, $5, 6:00

Theater of War: The Drum Major Instinct, reading of MLK sermon and panel discussion with Jamaal Bowman, Ayanna Pressley, Nina Turner, Jumaane Williams, Moses Ingram, and soloists De-Rance Blaylock, Duane Foster, and John Leggette, free with RSVP, 7:00

PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL 2021

PROTOTYPE
Times Square, HERE Arts Center, and online
January 8-16, free (except for Modulation, $25-$75)
prototypefestival.org

During the pandemic lockdown, theater, dance, and music creators have had to reimagine what they do, transitioning to online works instead of in-person productions, at least temporarily but for longer than initially anticipated. That has given audiences access to plays, concerts, operas, movement pieces, and other live and prerecorded shows from around the world, allowing them to explore disciplines they might not have known much about before the coronavirus crisis. I’ve watched dozens of works by international and American companies that I’d never been able to see previously, and it has been a boon during this challenging time while venues are shuttered.

One January festival that might not have been on your radar is Prototype, an annual collection of experimental opera that usually takes place at such locations as Baruch Performing Arts Center, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, the Joyce, BRIC House, FIAF, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and festival presenter HERE Arts Center. The ninth season, running January 8-16, has gone mostly virtual, and five of the six events are free, with two that require you to leave the confines of your apartment, one in Times Square, the other at HERE on Dominick St. Below is the full schedule, including live Q&As and discussions with the artists; be adventurous and check out one or more of these works to see what kind of innovation has been happening during quarantine.

January 8-16 (live event after January 8 show at 8:00, $75), $25
Modulation, featuring works by thirteen composers investigating isolation, identity, fear, and breath during the pandemic.

January 9-16 (live event January 12 at 5:00), free
Out of Bounds: Times3 (Times x Times x Times), by composer Pamela Z and theater artist Geoff Sobelle, site-specific sonic experience in and about Times Square.

January 9-16 (live event January 14 at 5:00), free
Ocean Body, multimedia presentation set in the waters of the Gulf Coast, composed and performed by Helga Davis and Shara Nova, directed and filmed by Mark DeChiazza, with embodied sculpture by Annica Cuppetelli, HERE Arts Center, advance RSVP required.

January 10-16 (live events January 10 at 8:00 & 9:00), free
The Planet — A Lament, staged song cycle and live dance about the creation of the world and impending environmental disaster, composed and performed by Septina Rosalina Layan, directed by Garin Nugroho, and choreographed by Joy Alpuerto Ritter, with Mazmur Chorale, Serraimere Boogie, Rianto, Heinbertho J. B. D. Koirewoa (Douglas), Pricillia EM Rumbiak (Elis), and Paul Amandus Dwaa (Becham).

January 10-16 (live events January 16 at 11:00 & noon), free
Wide Slumber for Lepidopterists, based on a rawlings’s book about sleep, dreams, moths, and butterflies, composed by Valgeir Sigurðsson, directed by Sara Martí, and choreographed by Valgerður Rúnarsdóttir, with text by a rawlings and animation and video art by Pierre-Alain Giraud.

January 10-16 (live events January 16 at 1:00 & 3:00), free
The Murder of Halit Yozgat, film about the assassination of Halit Yozgat in Germany in 2006, composed by Ben Frost and Petter Ekmann, directed by Frost, choreographed by Sasha Milavic Davies, with a libretto by Daniela Danz, and featuring Sabrina Ceesay, Mathias Max Herrmann, Nicolas Matthews, Tahnee Niboro, Gudrun Pelker, Yannick Spanier, and Hubert Zapiór.