this week in music

BOSTON COLLEGE 2020 FIRST YEAR ACADEMIC CONVOCATION: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

Who: Bruce Springsteen
What: Livestreamed address to incoming Boston College class of 2024
Where: Boston College YouTube
When: Thursday, September 10, free, 7:00
Why: Bruce Springsteen has been affiliated with Boston College ever since his son Evan went to school there, graduating in 2012, including playing benefit concerts. The Boss is now scheduled to deliver an address to the incoming class of 2024 on September 10 at 7:00, following the traditional torch-lit First Flight Procession, in which first-year students march down Linden Lane, descend the Higgins Stairs, then enter Conte Forum. Each member of the class has received a digital copy of Springsteen’s 2016 memoir, Born to Run, along with a reading guide. “Through his songs, Bruce Springsteen has long been such a conversation partner to his audience, masterfully portraying the American experience through lyrics that inspire reflection about our world, our families, our jobs, our struggles, and our relationships,” Student Formation executive director Michael Sacco said in a statement. “But in his memoir, Bruce reveals the conversation he had with himself as he approached many of his life’s crossroads. In doing so, Bruce shares how attentiveness, contemplation, and authenticity played a key role in his personal growth and honing his immense talents. Each BC student brings a unique set of talents, and reading Bruce’s story will give them an invaluable perspective as they begin their formation at Boston College.” You can watch the livestream of the First Year Academic Convocation on YouTube here.

In explaining why the book was chosen to be distributed to the students at the Jesuit school, the reading guide offers, “In this book, Bruce Springsteen shares his story — the meaningful events and the transformation he has experienced on his journey — and how his reflection on these experiences has impacted his engagement with the world around him. As you read Born to Run it is the hope of the university that it inspires you to reflect on your own story — the meaningful events and the transformation you have experienced and will continue to experience during your time at Boston College — and understand how your own personal narrative enables you to encounter God’s presence in the world. In reading Springsteen’s reflections on truth, identity, and love, you will be invited to consider your own values and encouraged to think about how you respond to life’s questions.” Another of life’s important questions is, Are the rumors of a new E Street Band album releasing October 23, preceded by a single on September 10, real? The truth will be revealed shortly.

WYCLEF JEAN PRESENTS THE CARNIVAL LIVE AT THE APOLLO

Who: Wyclef Jean
What: Livestreamed concert
Where: Apollo Digital Stage
When: Wednesday, September 9, free, 8:00
Why: Haitian-born, New Jersey-based multigenre superstar and activist Wyclef Jean will return to the stage of the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem on September 9 at 8:00 to perform his 1997 album, Wyclef Jean Presents the Carnival Featuring the Refugee All-Stars, in its entirety for the first time ever. The double LP signaled the end of the Fugees, who performed at the Apollo in 1996, although bandmates Lauryn Hill and Pras appear on the record. “Stepping on the Apollo stage back in 1996 accomplished one of the greatest goals I had as a young Fugee, so it really feels like I’m coming home by having the opportunity to perform at the theater again,” Jean said in a statement. “I’ve been wanting to do a complete performance of The Carnival for a while now, and I’m excited that I’m able to combine energies with the Apollo and ADCOLOR to pull it off. All three of us are here to celebrate culture, diversity, and the Black American experience, and we’re ready to provide a historic performance that does just that.” The Carnival features such tracks as “Apocalypse,” “Guantanamera” with Celia Cruz, Jeni Fujita, and Hill, “To All the Girls,” “Anything Can Happen,” “Mona Lisa” with the Neville Brothers, and the Bee Gees-inspired “We Trying to Stay Alive” with John Forté and Pras.

The concert will take place with no audience and a minimal crew; you can watch the livestream here. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted to support the legendary venue through this time of crisis. This inaugural Apollo Digital Stage show will be followed September 23 at 7:00 with a free conversation between Grammy-winning musician, actor, and activist John Legend and activist, scholar, and writer Salamishah Tillet (Sites of Slavery: Citizenship and Racial Democracy in the Post-Civil Rights Imagination, the upcoming In Search of “The Color Purple”: The Story of an American Masterpiece), exploring the duty of an artist, especially at this critical period in the nation’s history, and on September 29 at 6:30 by a discussion between authors Nic Stone (Dear Martin, Dear Justyce) and Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give, On the Come Up), looking at the flawed American juvenile justice system.

NICK CORDERO MEMORIAL TRIBUTE

Who: Friends, family, and colleagues of Broadway actor Nick Cordero
What: Livestreamed tribute to Nick Cordero
Where: Broadway on Demand
When: Sunday, September 6, free, 7:00
Why: The Broadway community has been hit hard by the Covid-19 crisis, from the shuttering of theaters to such mainstays as Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sara Bareilles, Aaron Tveit, Laura Bell Bundy, John Benjamin Hickey, Bryan Cranston, Danny Burstein and Rebecca Luker, and Tony Shalhoub and Brooke Adams contracting the virus. It has also claimed the lives of playwright Terrence McNally, beloved character actor Mark Blum, and, most notably, Tony-nominated Canadian star Nick Cordero, who first had to have one of his legs amputated, then passed away on July 5 at the age of forty-one, leaving behind his wife, Amanda Kloots, and their one-year-old son, Elvis. On September 6 at 7:00, Broadway on Demand is hosting a memorial tribute to Cordero, featuring friends, family, and cast members from all of his shows, including A Bronx Tale, Bullets over Broadway, Rock of Ages, The Toxic Avenger, and Waitress. It’s free to tune in, but the audience is encouraged to text CORDERO to 41444 to donate to Save the Music, a nonprofit that “helps students, schools, and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music.”

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY IN CENTRAL PARK: WALK WITH THE WIND

Who: Marquis Hill Quartet, Michael Thomas Trio
What: Live outdoor concerts presented by Giant Step Arts
Where: The Mall in Central Park
When: Saturday, September 5, and Sunday, September 6, free, 1:00
Why: As New York City opens up bit by bit, many of us are still starving for live, in-person entertainment. You can check out some hot jazz this weekend in Central Park, where Giant Step Arts continues its “Walk with the Wind” series with a pair of outdoor shows for free, on the Mall in Central Park. On Saturday at 1:00, the Marquis Hill Quartet will be playing, featuring Tivon Pennicott on tenor sax. Russell Hall on bass, Michael Ode on drums, and Chicago star Marquis Hill on trumpet. On Sunday at 1:00, the Michael Thomas Trio takes over, with Edward Perez on bass, E. J. Strickland on drums, and Grammy winner Michael Thomas on sax. Founded by photographers Jimmy and Dena Katz, Giant Step Arts describes itself as “an innovative, artist-focused nonprofit organization [that] presents one of a kind performances by modern jazz masters.” Given the pandemic lockdown and the state of the country right now, these two-set shows certainly qualify as one of a kind.

MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: 7 DEATHS OF MARIA CALLAS

Marina Abramović in 7 Deaths of Maria Callas in 2019 (photo by Marco Anelli, courtesy of the Marina Abramović Archives)

Who: Marina Abramović, Willem Dafoe, Hera Hyesang Park, Selene Zanetti, Leah Hawkins, Gabriella Reyes, Nadezhda Karyazina, Adela Zaharia, Lauren Fagan
What: Livestreamed opera/performance hybrid
Where: STAATSOPER.TV, BR-Klassik Concert, and ARTE concert
When: Saturday, September 5, free, 12:30 (available through October 7)
Why: In December 2013, Serbian-born, New York-based multidisciplinary performance artist Marina Abramović presented The Life and Death of Marina Abramović at Park Ave. Armory, an audiovisual spectacle directed by Robert Wilson, with Abramović playing herself and her mother and Willem Dafoe as the Narrator. Abramović is now looking at a different kind of fictional finality with 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, an operatic work currently being staged in person to a limited, socially distanced audience at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. The multimedia piece explores seven doomed characters portrayed by American-born Greek opera legend Maria Callas in La Traviata, Tosca, Otello, Madame Butterfly, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Norma, embodied here by Hera Hyesang Park, Selene Zanetti, Leah Hawkins, Gabriella Reyes, Nadezhda Karyazina, Adela Zaharia, and Lauren Fagan, who face consumption, jumping, strangulation, hara-kiri, knifing, madness, and burning; Abramović herself brings to life the demise of Callas. In addition, Dafoe appears in seven films with Abramović.

“For twenty-five years I have wanted to create a work dedicated to the life and art of Maria Callas. I had read all the biographies about her, listened to her extraordinary voice, and watched film recordings of her performances. Like me she was a Sagittarius,” Abramović writes in her autobiography, Durch Mauern gehen. “I was always fascinated by her personality, her life — and her death. Like so many of the characters she portrayed on stage, she died for love. She died of a broken heart.” Abramović designed the sets with Anna Schöttl, wrote the libretto with Petter Skavlan, and directs with Lynsey Peisinger; the music is by Marko Nikodijević and conducted by Yoel Gamzou and features Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper. The September 5 show will be streamed live at 12:30 EDT and will be available for free viewing through October 7.

TICKET ALERT: MAGIC IN PLAIN SIGHT — A SERIES OF FREE SOCIALLY DISTANCED PERFORMANCES IN SUNSET PARK

Target Margin Theater is bringing people together at storefronts and inside for “Magic in Plain Sight” and “Electric Feeling Maybe”

Target Margin Theater
The Doxsee and nearby locations
232 52nd St. in Sunset Park
October 10, 17, 24, and 30, free with advance RSVP, 7:00 & 8:00
www.targetmargin.org/magic

Target Margin Theater is among the first troupes returning to in-person programming. “Magic in Plain Sight,” a series of pop-up presentations that deal with loss and loneliness, is taking place October 10, 17, 24, and 30 at 7:00 and 8:00 in its Doxsee space in Sunset Park as well as in nearby storefronts, parking lots, and other locations. Admission is free, but you must RSVP in advance; only ten people at a time can watch from the sidewalk. “‘Magic in Plain Sight’ is one of the ways we at Target Margin Theater often talk about how a theatrical event should feel,” founding artistic director David Herskovits said in a statement. “As we all crave for ways to connect and safely gather, we wanted to create a public event that celebrates what we have lost and the wonder that remains. This is the magic in plain sight for all of us to experience.” Each night concludes with “Electric Feeling Maybe,” a thirty-minute gathering with music, movement, and language that explores the concept of touch and people being together. The piece is created by Ali Andre Ali, Will Badgett, Purva Bedi, Leonie Bell, Ebony Burton, Rawya El-Chab, Jesse Freedman, Mary Neufeld, Grace Orr, Stephanie Weeks, and Herskovits, who also directs. Tickets are going fast, so get yours now if you’re ready to start making limited forms of contact and connection and are in dire need of live (socially distanced) performance.

BROADWAY RELIEF PROJECT LIVE BENEFIT CONCERTS

Vinny Pastore’s Gangster Squad played a live benefit for the Nick Cordero Fund at Open Jar Studios (photo courtesy Broadway Relief Project)

Who: Teal Wicks, Kate Baldwin, Brandon Victor Dixon, Eva Noblezada
What: Live concerts to be seen in person and online, presented by Broadway Relief Project
Where: Open Jar Studios, 1601 Broadway between Forty-Eighth & Forty-Ninth Sts., eleventh floor
When: September 4-11 (more to come), $5 – $90, 8:00
Why: Just as many schools are starting up again in a hybrid format, a mix of in-person and virtual learning, Open Jar Studios is doing the same with concerts. The Broadway Relief Project kicked off August 21 with a concert by Joshua Henry at the Theater District venue, where a fully masked crowd of forty-eight (in a space that can hold up to three hundred) watched from individual seats separated by plexiglass, with a specially designed air system and no one within twenty feet of the band; you can also join in via livestream here. That was followed August 22 by Jay Armstrong Johnson and August 30 by Vinny Pastore’s Gangster Squad; each performer chooses what charity they want proceeds to go to. “It’s been remarkable to be able to bring a live audience together for the first time in over five months and to see the emotional reception the artists are receiving,” Open Jar Studios owner Jeff Whiting said in a statement. “The cooperation with the city and these Broadway artists has been key to the development of this socially distant space, and it’s been a wonderful challenge to find safe ways to get audiences together to enjoy these Broadway stars.”

Next up is Teal Wicks (Wicked, The Cher Show) on September 4 ($35-$50), benefiting One Tree Planted, followed by Tony nominee Kate Baldwin (Big Fish, Hello, Dolly!) on September 5 ($35-$50), benefiting Active Minds; Tony, Emmy, and Grammy nominee Brandon Victor Dixon (Hamilton, Shuffle Along) on September 6 ($70-$90), benefiting the WeAre Foundation; and two-time Tony nominee and Grammy winner Eva Noblezada (Miss Saigon, Hadestown) on September 11 ($70-$90, charity TBA). Keep watching this space for more announcements.