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

TICKET GIVEAWAY: FINAL ANALYSIS

Gustav Mahler (Ezra Barnes) and his wife, Alma Maria (Elisabeth Jasicki), face a crisis in 1910 Vienna in Otho Eskin’s FINAL ANALYSIS (photo by Joan Marcus)

FINAL ANALYSIS
The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre
Pershing Square Signature Center
480 West 42nd St. between Tenth & Eleventh Aves.
August 8 – October 5, $25-$95
212-279-4200
www.finalanalysistheplay.com

Nominated for an unprecedented thirteen Midtown International Theatre Festival awards last year and winning seven — for Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Script (Otho Eskin), Outstanding Direction (Ludovica Villar-Hauser), Outstanding Costume Design (Jenny Green), Outstanding Lead Actor (Michael Goldsmith), Outstanding Supporting Actor (Stephen Bradbury), and the Producers’ Award — Final Analysis is moving off Broadway to the Pershing Square Signature Center after a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $50,000, running in repertory with Breakfast with Mugabe in the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre through early October. The play takes place in a single day in a coffee shop in 1910 Vienna, where a collection of influential intellectuals, artists, and leaders delve into art and science, corruption and morality, anti-Semitism and power, and the nature of evil, addressing the central question “Is hate love’s dark companion?” The play features Ezra Barnes as Gustav Mahler, Elisabeth Jasicki as Alma Maria, Gannon McHale as Sigmund Freud, Tony Naumovski as Joseph Stalin, Michael Satow as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Stephen Bradbury as a waiter, and Ryan Garbayo as a mysterious young man, with Villar-Hauser once again directng. There will be postperformance discussions on August 28 about Mahler’s conducting of the first uncut version of Wagner’s The Ring in August 1910; on September 11 on hate and madness; and on September 25 focusing on Freud.

TICKET GIVEAWAY: Tickets for Final Analysis are $25-$95, but twi-ny has three pairs to give away for free to performances August 8-30. Just send your name, daytime phone number, and all-time-favorite Viennese intellectual to contest@twi-ny.com by Thursday, August 8, at 5:00 to be eligible. All entrants must be twenty-one years of age or older; three winners will be selected at random.

MoRUS FILM FEST — RECLAIMED SPACE: 7th STREET

7th STREET (Josh Pais, 2002)
6th & B Community Garden
Ave. B & Sixth St.
Thursday, August 8, strongly suggested donation $5, 7:30
Festival runs August 3-10, all access pass $20
973-818-8495
www.7thstreetmovie.com
www.morusnyc.org

Actor Josh Pais, who was in the Raphael suit in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, turns the camera on the neighborhood he grew up in, Seventh Street between Avenues C & D, in this fascinating documentary that examines class struggle, racism, anti-Semitism, poverty and homelessness, the drug trade, gentrification, but, above all, family and friendship. Along the way, Pais, who is almost too reminiscent of Ben Stiller, introduces viewers to a fabulous and frightening cast of characters, including Manny the millionaire, Mickey the con man, Rex the draft dodger, Merlin the homeless sage, and many more. This is a special little documentary that will surprise you, delight you, and scare you while making you think back about the place where you grew up. Of course, it is also about a part of Alphabet City that has continued to undergo significant change since the film was made more than ten years ago. Pais will be on hand on August 8 when 7th Street is screened in the 6th & B Community Garden as part of the inaugural MoRUS Film Fest, sponsored by the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, whose mission “is to preserve history and promote scholarship of grassroots urban space activism by researching and archiving efforts to create community spaces.” The festival continues through August 10 with such other events as a compilation of Loisaida films in La Plaza Cultural and Jacob Burckhardt’s Landlord Blues and Phil Hartman’s No Picnic in Orchard Alley.

BEGINNINGS: LIVE!

BEGINNINGS WITH ANDY AND MARK
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
153 East Third St.
Tuesday, August 6, $5, 8:00
212-366-9231
www.east.ucbtheatre.com
www.beginningspod.com

Back in July 2011, Andy Beckerman and Mark Bisi created the Wrestling Team podcast “Beginnings,” in which Beckerman interviews entertainers, primarily comedians, about the start of their careers. Over the past two years, he has spoken with such writers and entertainers as Ben Katchor, Greg Proops, Sean Patton, Christian Finnegan and Kambri Crews, Marnie Stern, Ben Marcus, Rachel Dratch, Bill Griffith, Girl Talk, Wyatt Cenac, Sam Lipsyte, and many others, along with such musical guests as Au Revoir Simone, Cymbals Eat Guitars, Jean Grae, Andrew W.K., Savoir Adore, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. The discussions focus on the question “Where do creative people come from?” On August 6, “Beginning” will take place live at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre on East Third St., with a stellar lineup, including the always outrageous Jim Norton from The Opie & Anthony Show,, Canadian stand-up Bonnie McFarlane, Eric Drysdale from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and a musical performance by New York City band ARMS. Beckerman will be joined by guest cohost Mike Pace of “Worst Gig Ever”; admission is only five bucks.

BREAKUP AT A WEDDING

Phil Havemeyer (Philip Quinaz) has to reconvince his bride-to-be (Alison Fyhrie) to marry him in BREAKUP AT A WEDDING

BREAKUP AT A WEDDING (Victor Quinaz, 2013)
IndieScreen
289 Kent Ave. at South Second St.
August 2-8, 7:00
347-227-8030
www.breakupatawedding.com

With their wedding day upon them, Alison Jones (Alison Fyhrie) suddenly gets cold feet, convincing her fiance, Philip Havemeyer (cowriter Philip Quinaz), that they should go ahead with the festivities anyway, faking it for the guests and then calling it quits afterward in the silly but fun pseudo-mockumentary Breakup at a Wedding. The film is set up as wedding videographer Vic James’s (cowriter, director, and producer Victor Quinaz, Philip’s brother) self-proclaimed masterpiece; James and his small team of photographers have been given unlimited access to the previously happy couple and their friends and families, capturing intimate moments, deep, dark secrets, and general mayhem as all hell breaks loose, from the rehearsal dinner through the wedding itself. “Weddings make people go insane, but I always edit out the crazy,” Vic says at the beginning, “that is, until I met these two.” There are battles between the competing best men (Damian Lanigan and Chris Manley), maid of honor Mary (Mary Grill) is determined to get laid, and Alison has trouble dealing with her divorced parents (Hugh Scully and Caitlin B. FitzGerald), her father’s new Czech mail-order bride (Helena Lukas Martemucci), and her stepmother’s goddaughter, Lenka Jones (cowriter and producer Anna Martemucci, who is married to Victor Quinaz), who is betrothed to Alison’s brother, Brian (Brian Shoaf). It all makes for a host of bizarre antics, some very funny, others too far over the top, but there’s a charming genuineness and warmth to it all, probably in part because many of the actors and filmmakers are related themselves, and Philip Quinaz has most likely experienced a whole lot in one of his other jobs, professional wedding DJ. Cinematographer and coeditor Giovanni P. Autran, who also plays the florist, keeps it all honest, mixing in interview segments, handheld shots at the wedding, and playfully lit dance scenes. And thankfully, the film avoids getting overly sentimental while including some fresh insights into love, friendship, responsibility, and trust. Breakup at a Wedding continues at indieScreen in Williamsburg nightly at 7:00 through August 8; one of the producers, Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock on the relaunched Star Trek franchise, will be on hand for a Q&A following the August 6 show.

GRAVITY AND GRACE: MONUMENTAL WORKS BY EL ANATSUI

El Anatsui’s hanging works welcome visitors to fascinating show (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

El Anatsui’s hanging works welcome visitors to fascinating retrospective (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Brooklyn Museum
Morris A. and Meyer Schapiro Wing and Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Gallery, fifth floor
200 Eastern Parkway at Washington St.
Wednesday – Sunday through August 18, suggested donation $12
212-864-5400
www.brooklynmuseum.org

Over the last decade, Ghana-born, Nigerian-based abstract artist El Anatsui has been gaining international fame for his unique sculpture-paintings that hang from ceilings and walls and climb across floors. The works, which often resemble maps, are composed of aluminum liquor bottle caps of a multitude of colors, woven together with copper wire by a team of assistants into patterns that Anatsui then puts together to form larger pieces that evoke African history, mass consumption, environmentalism, and the intimate physical connection between people all over the world. This continuing series welcomes visitors to the outstanding Brooklyn Museum exhibition “Gravity and Grace: Monumental Works by El Anatsui,” which also looks back at the artist’s past while revealing his fascinating process.

El Anatsui’s “Waste Paper Bags” look back at African history while also evoking modern-day environmentalism (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Much of Anatsui’s oeuvre changes every time it’s shown at a new location, hung a little differently, without the same type of lighting, allowing them to be experienced anew; they also benefit from being viewed from a distance and then close up, offering varying perspectives. The show is expertly laid out, from the mazelike hallway entrance to the side-by-side “Red Block” and “Black Block” to the inclusion of several videos that show Anatsui at work in his studio and walking around, seeking out found objects and ideas for future projects. “I don’t believe in artworks being things that are fixed,” the artist and longtime teacher has said. “You know, the artist is not a dictator.” Indeed, painted wood reliefs such as “Motley Crowd” and “Amewo (People)” from the 1980s and ’90s are meant to be altered, with curators encouraged to rearrange the blocks of wood as they see fit. It’s all part of Anatsui’s “nomadic aesthetic” and dedication to the “nonfixed form,” representing multiple materials in varying shapes and sizes while also celebrating personal freedom. His titles also capture an international flavor, with such names as “Drifting Continents,” “Earth’s Skin,” and “Amemo (Mask of Humankind).” And make sure to get up close to “Ozone Layer,” which has the added bonus of air being blown in through the wall, creating sound and movement.

“Red Block” and “Black Block” hover behind “Peak” in beautifully curated show (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

“Red Block” and “Black Block” hover behind “Peak” in beautifully curated exhibition (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

The exhibition, Anatsui’s first solo show in a New York museum, also features charcoal and graphite drawings, acrylic works on paper, and “Waste Paper Bags,” a collection of large-scale sculptures made of discarded aluminum printing plates that relate to Nigerian culture as well as go-bags that Ghanaian refugees packed when escaping their country in a hurry. It’s a terrific show that has been extended two weeks through August 18; there is also still time to see his “Broken Bridge II” outdoor wall piece on the High Line, which runs through September. Admission to the Brooklyn Museum is free on August 4 for the monthly First Saturdays program, the theme of which is Caribbean, with live performances by Casplash, Los Hacheros, and Zing Experience, curator talks, screenings of the omnibus film Ring Di Alarm and Storm Saulter’s Better Mus’ Come, an artist talk with Miguel Luciano, dance workshops, a discussion with author Nelly Rosario about her debut novel, Song of the Water Saints, and pop-up gallery talks focusing on specific works by Anatsui.

RURAL ROUTE FILM FESTIVAL: TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE

Real-life sisters Dior and Oumoul Kâ play fictional sisters facing a family crisis in TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE

TALL AS THE BAOBAB TREE (GRAND COMME LE BAOBAB) (Jeremy Teicher, 2012)
Museum of the Moving Image
35th Ave. at 36th St., Astoria
Saturday, August 3, free with museum admission, 2:00
Festival runs August 2-4
718-777-6800
www.movingimage.us
www.tallasthebaobabtree.com

The 2013 Human Rights Watch Film Festival came to a close this past June 23 with Jeremy Teicher’s heart-wrenching Tall as the Baobab Tree, an involving, powerful, yet gentle drama about a Senegalese family trapped by tradition in a modernizing world. Real-life sisters Dior and Oumoul Kâ star as Coumba and Debo, close siblings who live in the tiny rural village of Sinthiou Mbadane (where they actually are from). When their older brother, Silèye (Alpha Dia), falls out of a baobab tree and breaks his leg, their father (Mouhamed Diallo) doesn’t have enough money to pay for the necessary medical care so he instead sends Coumba out to do Silèye’s job of herding the cows and decides to sell off eleven-year-old Debo to suitors for marriage. Their mother (Mboural Dia) is unwilling to stand up to her husband, so Coumba hatches a plan in which her friend Amady (Cheikh Dia), who has a crush on her, will watch the herd for her secretly while she heads into the city and gets a job until she makes enough money to help Silèye heal and prevent Debo from having to marry so young. Unfortunately, not everything goes quite as planned. But through it all, no matter how difficult things get, all of the characters maintain their faith, praising peace and continually saying, “God is great.”

Teicher came up with the idea for Tall as the Baobab Tree when he was a student working on This Is Us, a documentary for the nonprofit organization CyberSmart Africa in which the children of Sinthiou Mbadane created brief digital stories about their lives. Teicher, who directed Tall as the Baobab Tree and cowrote it with Alexi Pappas, chose to focus on the very real African problem of forced marriage of young girls between the ages of eight and twelve, collaborating closely with the nonprofessional actors selected from the village, allowing their own stories to meld together, blending fact and fiction. Another central issue is the importance of education, particularly for girls, as Debo clearly would rather follow in Coumba’s footsteps and prepare for university instead of becoming a child bride. The narrative unfolds slowly and calmly, with no overemotional, melodramatic moments or any soapbox preaching, while the tender mood is enhanced by cinematographer Chris Collins’s lush photography and Salieu Suso’s Kora-based score. The first feature ever filmed in the Puular language, Tall as the Baobab Tree is screening August 3 at 2:00 at the Museum of the Moving Image as part of the Rural Route Film Festival, with Teicher present to talk about the work, which will be preceded by Ross Whitaker’s Home Turf and Laska Jimsen’s Beaver Creek Yard. The festival, which is dedicated to films made about environments away from urban centers, runs August 2-4 and also features a Les Blank tribute, a DCP restoration of Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, Diego Rougier’s Salt, Marlo Poras’s The Mosuo Sisters, and Veit Helmer’s Baikonur, in addition to live performances in the museum’s new courtyard by the Frontier Needs Heroes, Gimagua, Vlada Tomova’s Bulgarian Voices Trio, and the Spookfish.

SAY A LITTLE PRAYER: THE MAGICIAN

A traveling troupe of illusionists is forced to defend itself in Ingmar Bergman’s THE MAGICIAN

CABARET CINEMA: THE MAGICIAN (ANSIKTET) (Ingmar Bergman, 1958)
Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Friday, August 2, free with $7 bar minimum, 9:30
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org

Ingmar Bergman’s darkly comic 1958 film The Magician is one of the Swedish auteur’s lesser-known, underrated masterpieces, an intense yet funny, and fun, work about art, science, faith, death, and the power of the movies themselves. When Vogler’s Magnetic Health Theater comes to town, the local triumvirate of Dr. Vergérus (Gunnar Björnstrand), police commissioner Starbeck (Toivo Pawlo), and Consul Egerman (Erland Josephson) brings the traveling troupe in for questioning, forcing them to spend the night as guests in Egerman’s home. The three men seek to prove that mesmerist Albert Emanuel Vogler (Max von Sydow), his assistant, Mr. Aman (Ingrid Thulin), a witchy grandmother (Naima Wifstrand), and their promoter, Tubal (Åke Fridell), are a bunch of frauds. The interrogations delve into such Bergmanesque topics as science vs. reason, good vs. evil, life and death, and the existence of God. As various potions are dispensed to and tricks played on a staff that includes maid Sara (Bibi Andersson), cook Sofia Garp (Sif Ruud), and stableman Antonsson (Oscar Ljung) in addition to Starbeck’s wife (Ulla Sjöblom) and Egerman’s spouse (Gertrud Fridh), a series of romantic rendezvous take place, along with some genuine horror, leading to a thrillingly ambiguous ending.

Max von Sydow is mesmerizing as mesmerist and Ingmar Bergman alter ego Albert Emanuel Vogler in THE MAGICIAN

Von Sydow is mesmerizing as the mesmerist, a silent, brooding man in a sharp beard and mustache, his penetrating eyes a character all their own. (The original title of the film is Ansiktet, which means “Face.”) His showdowns with Dr. Vergerus serve as Bergman’s defense of the art of film itself, an illusion of light and shadow and suspension of belief. Meanwhile, Tubal and wandering drunk Johan Spegel (Bengt Ekerot) offer comic relief and a needed level of absurdity to the serious proceedings. The film is superbly shot in black-and-white by cinematographer Gunnar Fischer, maintaining an appropriately creepy and mysterious look throughout. It also introduces character names into Bergman’s canon, appellations such as Vogler, Vergérus, and Egerman, that will show up again in such future works as Persona (with Liv Ullmann as actress Elisabet Vogler, who has stopped speaking, and Björnstrand as Mr. Vogler), Hour of the Wolf (with Thulin as Veronica Vogler, a former lover haunting von Sydow’s painter Johan Borg), Fanny and Alexander (with Jan Malmsjö as Bishop Edvard Vergérus), and After the Rehearsal (with Josephson as theater director Henrik Vogler and Lena Olin as actress Anna Egerman). Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1959 Venice Film Festival, The Magician is screening August 2 at the Rubin Museum, introduced by sociologist and Union Theological Seminary assistant professor Samuel Cruz, PhD, concluding the Cabaret Cinema series “Say a Little Prayer,” held in conjunction with the exhibition “Count Your Blessings,” which opens August 2 and explores the use of prayer beads in various Buddhist traditions.