this week in lectures, signings, panel discussions, workshops, and Q&As

SURFER GIRL

surfer girl

The Foley Gallery
59 Orchard St. between Grand & Hester Sts.
Tuesday & Wednesday, April 10 – May 30, $30 ($15 flash sale now), 7:30
animustheatre.org
www.foleygallery.com

In November 2014, Animus Theatre Company presented a twelve-hour reading festival at Circle in the Square of Leslye Headland’s “Sin Cycle Plays,” consisting of Assistance, Bachelorette, Cinephilia, Reverb, Surfer Girl, and The Accidental Blonde (with one more to come). On Tuesdays and Wednesdays from April 10 to May 30, the company, in association with the Dirty Blondes Theater Company, will be taking Headland’s Surfer Girl in a whole new direction. The New York premiere of the work moves to a conceptual performative environment designed by painter and installation artist Chaney Trotter at the Foley Gallery on the Lower East Side, instead of its originally intended, more traditional theater setting. Every week, the one-woman show will pair a different actress (Courtney Shaw, Erin Leigh Schmoyer, Karen Eilbacher, Amy Northup, Sara Canter, and three TBA) with one of four directors (Alex Correia, Taphat Tawil, Jen Wineman, and Noah Himmelstein). Thus, Surfer Girl, which investigates the sin of sloth, will be seen through multiple lenses by Animus because of the changing performers and directors, each performance different from the others. There will also be a cash bar with beer and wine for postshow mingling; opening night will be followed by a discussion with Headland, who has also written and/or directed the films Bachelorette, Assistance, About Last Night, and Sleeping with Other People and is currently making an untitled Netflix series with producer Amy Poehler and star Natasha Lyonne.

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: TRIBECA TALKS 2018

Robert De Niro and Bradley Cooper will sit down for a Tribeca Talk on April 21

Tribeca Film Festival
Multiple venues
April 19-28, free – $43.45
www.tribecafilm.com

One of the highlights of the annual Tribeca Film Festival is the series of discussions known as Tribeca Talks, this year featuring the “Director’s Series,” “Storytellers,” and “Master Classes.” Among those participating are John Legend, Bradley Cooper with Robert De Niro, Jamie Foxx, Alec Baldwin with Spike Lee, Claire Danes, Ed Burns, and others. The events take place at BMCC Tribeca PAC, the SVA Theater, and the Tribeca Festival Hub; “Master Classes” are free, while “Director’s Series” and “Storytellers” are $43.45.

Thursday, April 19
Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series — Jason Reitman with Tamara Jenkins, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $43.45, 5:15

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers — John Legend, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $43.45, 6:00

Friday, April 20
Tribeca Talks: Master Class — Sound & Music Design for Film, moderated by Glenn Kiser, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, free, 4:00

Saturday, April 21
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers — Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, Tribeca Festival Hub, rush, 6:00

Monday, April 23
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers — Jamie Foxx, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $43.45, 6:00

Tuesday, April 24
Tribeca Talks: Master Class — BAO Animation Workshop, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, free, 3:00

Tribeca Talks: Storytellers — Alec Baldwin with Spike Lee, Tribeca Festival Hub, $43.45, 8:45

Wednesday, April 25
Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series — Nancy Meyers with Carrie Rickey, Tribeca Festival Hub, $43.45, 6:00

Claire Danes will discuss Homeland with executive producer and director Lesli Linka Glatter at Tribeca Film Festival

Thursday, April 26
Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series — Lesli Linka Glatter with Claire Danes, Tribeca Festival Hub, $43.45, 5:30

Friday, April 27
Tribeca Talks: Storytellers — Ed Burns with Mike Vaccaro, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $43.45, 8:00

Saturday, April 28
Tribeca Talks: Master Class — Show Runners and Writing for TV, with Robert and Michelle King, Steve Bodow, and Jennifer Flanz, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, free, 2:00

Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series — Alexander Payne, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $43.45, 3:00

Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series — Laura Poitras with Sheila Nevins, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, $43.45, 4:00

TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: AFTER THE SCREENING

Antonio Banderas will be at the Tribeca Film Festival to discuss his portrayal of Pablo Picasso in Genius: Picasso

Tribeca Film Festival
Multiple locations
April 18-29, $33.15 – $43.45
www.tribecafilm.com/festival

The Tribeca Film Festival’s “After the Screening” series features conversations, panel discussions, live performances, and Q&As following screenings of more than two dozen films and television episodes, not including the special shows at the Beacon Theatre. Most of the events, held at the SVA Theater, BMCC Tribeca PAC, Cinépolis Chelsea, and the festival hub at Spring Studios, cost between $25.94 and $43.45, except on April 27, when they’re free. Among the guests appearing “After the Screening” are Viola Davis, Sam Rockwell, Paris Hilton, André Leon Talley, Jennifer Beals, Steve Buscemi, Sandra Bernhard, Alexandre Rockwell, Brian Grazer, Joy Reid, Terrence McNally, Christine Baranski, F. Murray Abraham, Chita Rivera, Matthew Broderick, Antonio Banderas, Katie Couric, Tom Sturridge, Natalie Dormer, Paul Sparks, Kathleen Cleaver, Alex Gibney, Emily Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola, Ron Perlman, Kyle Abraham, Ralph Macchio, DJ Jahi Sundance, the Last Poets, Jason Reitman, and Tamara Jenkins. Tickets are still available for most of the presentations, although some are already at rush and limited status.

Thursday, April 19
Tribeca Talks: Director’s Series: Tully (Jason Reitman, 2018), conversation with Jason Reitman and Tamara Jenkins, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $43.45, 5:15

Westworld, discussion with Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, and James Marsden, BMCC Tribeca PAC, rush, 8:30

Friday, April 20
Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (Julia Willoughby Nason & Jenner Furst, 2018), conversation with codirectors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, the parents of Trayvon Martin, Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin, executive producers Mike Gasparro and Chachi Senior, and special guests, moderated by Joy Reid, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $33.15, 5:45

Genius: Picasso, conversation with showrunner Ken Biller, executive producers Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo, and cast members Antonio Banderas, Alex Rich, Clémence Poésy, Poppy Delevingne, and Samantha Colley, moderated by Cynthia Littleton, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $33.15, 8:30

Saturday, April 21
Bathtubs over Broadway (Dava Whisenant, 2018), conversation with members of the cast and a special performance inspired by the film with surprise guests, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $33.15, 2:00

Freaks & Geeks: The Documentary (Brent Hodge, 2018), conversation with director Brent Hodge and Freaks and Geeks creator Paul Feig, Tribeca Festival Hub, $33.15, 8:00

Sunday, April 22
Netizens (Cynthia Lowen, 2018), conversation with director Cynthia Lowen and subjects Tina Reine, Carrie Goldberg, and Anita Sarkeesian, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, rush, 2:00

To Dust (Shawn Snyder, 2018), followed by Tribeca Film Institute conversation with writer/director Shawn Snyder, producers Emily Mortimer, Alessandro Nivola, and Ron Perlman, cast members Geza Rohrig and Matthew Broderick, and biologist Dawnie Steadman, hosted by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, SVA Theater 1 Silas, rush, 6:00

Mr. Soul (Melissa Haizlip & Samuel Pollard, 2018), followed by #SOUL50: A 50th Anniversary Tribute to SOUL! hosted by Blair Underwood and featuring performances from Robert Glasper, Lalah Hathaway, Kyle Abraham, DJ Jahi Sundance, Sade Lythcott, Kathleen Cleaver, and the Last Poets: Abiodun Oyewole, Umar Bin Hassan and Felipe Luciano, Tribeca Festival Hub, $33.15, 8:00

Monday, April 23
Every Act of Life (Jeff Kaufman, 2018), conversation with director Jeff Kaufman, playwright Terrence McNally, actor/director Joe Mantello, and actors F. Murray Abraham, Christine Baranski, and Chita Rivera, moderated by Frank Rich, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, rush, 8:00

Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (Sophie Huber, 2018), followed by special guest performance by Blue Note artists Robert Glasper, Derrick Hodge, and Kendrick Scott, Tribeca Festival Hub, rush, 8:00

Steve Buscemi will take part in twenty-fifth anniversary screening of In the Soup with Jennifer Beals, Sam Rockwell, and others

Tuesday, April 24
In the Soup (Alexandre Rockwell, 1992), conversation with director Alexandre Rockwell, actors Steve Buscemi, Jennifer Beals, and Sam Rockwell, and cinematographer Phil Parmet, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $25.94, 7:30

Cobra Kai, conversation with writers, directors, and executive producers Hayden Schlossberg, John Hurwitz, and Josh Heald and series stars and executive producers Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, rush, 7:45

Wednesday, April 25
Bobby Kennedy for President (Dawn Porter, 2018), conversation with director Dawn Porter and Ambassador William vanden Heuvel, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $33.15, 5:00

Woman Walks Ahead (Susanna White, 2017), conversation with director Susanna White, actor Sam Rockwell, and others, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $25.94, 5:45

Phenoms, conversation with executive producers David Brooks and Mario Melchiot, producer Arbi Pedrossian, creative director Chris Perkel, producer and editor Thomas Verette, and directors Jane Hicks, Jeff Zimbalist, and Michael Zimbalist, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, $33.15, 8:30

The Gospel According to André (Kate Novack, 2018), conversation with director Kate Novack, subject André Leon Talley, producers Andrew Rossi and Josh Braun, and executive producer Roger Ross Williams, moderated by Sandra Bernhard, BMCC Tribeca PAC, $33.15, 8:30

Ella Purnell and Paul Sparks will talk about their new series, Sweetbitter, at Tribeca

Thursday, April 26
Sweetbitter, conversation with creator, executive producer, and writer Stephanie Danler, showrunner Stuart Zicherman, and cast members Ella Purnell, Caitlin FitzGerald, Tom Sturridge, and Paul Sparks, moderated by Katie Couric, SVA Theater 1 Silas, rush, 5:00

Enhanced, conversation with executive producer Alex Gibney and directors Chai Vasarhelyi and Jesse Sweet, moderated by Marisa Guthrie, Cinépolis Chelsea 7, $33.15, 6:00

RX: Early Detection a Cancer Journey with Sandra Lee (Cathy Chermol Schrijver, 2018), conversation with director Cathy Chermol Schrijver and subjects Sandra Lee and Kimber Lee, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $25.94, 7:45

Drunk History, conversation with cocreator, director, and host Derek Waters, cocreator and director Jeremy Konner, and special guests (and two complimentary drink tickets), Tribeca Festival Hub, $33.15, 8:30

Friday, April 27
Little Women (Vanessa Caswill, 2017), conversation with executive producers Colin Callender and Rebecca Eaton and cast member Maya Hawke, SVA Theater 1 Silas, free with advance ticket, 5:00

The Last Defense, conversation with executive producers Viola Davis and Julius Tennon, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, free with advance ticket, 6:00

The American Meme (Bert Marcus, 2018), conversation with director Bert Marcus and subjects Paris Hilton, Kirill Bichutsky, Brittany Furlan, the Fat Jew, and Hailey Baldwin, Tribeca Festival Hub, limited, 8:00

Saturday, April 28
The Staircase, conversation with creator and director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and producers Matthieu Belghiti and Allyson Luchak, SVA Theater 2 Beatrice, $33.15, 6:00

Picnic at Hanging Rock (Larysa Kondracki, 2018), conversation with director Larysa Kondracki, executive producer Jo Porter, and cast member Natalie Dormer, SVA Theater 1 Silas, $33.15, 8:00

KING LEAR

Sir Antony Sher bids William Shakespeare adieu in final Bard role (photo by Ellie Kurttz)

Brooklyn Academy of Music
BAM Harvey Theater
651 Fulton St.
April 7-29, $35-$125, 7:30 (plus 1:30 and 3:00 weekend matinees)
718-636-4100
www.bam.org

The Brooklyn Academy of Music has a thing for King Lear. Since 2007, it has presented three major productions, starring Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Frank Langella. During that time period, New York has also seen the tragic ruler portrayed by John Lithgow at the Delacorte, Michael Pennington at TFANA, and Sam Waterston and Kevin Kline at the Public. Now comes sixty-eight-year-old South African-born English actor Sir Antony Sher, in what is being billed as his final Shakespeare role. The two-time Olivier Award winner, Tony nominee, and longtime Royal Shakespeare Company member has previously played the Fool in Lear, Shylock in The Merchant of Venice, Prospero in The Tempest, Falstaff in both parts of Henry IV at BAM, Leontes in The Winter’s Tale, and the title characters in Richard III, Titus Andronicus, and Macbeth. The RSC production runs at the BAM Harvey April 7-29, directed by Gregory Doran (Sher’s longtime partner), with sets by Niki Turner, lighting by Tim Mitchell, and music by Ilona Sekacz. The cast also features Nia Gwynne as Goneril, Kelly Williams as Regan, Mimi Ndiweni as Cordelia, and Graham Turner as the Fool. In conjunction with the show, RSC assistant director Anna Girvan and members of the company will give a class on April 24 at 1:00 ($25) at the Mark Morris Dance Center “for emerging professional actors,” and Girvan and company members will lead the open workshop “Inside the Storm” on April 26 at noon ($20) at Mark Morris “for curious adult (18+) theatergoers of all abilities.”

ANNUAL GATHERING OF REMEMBRANCE 5778

A candle-lighting ceremony is part of Yom HaShoah memorial service at Congregation Emanu-El (photo by Melanie Einzig)

Congregation Emanu-El
One East 65th St. at Fifth Ave.
Sunday, April 8, free with advance RSVP, 2:00
646-437-4227
www.emanuelnyc.org
mjhnyc.org

In an age of rising anti-Semitism, fascism, and Holocaust deniers, it is critical that the world never forgets what happened to the Jewish people during WWII. On Sunday, April 8, at 2:00, the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust will cohost New York’s Annual Gathering of Remembrance at Congregation Emanu-El. Held in conjunction with the holy day known as Yom HaShoah, which begins Wednesday night, the memorial service is a “tribute to those who survived and have made a better world for us all,” with elected officials, Holocaust survivors and their families, and other members of the community coming together at the Upper East Side synagogue. On its website, the Museum of Jewish Heritage explains, “Every year, at New York’s Annual Gathering of Remembrance, we come together as a community to say: We will never forget. The Jewish people persist, and we will not allow the memory of millions to pass into stony silence. We owe it to our people, ourselves, and our children to insist that when we mourn those who were murdered and comfort those who suffered, we tell their stories with the utmost respect for their human dignity. It is a powerful answer to the Nazis’ thwarted ambition. New York’s Annual Gathering of Remembrance is the largest Holocaust commemoration event in the country.” Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance here; printouts must be presented at the door. Zachor. Gedenk. Remember.

A CHILLING MAKE BELIEVE: ALEXIS ROCKMAN ON GRANT WOOD

Grant Wood (1891–1942), Spring Turning, 1936. Oil on composition board, 18 1⁄4 x 40 1⁄8 in. (46.4 x 101.9 cm). Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; gift of Barbara B. Millhouse 1991.2.2. © Figge Art Museum, successors to the Estate of Nan Wood Graham/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY. Image courtesy Reynolda House Museum of American Art, affiliated with Wake Forest University

Grant Wood, Spring Turning, oil on composition board, 1936 (image courtesy Reynolda House Museum of American Art, affiliated with Wake Forest University)

Who: Alexis Rockman
What: Artists on artists talk
Where: Whitney Museum of American Art, Floor 3, Susan and John Hess Family Gallery and Theater, 99 Gansevoort St., 212-570-3600
When: Friday, April 6, $10, 6:30
Why: New York City native Alexis Rockman, who creates fantastical outdoor worlds in his paintings, will be at the Whitney on April 6 at 6:30 to discuss the landscapes of Grant Wood in conjunction with the exhibition “Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables,” which continues at the museum through June 10. The show reveals Wood to be more than just a portraitist who is most famous for “American Gothic”; among his landscapes at the Whitney are Young Corn, Stone City, The Birthplace of Herbert Hoover, and Spring in the Country. Rockman’s “The Great Lakes Cycle” is now on view at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Tickets for the talk, “A Chilling Make Believe: Alexis Rockman on Grant Wood,” are $10; if you can’t get to the Whitney or the event is sold out, it will be livestreamed on YouTube.

BROOKLYN MUSEUM FIRST SATURDAY: DAVID BOWIE!

Photograph from the cover shoot for Aladdin Sane, 1973. Photo by Brian Duffy. Photo Duffy (c) Duffy Archives & the David Bowie Archive

Photograph from the cover shoot for Aladdin Sane, 1973 (Photo by Brian Duffy. Photo Duffy © Duffy Archives & the David Bowie Archive)

Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Saturday, April 7, free (“David Bowie is” requires advance tickets of $25), 5:00 – 11:00
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The late, great David Bowie is the subject of the Brooklyn Museum’s free April First Saturday program, celebrating the major exhibition “David Bowie is.” There will be live performances by Bowie pianist Mike Garson and Bowie favorite Tamar-kali; a book club talk and signing with Simon Critchley, author of the 2014 book Bowie; a screening of D. A. Pennebaker’s concert film Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars; a hands-on art workshop in which participants can make Bowie-inspired watercolors; a photo booth where everyone is encouraged to pose as a Bowie persona; Drink and Draw sketching of live models dressed as Bowie; a Bowie-themed showcase by Bushwig, hosted by Horrorchata, Untitled Queen, and Tyler Ashley; and pop-up gallery talks by teen apprentices in the “American Art” galleries. In addition, the galleries will be open late so you can check out “William Trost Richards: Experiments in Watercolor,” “Arts of Korea,” “Infinite Blue,” “Ahmed Mater: Mecca Journeys,” “Rodin at the Brooklyn Museum: The Body in Bronze,” “A Woman’s Afterlife: Gender Transformation in Ancient Egypt,” and more. However, please note that advance tickets are required to see “David Bowie is,” at the regular admission price.