this week in music

MAKE MUSIC NEW YORK SUMMER 2019

mmny

Make Music New York is back for its fourteenth summer season, celebrating the longest day of the year with more than a thousand free concerts across the city on June 21. There are Mass Appeal participatory events, live music in parks and plazas, unique gatherings in unusual places, and just about anything else you can think of. Below are only some of the highlights, arranged chronologically.

Street Studios, with Greg Banks, Fernando Singleton, DJ Transaction, Thomas Piper, Edson Sean, and Kevin Cruz aka Most Wanted, multiple locations in Brooklyn throughout the day

The Heart Chant, healing vocalizations written by Pauline Oliveros, the Oculus, 33-69 Vesey St., World Trade Center, 12 noon – 3:00

Local 802 presents: Rolando Morales-Matos, Wilson Torres and Raphael Torn, Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, 120 East 125th St., 3:00

On the Waterfront, Pier I, Riverside Park at Hudson River off West 70th St., 4:30 – 7:00

Immigrant Dream, with Percussia, Diversity Plaza, 37th Rd. at 73rd St., Jackson Heights, 5:00

Music in the Oak Grove, with the Billy Newman Quintet and Dan Levinson’s Palomar Jazz Band featuring Molly Ryan, Silver Towers, 100 Bleecker St. between LaGuardia Pl. & Mercer St., 5:00 – 8:00

Mass Appeal Ukuleles, with Makalina Abalos Gallagher, Pilgrim Hill, Central Park, 5:30

Mass Appeal French Horns, with Linda Blacken and the French Horn Nation, Worth Square, Fifth Ave. at 25th St., 6:30

Moondog on the Streets, tribute to Louis Thomas Hardin, Moondog’s Corner, Sixth Ave. at 54th St., 6:00

Mass Appeal Vocals: Mozart’s Requiem, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, 6:00

Mass Appeal Harmonicas, with Jia-Yi He, Dana Discovery Center, Central Park, 6:00

Mass Appeal Mandolins, with the New York Mandolin Orchestra, Richard Tucker Park, Columbus Ave. at West 66th St., 6:30

Mass Appeal Guitars, with Ann Klein, Union Square Park, 7:00

Water Night, by Eric Whitacre, Gowanus Dredgers Boathouse, 125-153 Second St., 8:00

The Mp3 Experiment Number Sixteen, by Improv Everywhere, North Long Meadow, Prospect Park, 8:30

LIVE SOUND CINEMA: LITTLE FUGITIVE

Joey Norton goes on the adventure of a lifetime in Coney Island in underground indie classic Little Fugitive

BROOKLYN, SOUTH / ONE NITE ONLY: LITTLE FUGITIVE (Morris Engel, Ray Ashley, and Ruth Orkin, 1953)
Nitehawk Cinema Prospect Park
188 Prospect Park West
Wednesday, June 19, 7:45
nitehawkcinema.com

One of the most influential and important — and vastly entertaining — works to ever come out of New York City, Morris Engel’s charming Little Fugitive will be having a special screening with live music on June 19 at 7:45 at the Nitehawk Cinema at Prospect Park, performed by Reel Orchestrette, which has previously provided live accompaniment to such diverse films as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Faust, Wings, The Holy Mountain, and Our Gang and Buster Keaton shorts. Written and directed with Ray Ashley and Ruth Orkin, Engel’s future wife, Little Fugitive follows the gritty, adorable exploits of seven-year-old wannabe cowboy Joey Norton (Richie Andrusco, in his only film role), who runs away to Coney Island after his older brother, Lennie (Richard Brewster), and his brother’s friends, Harry (Charlie Moss) and Charley (Tommy DeCanio), play a trick on the young boy, using ketchup to convince Joey that he accidentally killed Lennie. With their single mother (Winifred Cushing) off visiting her ailing mother, Joey heads out on his own, determined to escape the cops who are surely after him. But once he gets to Coney Island, he decides to take advantage of all the crazy things to be found on the beach, along the boardwalk, and in the surrounding area, including, if he can get the money, riding a real pony.

A no-budget black-and-white neo-Realist masterpiece shot by Engel with a specially designed lightweight camera that was often hidden so people didn’t know they were being filmed, Little Fugitive explores the many pleasures and pains of childhood and the innate value of home and family. As Joey wanders around Coney Island, he meets all levels of humanity, preparing him for the world that awaits as he grows older. Meanwhile, Engel gets into the nooks and crannies of the popular beach area, from gorgeous sunrises to beguiling shadows under the boardwalk. In creating their beautifully told tale, Engel, Ashley, and Orkin use both trained and nonprofessional actors, including Jay Williams as Jay, the sensitive pony ride man, and Will Lee, who went on to play Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, as an understanding photographer, while Eddie Manson’s score continually references “Home on the Range” (although there’s no telling what Reel Orchestrette will do). Rough around the edges in all the right ways, Little Fugitive became a major influence on the French New Wave, with François Truffaut himself singing its well-deserved praises. There’s really nothing quite like it, before or since. The underground classic, which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1953, was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar, was entered into the National Film Registry in 1997, and was recently restored, features several long, dialogue-free scenes, so the live score should be quite a treat.

NYC PRIDE 2019

Femme Fatale party is one of the highlights of NYC Pride festivities

Multiple locations
June 17-30, free – $300 and more
www.nycpride.org

This year’s pride festivities honor the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall, which set the Gay Pride movement in motion in full force. There are some new events, while the March itself has changed its route, so pay close attention to the locations listed below. As always, the ticketed events and VIP treatment are selling out fast, so you better act quickly if you want to shake it up at some pretty wild gatherings. Also be on the lookout for the World Mural Project in all five boroughs and the Quilt Initiative, which displays portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in numerous places.

Monday, June 17
NewFest OutCinema, screening of Adam (Rhys Ernst, 2019), followed by a a Q&A with Ernst and members of the cast and a party, SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd St., $30-$100, 7:00

Tuesday, June 18
NewFest OutCinema, screening of Invisible Women: The Story of Two Forgotten Revolutionaries (Alice Smith, 2019) and Deep in Vogue (Amy Watson & Dennis Keighron-Foster, 2019), followed by a a Q&A with the filmmakers, moderated by Twiggy Pucci Garçon, SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd St., $30-$100, 7:00

Wednesday, June 19
NewFest OutCinema, screening of Wig (Chris Moukarbel, 2019), followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, Lady Bunny, and others, SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd St., $30-$100, 7:00

Friday, June 21
Family Movie Night, screening of Coco (Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina, 2017), with field games and live entertainment, hosted by Miss Richfield 1981, Pier 45, Hudson River Park, free ($50 for VIP blanket seating), 6:30

PrideMarch will celebrate fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall this year

Saturday, June 22
CosPlay & Pride, sunset cruise with Aja and others, hosted by Petra Fried, Pier 40, Hudson River Park, 353 West St., $45, 6:00

Sunday, June 23
Pride Luminaries Brunch, Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge, 485 7th Ave., $85, 11:00 am

Monday, June 24
and
Tuesday, June 25
Human Rights Conference, with Raquel Willis, Janet Mock, and Tracey “Africa” Norman, New York Law School, 185 West Broadway, $30-$50, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Tuesday, June 25
GameChangers, panel discussion, Q&A, and reception with George Takei, Trace Lysette, Leyna Bloom, and others, SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd St., $15-$35, 6:00

Wednesday, June 26
WorldPride Opening Ceremony, benefiting Ali Forney Center, Immigration Equality, and SAGE, with Cyndi Lauper, Billy Porter, Chaka Khan, Ciara, Daya, Todrick Hall, and others, Barclays Center, $45-$226, 7:00

Friday, June 28
Savor Pride, food-driven fundraiser, with dishes by chefs Renee Blackman, Julia Turshen, Alex Koones, Manuel González Charles, Lazarus Lynch, and more, God’s Love We Deliver, 166 Sixth Ave. at Spring St., $80-$125, 5:30

Rally: Stonewall 50 Commemoration, performers and speakers to be announced, Christopher St. & Waverly Pl., free, 6:00

PrideFest street fair immediately follows the March

Twenty-sixth annual PrideFest street fair takes place on June 30 on Fourth Ave.

Saturday, June 29
Youth Pride, for LGBTQIA+ and ally teens, with Ava Max, DJ Nhandi, Deetranada, Angelica Ross and Hailie Sahar from Pose, and more, SummerStage, Central Park, free, noon – 6:00 pm

VIP Rooftop Party, with DJs GRIND, Toy Armada, Ben Baker, and Kitty Glitter and more, the Park, 118 10th Ave., $100-$150, 2:00 – 10:00 pm

Teaze, with bklyn boihood, TRUUU, Set It Off, Rose Gold, Yellow Jackets Collective, and more, the DL, 95 Delancey St., $40-$80, 5:00 – midnight

Saturday, June 29
and
Sunday, June 30
Pride Island, with Grace Jones, Teyana Taylor, Pabllo Vittar, and more, Pier 97, Hudson River Park at Fifty-Ninth St. & West Side Highway, 2:00 – 10:00

Sunday, June 30
PrideFest, twenty-sixth annual street fair with music, food, merchandise, and more, featuring live performances by Lauren Jauregui, the Veronicas, Melanie C & Sink the Pink, and others, hosted by E. J. Johnson, Fourth Ave. between Union Square and Astor Pl., free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm

The March, with grand marshals Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Monica Helms, the Trevor Project, Gay Liberation Front, and members of the cast of Pose, Lavender Line from Twenty-Sixth St. & Fifth Ave., downtown to Washington Square Park and Stonewall National Monument, and back up to Twenty-Third St. & Seventh Ave., free, 12 noon

Femme Fatale, women’s party with DJs Kittens, Mary Mac, Bonnie Beats, Nikki Lions, and Lena, the Park, 118 10th Ave., $40-$65, 4:00 – midnight

Siren, with Mindy Jones, DJ Whitney Day, DJ Tatiana-Denver, and DJ MO-NYC, hosted by Crissa Ace and Kiyomi Valentine, Watermark, Pier 15, 78 South St., $45 – $275, 9:00 pm – 4:00 am

WorldPride Closing Ceremony, with live performances by Melissa Etheridge, Jake Shears, MNEK, The Prom, Deborah Cox, and more, hosted by Margaret Cho, Times Square, free, 7:00

TIME CAPSULE: TELL-TALE HEART

Jan Tilley (photo by twi-ny/mdr) Jan Tilley will play her heart out at June 14 tribute show at the Cutting Room (photo by twi-ny/mdr)[/caption]

The Cutting Room
44 East 32nd St. between Madison & Fifth Aves.
Friday, June 14, $20-$25, 9:00
212-691-1900
thecuttingroomnyc.com
www.jantilley.com

Back in March, rock & roll guitarist and singer Jan Tilley closed her Time Capsule 1970s/’80s Tribute show at the Cutting Room with a sizzling cover of Heart’s “Barracuda.” It was merely a taste of what’s to come, as Tilley, the cofounder of the Rude Girls and an early portrayer of Krzysztof in Hedwig & the Angry Inch, returns to the Cutting Room on June 14 with “Tell-Tale Heart,” an evening dedicated to the music of the Wilson sisters.

jan tilley heart

Katia Floreska, Ki Ki Hawkins, and Shannon Conley will alternate the Ann parts, with Jan performing as Nancy. The band consists of bassist Carl Limbacher, guitarist Stephen Flakus, pianist Paul Leschen, and drummer Joe DiBella. Be prepared to, well, sing your heart out with Tilley, a consummate rocker who puts on a helluva show, marching across the stage and into the audience, wearing her heart on her sleeve.

ASSEMBLY

Kevin Beasley’s Assembly takes attendees across three floors of the Kitchen (image courtesy Kevin Beasley)

The Kitchen
512 West 19th St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
June 15-16, 22-23, 29-30, $10 (advance reservations recommended)
Installation on view June 21 & 28, free, 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
212-255-5793
thekitchen.org

Hot on the heels of his widely hailed audiovisual Whitney exhibition, “A View of a Landscape,” which included several live performances using manipulated sounds emanating from a cotton gin motor, Yale MFA candidate Kevin Beasley is stripping down the Kitchen for the installation / performance series Assembly, taking place in newly empty rooms on three floors of the Chelsea arts institution. Beasley, in conjunction with Lumi Tan, Tim Griffin, and Nicole Kaack from the Kitchen, has created custom sound and video systems that will be activated on Saturday, June 15, 22, and 29, at 6:30, and Sunday, June 16, 23, and 30, at 4:00, in dialogue with the building itself and its position in a changing art world, specifically involving access and collectivity. The mix of musicians, dancers, performance artists, and DJs features Suzi Analogue and Pamela Z on June 15, King Britt presents Moksha Black and Richard Kennedy on June 16, Mhysa, David Thomson, and whoisskitzo on June 22, HPrizm, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, and stud1nt on June 23, Lafawndah, NAR, and Angie Pittman on June 29, and Jason Moran, Logan Takahashi, and Wetware on June 30. In a statement, choreographer Thomson called his piece, Body of work, “a palimpsest. A meditation on memory, identities, and boundaries. A marking of time on the body of a transitional space.” Admission is $10, and attendees are encouraged to walk throughout the Kitchen; advance purchase is recommended. In addition, the installation will be open to the public for free on June 21 and 28 from 11:00 to 6:00.

MUSEUM MILE FESTIVAL 2019

Crowds will line Fifth Avenue for Museum Mile Festival on Tuesday night

Multiple locations on Fifth Ave. between 82nd & 105th Sts.
Tuesday, June 11, free, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
www.museummilefestival.org

The forty-first annual Museum Mile Festival will take place on Tuesday, June 11, as eight arts institutions along Fifth Avenue between 82nd and 105th Sts. open their doors for free between 6:00 and 9:00. There will be live indoor or outdoor performances by Fogo Azul, Steven Bernstein’s Sexmob, Aurora Flores and Zon del Barrio, Palladium Mambo All Stars, and DJ Bembona in addition to face painting, art workshops, a birthday photo booth, and more. The participating museums (with at least one of their current shows listed here) are El Museo del Barrio (“Culture and the People: El Museo del Barrio, 1969 – 2019”), the Museum of the City of New York (“New York at Its Core,” “Pride: Photographs of Stonewall and Beyond by Fred W. McDarrah”), the Jewish Museum (“Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything”), the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (“Nature — The Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial”), the Guggenheim (“Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now,” “Artistic License: Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection”), the Neue Galerie (“The Self-Portrait, from Schiele to Beckmann”), the Africa Center (“Sudan Uprising”), and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (“Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock&Roll,” “The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated”), along with presentations by the New York Academy of Medicine, the Church of the Heavenly Rest, and Asia Society. Don’t try to do too much, because it can get rather crowded; just pick one or two exhibitions in one or two museums and enjoy.

TRIPTYCH (EYES OF ONE ON ANOTHER)

Bryce Dessner’s Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) runs at BAM June 6-8 (photo by Richard Termine)

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Peter Jay Sharp Building
230 Lafayette Ave.
June 6-8, $30-$60, 7:30
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

I was prepared to be blown away by Bryce Dessner’s Triptych (Eyes of One on Another). I’m a big fan of his artsy rock group, the National; I love (who doesn’t?) Patti Smith, whose text figures prominently in the piece; and I thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the Guggenheim’s “Implicit Tensions: Mapplethorpe Now” exhibit, which includes several images that appear in Dessner’s seventy-minute multimedia work. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Inspired by the 1990 obscenity case against Mapplethorpe’s “The Perfect Moment” exhibit, which took place in Dessner’s hometown of Cincinnati when he was a teenager, Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) explores demons and desire, objectification and beauty, specifically in Mapplethorpe’s XYZ portfolios, which focus on sadomasochism, flowers, and African American male nudes. Accompanying the large-scale projections (by Simon Harding), which appear on a front scrim and/or the back wall, is text from the trial and writings by Smith and poet and activist Essex Hemphill, the latter a critic of Mapplethorpe’s. Dessner’s haunting, ethereal score is performed live by Roomful of Teeth (Cameron Beauchamp, Martha Cluver, Eric Dudley, Estelí Gomez, Abigail Lennox, Thomas McCargar, Thann Scoggin, and Caroline Shaw), joined by soprano Alicia Hall Moran and tenor Isaiah Robinson, the women in silvery white, the men (except for Robinson) in black. (The set and costumes are by Carlos Soto.) Brad Wells conducts, with Jessica McJunkins on violin, Tia Allen on viola, Byron Hogan on cello, Kyra Sims on French horn, Ian Tyson on clarinet and bass clarinet, Laura Barger on piano and harmonium, Donnie Johns and Victor Pablo on percussion, and James Moore on guitar.

A man cannot look up at Robert Mapplethorpe images in Triptych (Eyes of One on Another) (photo by Richard Termine)

Korde Arrington Tuttle’s libretto boasts numerous phrases that stick in the mind as they are sung and projected on walls and screens: “The devil in us all / darkness as beauty”; “Aesthetics can justify desire”; “unsavory things”; “The Artist machetes a clearance.” However, there are also quotes from the trial, which feel trivial and pedantic, especially when juxtaposed with Robinson and Roomful of Teeth’s extensive later repetition of “In america, / I place my ring / on your cock / where it belongs,” from Hemphill’s American Wedding. Among the photographs are “Dominick and Elliot,” depicting a shirtless white man holding the nether regions of a naked white man tied upside down; Mapplethorpe’s famous 1988 portrait of himself gripping a cane with a skull on it; “Jack Walls,” of a black man pointing a gun above his exposed penis; and “Cedric, N.Y.C.,” in which a black man bows his head, the light and shadows making it look like his right side is black and his left side white.

Director Kaneza Schaal is unable to bring the piece together; the words, music, and imagery feel like separate entities. Through it all, a black man wanders across the stage and into the audience, looking up at the projections, a spectator commenting on the images of black bodies by saying nothing. When the audience enters the Howard Gilman Opera House, he is sitting at the front of the stage, watching the people wander in, implicating us all. But I’m not sure in what.