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

SILENT MASTERPIECES WITH LIVE BENSHI AND SAMISEN AT JAPAN SOCIETY

Benshi star Ichiro Kataoka will narrate two silent masterpieces at Japan Society, with live shamisen music by Sumie Kaneko

THE BENSHI TRADITION AND THE SILVER SCREEN: A JAPANESE PUPPETRY SPIN-OFF
Japan Society
333 East 47th St. at First Ave.
Thursday, December 12, and Friday, December 13, $22-$31, 7:30
212-715-1258
www.japansociety.org

Japan Society’s “Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry” began in September with Basil Twist’s mind-blowing Dogugaeshi and continued in October with National Bunraku Theater’s Date Musume Koi no Higanoko (Oshichi, the Greengrocer’s Daughter) and Sonezaki Shinju (The Love Suicides at Sonezaki) and in November with Sachiyo Takahashi/Nekaa Lab’s One Night in Winter and The Peony Lantern.

The fall series concludes with “The Benshi Tradition and the Silver Screen: A Japanese Puppetry Spin-Off,” two evenings of live music by Sumie Kaneko on the shamisen and benshi narration by contemporary “movie talker” Ichiro Kataoka, in Japanese with English subtitles, accompanying a pair of rarely screened silent masterpieces. On December 12, they will perform to Daisuke Ito’s 1927 jidaigeki A Diary of Chuji’s Travels, starring Denjirō Ōkōchi; originally a four-hour triptych, only 111 fragmented minutes now remain. That will be followed on December 13 by Shozo Makino’s 1910-17 ninety-minute work-in-progress Chushingura, an incomplete early cinematic adaptation of the story of the 47 ronin featuring Matsunosuke Onoe, who is said to have appeared in a thousand films by the time of his death in 1926 at the age of fifty, though only six survive, at least in part.

Both events will be preceded by a lecture at 6:30 by Princeton University professor Dr. Junko Yamazaki; there will be a postshow private gathering for artists and Japan Society members on December 12 and an artist Q&A on December 13. The previous productions in “Ningyo! A Parade of Puppetry,” being held in conjunction with the Japan Society exhibition “Bunraku Backstage,” sold out in advance, so act quickly if you want to catch what should be two rare, unique experiences.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

IT’S BASHERT! CELEBRATING BOOKS AT THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE

NEW YORK JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36 Battery Pl.
Sunday, December 8, free with advance RSVP, 10:00 am – 9:00 pm
866-811-4111
mjhnyc.org

The 2024 New York Jewish Book Festival, being held December 8 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, is chock-full of exciting literary events, starting at 10:00 am and continuing through a 6:00 concert by Marcin Masecki and Ger Mandolin Orchestra. And best of all, everything is free. There will be talks, workshops, panel discussions, and book signings, covering such topics as “Deconstructing Jewish Masculinity,” “Jewish Icons,” “It’s Bashert! Jewish Love and Romance,” “Translating Yiddish Prose by Women,” and “Rebuilding Lives: Survivors After the Holocaust.” Among the books being featured are Rebecca Clarren’s The Cost of Free Land: Jews, Lakota and an American Inheritance, F. K. Clementi’s South of My Dreams: Finding My American Home, Delia Ephron’s Left on Tenth: A Second Chance at Life, Reuven Fenton’s Goyhood, and Dr. Ruth K. Westheimer’s The Joy of Connections: 100 Ways to Beat Loneliness and Live a Happier and More Meaningful Life. Below is the full schedule.

Writing Workshop: Tell Me Everything!, with Beth Harpaz, Events Hall, 10:15

Deconstructing Jewish Masculinity, with Ronnie Grinberg, Miriam Eve Mora, Sarah Imhoff, and Laura Shaw Frank, Classrooms A/B, 10:15

Emerging Narratives: Debut Jewish Fiction, with Danny Goodman, Sarah Seltzer, Lauren Aliza Green, Sasha Vasilyuk, and Susan Weidman Schneider, Keeping History Center, 10:15

Jewish Icons: Judy Blume, Jean Carroll, and Marty Glickman, with Jeffrey S. Gurock, Grace Kessler Overbeke, Rachelle Bergstein, and Stephanie Butnick, the Studio, 10:15

Rebecca Clarren and Sarah Podemski: The Cost of Free Land, with Rebecca Clarren, Sarah Podemski, Edmond J. Safra Hall, 11:30

Jewish Icons: Judy Blume, Jean Carroll, and Marty Glickman Book Signing, Events Hall, 11:30

It’s Bashert! Jewish Love and Romance, with Ali Rosen, Hannah Reynolds, Hannah Orenstein, and Lior Zaltzman, the Studio, 11:30

Deconstructing Jewish Masculinity Book Signing, Lobby 1, 11:30

Emerging Narratives: Debut Jewish Fiction Book Signing, Lobby 3, 11:30

Translating Yiddish Prose by Women, with Ellen Cassedy, Anita Norich, and Lisa Newman, Classrooms A/B, 11:45

Jews Writing Jews: Creating Jewish Characters, with Elyssa Friedland, Caroline Leavitt, Reuven Fenton, Julia Gergely, and Elizabeth Harris, Keeping History Center, 11:45

It’s Bashert! Jewish Love and Romance Book Signing, Events Hall, 12:45

Salinger’s Soul, with Stephen B. Shepard and Lisa Newman, the Studio, 12:45

Rebecca Clarren and Sarah Podemski: The Cost of Free Land Book Signing, Lobby 1, 12:45

Delia Ephron and Amy Schwartz: Left on Tenth, with Delia Ephron and Amy Schwartz, Edmond J. Safra Hall, 1:00

Jews Writing Jews: Creating Jewish Characters Book Signing, Lobby 3, 1:00

Translating Yiddish Prose by Women Book Signing, Lobby 1, 1:00

Rebuilding Lives: Survivors After the Holocaust, with Seth Stern, Sandra Fox, and Sarah Maslin Nir, Classrooms A/B, 1:15

On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors & Advocates, with Bradley Tusk, Ali Rosen, Samantha Ettus, and Zibby Owens, Keeping History Center, 1:15

Salinger’s Soul Book Signing, Events Hall, 2:00

The Joy of Connections, with Allison Gilbert and Rachel Wright, the Studio, 2:00

Delia Ephron and Amy Schwartz: Left on Tenth Book Signing, Lobby 1, 2:15

The Old Jewish Men’s Guide to Eating, Sleeping, and Futzing Around, with Noah Rinsky and Jonah Bromwich, Edmond J. Safra Hall, 2:30

Rebuilding Lives: Survivors After the Holocaust Book Signing, Lobby 1, 2:30

On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors & Advocates Book Signing, Lobby 3, 2:30

Crafting Jewish Fantasy and Folklore, with A. R. Vishny, Laura R. Samotin, and Veronica Schanoes, Classrooms A/B, 2:45

The Diary of Anne Frank: Beloved and Banned, with Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather and Adam Langer, Keeping History Center, 2:45

The Joy of Connections Book Signing, Events Hall, 3:15

Jewish Poetry Workshop, with Sean Glatch, the Studio, 3:30

The Old Jewish Men’s Guide to Eating, Sleeping, and Futzing Around Book Signing, Lobby 1, 3:45

Crafting Jewish Fantasy and Folklore Book Signing, Lobby 1, 4:00

Unearthing Untold Holocaust Stories, with Chris Heath, Elizabeth White, Jack Fairweather, and Debórah Dwork, Classrooms A/B, 4:15

In Her Words: Contemporary Jewish Women’s Memoirs, with F. K. Clementi, Bonny Reichert, Sara Glass, and Evelyn Frick, Keeping History Center, 4:15

Yiddish Translation Workshop, with Anita Norich, the Studio, 4:45

Unearthing Untold Holocaust Stories Book Signing, Lobby 1, 5:30

In Her Words: Contemporary Jewish Women’s Memoirs Book Signing, Lobby 3, 5:30

Gersuite – A Concert by Marcin Masecki and Ger Mandolin Orchestra, Edmond J. Safra Hall, 6:00

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

A DEVASTATING BLAST: ARLEKIN’S THE MERCHANT OF VENICE COMES TO CLASSIC STAGE

The cast of Arlekin’s Merchant of Venice playfully poses at press rehearsal (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

ARLEKIN IN RESIDENCE: THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Classic Stage Company, Lynn F. Angelson Theater
136 East Thirteenth St. between Third & Fourth Aves.
Tuesday – Sunday, November 22 – December 22, $59-$129
www.classicstage.org/venice
www.arlekinplayers.com

Introducing a press rehearsal of two scenes from Igor Golyak and Arlekin Players Theatre’s adaptation of The Merchant of Venice at Classic Stage, producer Sara Stackhouse said, “Igor directed a very early iteration of this — this is quite different — but it was the DNA of this version of The Merchant of Venice. It was hilarious, and devastating, in Boston. It was like a punch in the face to antisemitism, and there were a lot of folks at that time who said to us, ‘Why are you doing a play on antisemitism? Why are you doing a Jewish play?’ One of the things that I have found working with incredible artists, Igor being one of them, is the way they feel the undercurrent of what is happening in the world all the time, and often ahead of time, and begin to bring it to the surface in artistic projects. That has been true for all the project I’ve done with Igor and through Arlekin. Unfortunately, it has come further and further and further to the surface not only in the art we’re making but also in the world. So we’re now doing this version of The Merchant of Venice in the context of October 7 and what happened in Amsterdam and the election and a real rise in hatred and antisemitism in the world. That canary in the coal mine — there’s no mine now; it’s like a canary flying out around the world. But one of the ways that actual humans respond to tragedy is they don’t sit and cry; they try to laugh; they try to survive. So this play is a comedy, and it’s a blast until it’s devastating.”

Boston-based Arlekin continues its residency at Classic Stage with The Merchant of Venice, following its highly acclaimed staging of Polish playwright Tadeusz Słobodzianek’s 2008 drama, Our Class, which was inspired by a horrific 1941 pogrom that occurred in the small village of Jedwabne in Poland. Running November 22 to December 22, the uniquely unpredictable work is built around a cable access program that is putting on the play, complete with low-budget foibles, casting controversies, and technical glitches. T. R. Knight stars as the host of The Antonio Show, with Richard Topol as Shylock, Alexandra Silber as Portia, Gus Birney as Jessica, Tess Goldwyn as Nerisa, José Espinosa as Bassanio, Stephen Ochsner as Launcelot Gobbo, and Noah Pacht as Lorenzo. At one point, Shylock puts on a Dracula costume, a funny yet incisive way to demonize the character who famously declares, “If you prick us, do we not bleed?”

“The first Quarto published in 1600 titled this play The most excellent historie of the merchant of Venice with the extreame crueltie of Shylocke the Jewe towards the sayd merchant, in cutting a just pound of his flesh: and the obtayning of Portia by the choyse of three chests. That’s a mouthful,” Golyak, who was born in Kyiv and came to America as a Jewish refugee when he was eleven, said in a statement. “It casts Shylock as a cruel villain and sets the expectation of a love story, a comedy, and a ruinous tragedy all wrapped into one. We are true to this in our production and we deliver all of it — an undercurrent of bias, a comedy, romance, action, and escapades — a real romp of a performance. But antisemitism is a light sleeper, and as the story plays out, it inevitably awakens and the result is devastating. It mirrors who we are, the times we live in, and how quickly the tides can turn.”

Rich Topol stars as Shylock and José Espinosa is Bassanio in Arlekin’s Merchant at Classic Stage (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Golyak and Arlekin have previously presented such innovative virtual successes as Witness, State vs. Natasha Banina, and chekhovOS /an experimental game/ in addition to the hybrid The Orchard with Jessica Hecht and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

“The more antisemitism rises in the world, the more people are hating on the Jews, the more Jewish I feel,” Golyak, whose great-grandparents were killed at Babi Yar, recently wrote. “But the play, and Jewish life, and this world are devastating. I’m shattered like glass. In sooth, as an artist, as a parent, as a Jew, and as a human, I guess I do know why I am so sad.”

“It’s a wild ride,” Golyak also noted about the play.

Judging from what I saw at the rehearsal — you can get a sneak peek here — it’s a wild ride we all need to take.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

A DYSTOPIC LAND OF WONDER AT THE JOYCE

GALLIM returns to the Joyce with New York premiere of evening-length Wonderland (photo by Dan Chen)

GALLIM: WONDERLAND
The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Ave. at Nineteenth St.
November 13-17, $62-$82
www.joyce.org
www.gallim.org

Brooklyn-based GALLIM explores the us vs. them mentality so prevalent in contemporary American society — and at the center of the recent presidential election — in the New York premiere of Wonderland, running November 13-17 at the Joyce. GALLIM presented a thirty-minute iteration of the work in its 2010 Joyce debut, but two years later founding artistic director Andrea Miller expanded it to an hourlong evening-length piece that takes place in an antitotalitarian dystopia.

The cast features Gothenburg Ballet’s Arika Yamada as Megalomatrix, Vivian Pakkanen as the Fool, Georgia Usborne as the Guilty, Donterreo Culp as the Beloved, guest artist Billy Barry as the Jester, Bryan Testa as the Dog, India Hobbs as the Seer, and Nouhoum Koita as the Everyone, with the Pack consisting of Jasmine Alisca, Victoria Chassé Dominguez, Briana Del Mundo, Waverly Fredericks, and Thomas Hogan. (Barry and Yamada originated their roles in 2010.)

“We are witnessing an extreme departure from one another’s physical and emotional individuality, from the foundations of human dignity, and from the very elements that make us free,” Miller said in a statement. “On social media, millions join virtual armies, charging against each other like packs of vicious wolves — same species, unseen enemies — driven by forces of real terror that we fail to fully comprehend. Wonderland navigates these dark pathways of daily alienation, inducement, and mutual aggression.”

Among Miller’s inspirations for the show is Cai Guo-Qiang’s Head On, an installation of ninety-nine life-size stuffed wolves charging toward a glass wall, part of his 2008 “I Want to Believe” exhibition at the Guggenheim. The score ranges from Chopin, Joanna Newsom, and the Chordettes to William Basinsky, Black Dice, and Jeannie Robertson, with atmospheric sound design by Miller and Jakub Kiupinski and Cristina Spinei of Blind Ear Music. The set is by Jon Bausor, lighting by Vincent Vigilante, and costumes by Jose Solís.

Wonderland pits the individual against dangerous groupthink with animalistic movement in a world threatening to go off the rails. Miller added, “Can we imagine — or perhaps remember — the destructive outcomes on the other side of totalitarian promises and societies? Maybe art, maybe dance, through their creative freedom, can remind us of the way back to empathy and shared humanity.” There will be a curtain chat at the November 14 show to provide further illumination.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

SEARCHING FOR CONNECTIONS AFTER THE ROBOT APOCALYPSE

A painter (Emily Sullivan) seeks connection in Loneliness Was a Pandemic (photo by Danny Bristoll)

LONELINESS WAS A PANDEMIC
Theaterlab
357 West Thirty-Sixth St., between Eighth & Ninth Aves., third floor
Thursday – Sunday through November 24, $35-$50
theaterlabnyc.com

What happens when the robot apocalypse occurs and artificial intelligence takes over what’s left of humanity? Olivia Haller provides one all-too-believable possibility in Loneliness Was a Pandemic, making its world premiere at TheaterLab through November 24.

“Tell me why this is valuable,” a robot (Andrew Moorhead) says to a thirtysomething painter (Emily Sullivan) at the start of the play. He is referring to a canvas by Vincent van Gogh; she describes what makes the work more than just a historical artifact, how it is both technically perfect and moving and beautiful, but the robot cannot grasp the concepts of personal emotions.

“We know the brain patterns you emit when you experience certain feelings. We have tried to replicate them, to respond in certain ways when we receive certain stimuli, but it does not make sense,” he explains. “There is no purpose to it. They do not serve a function.”

The robot has been charged with learning from the woman how to create art; it is the only reason why she is still alive, having been spared the fate of most of the planet’s citizenry. She is restricted to a white building, traveling between her apartment and a studio where she gives the robot lessons every day; the only objects onstage are an easel, a cart with painting supplies, a chest, a mattress on the floor, and a one-level bookcase on which sits a tome on twentieth-century Austrian painter Martin Häusle, who specialized in landscapes and stained-glass windows. There are no windows in the painter’s rooms for her to see the outside world.

She occasionally converses with her close friend, a writer (Cleopatra Boudreau) who appears on live video projected onto a sheet on the back wall. She is teaching her robot how to write a screenplay, and it’s not going well. “Do they want to feel? Or do they just want to make art because it’s the one thing they know they cannot do?” she asks, giving an example of the robot’s inability to grasp emotion.

The two humans yearn to be together again, especially when their talks are cut short and the prophetic words “Connection Lost” replace the video feed. Meanwhile, above the painter, piano lessons seem to be going much better as the sound of a lovely melody can be heard through the ceiling.

There is also a second robot, a voice (Yi Ming Sofyia Xue) that makes such pronouncements as “What do you have? When you look up at the stars, is there anyone watching out for you? Are you alone? It is time to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up.”

Soon, when the painter decides to fight back, she has to face her relationship with reality as the robot continues to interrogate her.

A painter (Emily Sullivan) is charged with teaching a robot (Andrew Moorhead) how to make high-quality art in play set in postapocalyptic future (photo by Danny Bristoll)

So far, artificial intelligence can only repurpose existing text and images, uploaded legally or illegally to its database, and cannot create unique art from scratch, like humans do. For example, when I entered the question “What is the play Loneliness Was a Pandemic,” this was part of the response I got from ChatGPT: “Loneliness Was a Pandemic is a play by Benjamin Benne, a playwright known for exploring themes of human connection, isolation, and the impact of societal forces on individuals. This play, like many contemporary works, touches on the emotional and psychological effects of loneliness in a world increasingly shaped by social media, technology, and, more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. . . . The specific plot details of Loneliness Was a Pandemic may vary depending on the production or interpretation, but the core themes revolve around the search for meaningful connections, the exploration of personal identity, and the toll that loneliness takes on mental and emotional well-being. It’s an evocative metaphor, reflecting how widespread and deeply rooted loneliness has become in modern life.”

Although aspects of that answer are correct, specific details are way off, and most of it is essentially word salad. Benjamin Benne is a real playwright who has written such works as Alma, In His Hands, and What / Washed Ashore / Astray, none of which deal with robots, AI, the pandemic, or a postapocalyptic future.

Haller’s play works much better when it is not focusing on art as a necessary part of life, where art provides a critical pathway to developing feelings, emotions, and identity, and instead zeroes in on the need for interpersonal relationships. The words “pandemic” and “virus” never appear, although the overall atmosphere evokes what so many of us experienced during the coronavirus crisis, stuck inside, contacting friends and loved ones only via screens. It was also a time bursting with artistic invention; even cooking took on new importance as a culinary art, something that is argued in the play.

“I miss you! Of course I miss you! I’m lonely all the time! But what am I supposed to do about it?” the painter says while the connection with the writer is lost yet again.

Director Alex Kopnick makes good use of Joyce He’s claustrophobic set, enhanced by Sarah Woods’s stark lighting, Mitch Toher’s immersive sound, and Bryan Eng’s music. The cast, in appropriate costumes by Sophie Taylor, is young and strong, bringing a yearning vibrancy to the proceedings. One can only hope that art will continue to be made by humans, not robotic machines, as their careers proceed.

To keep the conversation going, there will be talkbacks on November 11 with engineer and roboticist Glenn Gartner and robot-dog trainer Agnieszka Pilat, on November 13 with Hello SciCom founder and CEO Sarah Siskind, Deveaux Barron from togather.ai, mrgn.ai CEO Yoni Rubin, and costume designer and anti-AI-in-the-arts advocate Sophie Taylor, and on November 16 with Rubin, Zach Cascalho Cox of Google, and OpenAds.ai cofounder Steven Liss.

[According to ChatGPT, “Mark Rifkin is a writer, editor, and cultural commentator whose work spans a variety of topics including literature, arts, and contemporary culture. A regular contributor to This Week in New York, Rifkin brings a keen eye for detail and an insightful perspective on the latest happenings in New York City’s dynamic cultural scene. Whether reviewing theater productions, analyzing art exhibits, or offering thoughtful commentary on social trends, Rifkin’s writing is known for its engaging prose and depth of knowledge. He is passionate about exploring the intersections of history, identity, and creativity, and his work reflects a commitment to both critical analysis and celebration of the vibrant life of the city.” You can follow Mark Rifkin on Substack here.]

FRUITFUL JewCE! CONVENTION BACK FOR SECOND YEAR

JeCE! THE JEWISH COMIC EXPERIENCE CONVENTION
Center for Jewish History
15 West Sixteenth St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Sunday, November 10, $15-$25, 9:00 am – 8:00 pm
jewce.org
www.cjh.org

Jews played key roles in the development of the comic book industry in the United States, as artists, illustrators, editors, and publishers. In 2006-7, the Jewish Museum presented with the Newark Museum the outstanding exhibit “Masters of American Comics,” which explored the work of fourteen artists, several of whom were Jewish.

On November 10, the Center for Jewish History is hosting the second annual “JewCE! The Jewish Comic Experience Convention,” focusing on Jewish history, culture, and identity as depicted in comic books. There is a full slate of lectures, panel discussions, workshops, artist booths, and more, and awards (the jewcies!) will be handed out Sunday night in such categories as Jewish Tradition and Folklore, Diverse Representation, Historical Narrative, Autobiographical/Biographical Content, Contemporary Topics, and Combatting Prejudice, hosted by Roy Schwartz, Danny Fingeroth, Miriam Mora, and Fabrice Sapolsk. There will also be a special tribute to Trina Robbins, winner of the 2023 inaugural JewCE Award for Career Achievement who passed away in April at the age of eighty-five.

“In its second year, JewCE is more than just a superpowered celebration of Jewish comics and culture — it’s a beacon of resilience and unity,” Center for Jewish History president Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld said in a statement. “With the troubling rise in antisemitism, it’s never been more crucial to tell our stories. Comics have always been a medium for the underdog, and JewCEshowcases the triumph of Jewish creativity over adversity.”

The impressive roster of speakers, awards judges, and artist alley participants include Chari Pere, Josh Edelglass, Fabrice Sapolsky, Tony Kim, Amit Tishler, Dean Haspiel, Emily Bowen Cohen, Paul Levitz, Miriam Mora, Danny Fingeroth, Koren Shadmi, Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Ben and Max Berkowitz, Roy Schwartz, Neil Kleid, Barbara Willy Mendes, Mathew Klickstein, Barbara Slate, Athena Finger, Cheryl Rubin, Mike Reiss, Josh Neufeld, Terry LaBan, Chris Claremont, Arie Kaplan, Ari Richter, Uri Fink, Amy Hungerford, Sholly Fisch, Omri Rose, Dr. Sean Wise, Hilary Price, Peter Kuper, Jeff Newelt, Heidi MacDonald, Jenny Caplan, and Lillian Laserson.

Among the special events are “American (Jewish) Splendor: Celebrating Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner,” “Jewish Mythology and Fantasy in Adventure Comics,” “DC Comics in the 80s — A Magic Moment,” “Exploring Jewish Humor in Comics,” and “Israeli Graphic Novels After October 7.” Below is the full schedule.

The Best-Known Comedy Writer You’ve Never Heard Of, with Mike Reiss, moderated by Mathew Klickstein, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, 10:00

Drawing from Memory: From Archive to Graphic Novel, with Ari Richter, moderated by Amy Hungerford, Kovno-Shavl Room, 10:00

Jump into Drawing Comics!, with Josh Edelglass, Rennert Chapel, 10:00

American (Jewish) Splendor: Celebrating Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner, with Dean Haspiel, Josh Neufeld, Jeff Newel, Peter Kuper, and Arie Kaplan, moderated by Danny Fingeroth, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, 11:30

Jewish Mythology and Fantasy in Adventure Comics, with the Berkowitz Brothers and Amit Tishler, moderated by Neil Kleid, Kovno-Shavl Room, 11:30

Comic Strip Workshop, with Chari Pere, Rennert Chapel, 11:30

DC Comics in the 80s — A Magic Moment, with Cheryl Rubin, Lillian Laserson, and Barbara Slate, moderated by Paul Levitz, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, 1:00

Exploring Jewish Humor in Comics, with Arie Kaplan, Chari Pere, Hilary Price, Terry LaBan, and Uri Fink, moderated by Jenny Caplan, Kovno-Shavl Room, 1:00

Jewish Comics Trivia Game, with Sholly Fisch, Rennert Chapel, 1:00

Batman at 85, with Jordan B. Gorfinkel, Athena Finger, Danny Fingeroth, and N. C. Christopher Couch, moderated by Roy Schwartz, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, 2:30

Leadership and Legacy: Trina Robbins Tribute, with Barbara “Willy” Mendes, and Barbara Slate, moderated by Heidi MacDonald, Kovno-Shavl Room, 2:30

JewCE: The Jewish Comics Experience Documentary Special and Q&A, with Miriam Mora, Tony Kim, and Danny Fingeroth, Rennert Chapel, 3:00

An Xciting Conversation with Chris Claremont, moderated by Roy Schwartz, Leo and Julia Forchheimer Auditorium, 4:00

Israeli Graphic Novels After October 7, with Uri Fink, Koren Shadmi, and Omri Rose, moderated by Sean Wise, Kovno-Shavl Room, 4:00

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]

ALVIN AILEY: ON THE CUTTING EDGE

Carmen de Lavallade performs with Alvin Ailey at Jacob’s Pillow in 1961 (photo by John Lindquist)

EDGES OF AILEY
Whitney Museum of American Art
99 Gansevoort St.
Wednesday – Tuesday through February 9, $24-$30 (eighteen and under free; Friday nights and second Sundays free)
212-570-3600
whitney.org

“I’m trying to hold up a mirror to our society so they can see how beautiful they are, Black people, you know?” Alvin Ailey once said.

When I was in junior high, we were visited by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I had never seen anything like it, certainly not in my all-white class on Long Island. It opened my eyes to a world of possibilities, now highlighted at the end of every year when I go see AAADT in their annual season at City Center. I was even pulled onstage once by Ailey dancer Belén Pereyra to join her and others for an audience participation section of Ohad Naharin’s Minus 16.

The continuing legacy of Alvin Ailey himself and his company is celebrated in the exhilarating exhibition “Edges of Ailey,” on view at the Whitney through February 9. The dazzling multimedia show features painting, sculpture, drawings, photography, postcards and letters, video, notebooks, posters, and more, along with a multichannel loop of rare archival footage of the troupe’s remarkable history, circling around the top of the gallery in an awe-inspiring video installation. The artworks are divided into such categories as “Blackness in Dance,” “Black Spirituality,” “Black Liberation,” “Ailey’s Collaborators/Nightlife,” and “After Ailey,” arranged in sections that encourage fluid but random movement; you can wander through at your own pace, following your own path.

The exhibit is supplemented by several vitrines filled with wonderful ephemera, from family photos, programs, and research notes to epistolary exchanges with Dudley Williams, Langston Hughes, and Ailey’s mother, Lula Cooper. The notebooks are utterly fascinating, with exciting and revealing notations, early drafts, intricately detailed schedules, and such quotes as “One must discover what the music is about + visualize it if possible.” and “Very important: The choreographer as storyteller / story inventor.”

Exhibit includes notebooks filled with intimate and intricate details of Alvin Ailey’s life and career (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

A handful of the pieces were created specifically for the show, while others date back to the 1860s. Among the artists represented are Carrie Mae Weems, Jacob Lawrence, Lorna Simpson, James Van Der Zee, Alma Thomas, Kevin Beasley, Elizabeth Catlett, Jean-Michel Basquiat, David Driskell, Purvis Young, Horace Pippin, Theaster Gates, and Lyle Ashton Harris. A poem by Nikki Giovanni, “Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea (We’re Going to Mars),” hangs on a long, narrow vertical panel. Three stark 1970 woodcuts by Aaron Douglas are titled Bravado, Flight, and Surrender.

In the center of the space is a daring untitled sculpture by David Hammons made of human hair, wire, metallic mylar, a sledge hammer, plastic beads, string, a metal food tin, panty hose, leather, tea bags, and feathers. Faith Ringgold’s United States of Attica map is in the red, black, and green colors of the Pan-African flag. One of the most poignant sections is “Black Women,” a gathering of such works as Emma Amos’s 1985 Judith Jamison as Josephine Baker, Elizabeth Catlett’s 1947 I Am the Negro Woman, Beauford Delaney’s 1965 Marian Anderson, Geoffrey Holder’s 1976 Portrait of Carmen de Lavallade, Kara Walker’s 1998 African/American, Mickalene Thomas’s 2024 Katherine Dunham: Revelation, and Karon Davis’s 2024 Dear Mama, paying tribute to Black women artists and performers — and, particularly, longtime Ailey dancer and artistic director Judith Jamison, on whom Ailey choreographed the 1971 solo Cry, a birthday present for his mother that he dedicated “to all Black women everywhere — especially our mothers.”

Ailey collaborator Romare Bearden’s “Bayou Fever” series is a colorful depiction of joy and movement. Choreographer and visual artist Ralph Lemon’s Untitled (On Black Music) consists of forty-one ink and watercolor on paper drawings, leaving one slot empty at the lower right. Video stations show performances by Jack Cole, the Katherine Dunham Company, Martha Graham, Duke Ellington, Lester Horton, Pearl Primus, and Ailey himself, including in the three-minute black-and-white A Study in Choreography for Camera, directed by Maya Deren and Talley Beatty.

Ailey was born in Texas in 1931 and died from an AIDS-related illness in New York City in 1989, at the age of fifty-four. He left behind a thrilling legacy of movement and music honoring the African American experience and supporting civil rights and social justice. It’s evident not only in the exhibition itself but in the accompanying program of live performances, which has already featured Ronald K. Brown and Matthew Rushing and continues November 7-9 with Yusha-Marie Sorzano’s This World Anew, November 16 with Bill T. Jones’s Memory Piece: Mr. Ailey, Alvin… the un-Ailey?, December 13-15 with Will Rawls’s Parable of the Guest, January 17-19 with Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Solo Voyages, January 24-26 with Excerpts from New Works, February 6-8 with Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born’s let slip, hold sway, and Ailey II: Harmonic Echo November 20-24, December 21-22, and January 22-26.

Hope Boykin’s Finding Free makes its debut at Ailey season at City Center (photo by Paul Kolnik)

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
New York City Center
131 West 55th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
December 4 – January 5, $42-$172
www.alvinailey.org
www.nycitycenter.org

Before or after visiting “Edges of Ailey,” you must see the real thing, taking in a a show or two at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s five-week season, its sixty-sixth, at New York City Center, running December 4 through January 5. As always, it’s a combination of world and company premieres, classic favorites by Ailey and other choreographers, and presentations with live music; many programs conclude with the AAADT’s masterpiece, the thirty-six-minute multipart Revelations.

“This season we celebrate the lineage and legacy of Mr. Ailey, highlighting his acclaimed works as well as new ballets by choreographers for whom he paved the way,” interim artistic director Matthew Rushing said in a statement. “As I look at the repertory for our season, I am reminded that dance is both a reflection of our past and a guide to our future. We are excited to welcome audiences this holiday season to be inspired by Ailey’s extraordinary artistry and rich story, as it continues to be written.”

“All New” evenings feature former Ailey dancer Jamar Roberts’s Al-Andalus Blues, set to music by Roberta Flack and Miles Davis; former company member Hope Boykin’s Finding Free, with an original jazz and gospel score by pianist Matthew Whitaker that he will perform live at several shows; Lar Lubovitch’s Ailey debut, Many Angels, which explores St. Thomas Aquinas’s question “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?,” set to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5; and Rushing’s Sacred Songs, built around music from the original 1960 version of Revelations that was eventually edited out because of length.

There will also be new productions of Elisa Monte’s twelve-minute duet, Treading, and Ronald K. Brown’s spectacular Grace, which premiered at City Center twenty-five years ago. The opening night gala honors dance educator Jody Gottfried Arnhold with presentations of Grace with Leslie Odom Jr. and Revelations with a live choir.

Other highlights are Dancing Spirit, Brown’s tribute to Jamison; Roberts’s 2019 Ode; Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish’s Me, Myself and You; Amy Hall Garner’s CENTURY; Hans van Manen’s Solo; Alonzo King’s Following the Subtle Current Upstream; and Kyle Abraham’s Are You in Your Feelings? Among the Ailey classics on the schedule are Memoria, A Song for You, Cry, and Night Creature. Saturday matinees are followed by Q&As with the dancers, which this year welcome newcomers Leonardo Brito, Jesse Obremski, Kali Marie Oliver, and Dandara Veiga and the return of Jessica Amber Pinkett; closing night will celebrate what would have been Alvin Ailey’s ninety-third birthday.

And to keep your Ailey fix rolling, you can stream the eight-part Ailey PBS documentary Portrait of Ailey here.

[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer and editor; you can follow him on Substack here.]