York'd!

Theater: New Shows

Aaron Grunfeld — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:21:09 GMT

The first week of November, 2009, will be remembered by theater fans as the week that a Neil Simon play "bombed". It's ludicrous, really: a good show gets positive reviews and glowing word-of-mouth, but because the economy stinks, the show's producers call it a fiasco. Well, if you missed "Brighton Beach Memoirs"—and you probably did, and you missed out—you should check out "The Orphan's Home Cycle" instead. This three-play cycle at the Signature has a similar sense of hard-edged nostalgia, and it's our Pick of the Week.

The Age of Iron
Where: Classic Stage Company
First night: Wednesday, Nov. 4
Opening night: Sunday, Nov. 22
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: ClassicStage.org
For heavy-metal fans of Shakespearean theater, CSC mashes up the bard's classic "Troilus and Cressida" with his minor rival's "Iron Age" for a blank verse look at the Seige of Troy. Cynical and mordant (Helen of Troy is basically a slut), this revision of classic myth is only $10 thru Nov. 22!

Dreamgirls
Where: The Apollo Theater
First night: Saturday, Nov. 7
Opening night: Sunday, Nov. 22
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 6
URL: DreamgirlsOnstage.com
This rags-to-riches tale of a Supremes-like girl group will be going on tour following its debut at the Apollo. It's a revival of the classic 1981 musical, meant to capitalize on the screen version from a few years back. So why not rent that? New choreography by Shane Spencer, of "So You Think You Can Dance".

Loaded
Where: Theater Row
First night: Saturday, Nov. 7
Opening night: Sunday, Nov. 15
Closing night: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010
URL: LoadedThePlay.com
The differences in life experience may be too wide for a 47-year-old intellectual and a sharp-witted 24-year-old bartender to keep their relationship afloat. It's billed as a serious look at sex, which hopefully means it's candid about love and sex, and not just graphically explicit (though it's got that too!).

The Orphan's Home Cycle
Where: Signature Theater
First night: Thursday, Nov. 5
Closing night: Sunday, Mar. 28
URL: SignatureTheatre.org
Signature's MO is to devote an entire season to one playwright. This season, they've selected Horton Foote, a crusty writer who wrote the screenplay for "To Kill A Mockingbird", and has a warm realism that takes honest measure of life's darker moments. "The Orphan's Home Cycle" is actually a trilogy set in a Texas town during the first half of the last century. You can see all three in one weekend day, or catch each show on separate nights.

Quartett
Where: BAM Harvey
First night: Wednesday, Nov. 4
closing night: Saturday, Nov. 14
URL: BAM.org
It's an adaptation of "Dangerous Liaisons", but don't plan on a straight-up mounting of French bosoms (even if Isabelle Huppert Heiner Muller does star). It's filtered through the brutal lens of German experimentalist , and distilled through the style of director Robert Wilson, a titan of abstract performance. That's 105 wonky minutes, no intermission.

Red Sea Fish
Where: 59e59
First night: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Opening night: Sunday, Nov. 8
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: 59e59.com
Part of 59e59's essential Brits Off Broadway festival, which lets New Yorkers check out London's small and funky shows (you mean it's not all Stoppard and Shakespeare?). "Red Sea Fish" peeks into the life of a retired criminal who comes back to life when his son brings a girl home.

This
Where: Playwrights Horizons
First night: Friday, Nov. 7
Opening night: Wednesday, Dec. 2
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: PlaywrightsHorizons.org
Playwright Melissa James Gibson made a stupendous debut in 2001 with "[sic]", but her work's been onstage with disappointing infrequency since. Playwrights Horizons offers the opportunity to see what Gibson's been up to, with this "un-romantic" comedy about a forty-something single mother.

Last chance!
Glue Trap
Where: Axis Theater
URL: AxisCompany.org

Good Bobby
Where: 59e59
URL: 59e59.org

Inside the 12th annual Chocolate Show

Jessica Pascoe — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:03:27 GMT

Trick or treat! Halloween happened early this morning at the opening of The Chocolate Show. Press and trade were treated to a mini-fashion show of Halloween-inspired chocolate costumes (a dead Marie-Antoinette! A wicked witch!) and, of course, a ton of chocolate, from bite-size samples to chocolate drinks and chocolate beauty products at the new Beauty Pavilion.

In its 12th year, the Chocolate Show brings vendors from around the world where they showcase their sweets to the public (tickets are $28). This year, the show returned to the Metropolitian Pavilion, but it had a decidely more low-key vibe than blow-outs from seasons past. Has the recession has hit the sweetest of industries?

The Chocolate Show runs from October 30 to November 1.

Theater: New Shows (October 26)

Aaron Grunfeld — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:25:01 GMT

Personally, after weeks of seeing straight-up, well-made drama, I'm thrilled that this week features a ton of the weird, the risky, and the avant-garde! Out in Brooklyn, St. Ann's Warehouse plays host to Irish madman Enda Walsh and his "New Electric Ballroom" (what a great title!). Here in Manhattan, the Ohio Theater offers a visionary medieval drama, "Creature". And the more traditionally-minded can still enjoy "Or", a tempting period adventure.

But my Pick of the Week this Halloween is a bit of a trick as well as a treat: "Idiot Savant" at the Public. It stars Willem Dafoe, returning to his roots in a downtown experimental theater. He's working with Richard Foreman, whose shows seem designed specifically to bruise your brain. Expect bafflement and confusion, and explore the true edge of New York theater!

Antigone
Where: Dance Theater Workshop
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 1
URL: SITI.org
This week only! Anne Bogart's SITI Company is one of those avant-garde companies who earn the moniker "cool": they're more cerebral than emotional, and leave some viewers cold. This dance adaptation of Sophocles' classic tells the myth of Oedipus' daughter, whose principled stand against authority has inspired dissidents and revolutionaries for millennia.

Creature
Where: The Ohio Theater
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 2
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 21
URL: P73.org
The multi-talented Heidi Schreck doesn't just break hearts in "Circle Mirror Transformation" (at Playwrights Horizons - see it!), she also authors "Creature" for P73. This show sounds intense: a medieval Englishwoman struggles with demonic visions before a visitation from JC Himself. The talented cast receives its direction from Leigh Silverman, one of Off-B'way's go-to directors for visionary subjects.

Idiot Savant
Where: The Public Theater
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Opening night: Wednesday, Nov. 4
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: PublicTheater.org
Because "Idiot Savant" stars Willem Dafoe ("Spider-Man"), we'd love to recommend this show to everyone. But he's working with Richard Foreman, the godfather of Gotham's experimental theater, who's not for everyone-unless you're looking to get your mind blown by an acid trip of theatrical weirdness. Seriously: someone plays a round of golf with a giant duck in this show.

The Late Christopher Bean
Where: Theatre Row
First night: Sunday, Nov. 1
Opening night: Wednesday, Nov. 11
Closing night: Saturday, Dec. 5
URL: TactNYC.org
The Actors' Company Theater (or TACT) revives a zippy comic drama from the 1930s. If you know the name of playwright Sidney Howard, it's probably for his Oscar-winning script for "Gone with the Wind". His "Christopher Bean" mines mistaken identity, art forgery, and legal shennanigans for a sardonic look at small-town America.

The Long Count
Where: BAM Harvey Theater
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: BAM.org
This week only! "The Long Count" isn't *quite* theater, but it's some sort of awesome performance, so it deserves our attention. Bryce and Aaron Dessner of the National (the rock band) collaborate with visionary artist Matthew Ritchie to create a "song-filled myth about the beginning of time." Not tempted yet? Vocalists include Kim and Kelly Deal (of the Breeders)!

The Misunderstanding
Where: The Flea Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 29
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 2
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: TheFlea.org
Albert Camus, unlike most philosophers, had a bit of talent when he turned to fiction. And the Flea Theater has a strong track record for making heady drama accessible and humane. Just don't see "The Misunderstanding" expecting a laugh riot: existentialism isn't the happiest of outlooks.

The New Electric Ballroom
Where: St. Ann's Warehouse
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 27
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: StAnnsWarehouse.org
Enda Walsh is one of Ireland's most radical and thrilling new voices: he works in that same wordsmithy that James Joyce forged, but Walsh also has the poet Yeats' sense of theater as a primal, Celtic ritual. If you missed "The Walworth Farce" at St. Ann's in spring '08 (like I did, shamefully), or if you want to hear some of the most vital new work from the Emerald Isle, you'll want to check this show out!

OR,
Where: Julia Miles Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 29
Opening night: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: WomensProject.org
Aphra Behn wasn't just the first female playwright in Britain, she was also... a spy! Set in the late 1600s, this period thriller involves theater, espionage, and free love-a few of my favorite things. It also stars Maggie Siff, whose rep is rising after her awesome turn as Rachel Menken in "Mad Men". She's got stage chops too, so this sounds like a show worth checking out!

Last chance!
A BOY AND HIS SOUL
Where: Vineyard Theater
URL: VineyardTheatre.org

GHOST LIGHT
Where: 59E59
URL: 59e59.org

INVENTING AVI
Where: Abingdon Theatre
URL: AbingdonTheatre.org

KEEP YOUR PANTHEON/SCHOOL
Where: Atlantic Theater
URL: AtlanticTheater.org

MIDDLEMEN
Where: Soho Rep
URL: MiddlemenThePlay.org

THE NIGHT WATCHER
Where: 59E59
URL: PrimaryStages.org

STILL LIFE
Where: Lucille Lortel Theater
URL: MCCTheater.org

THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW: COMMENCEMENT
Where: Under St. Marks
URL: PumpkinPieShow.com

STYLE: Inside Betsey Johnson's sample sale

Jessica Pascoe — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:12:21 GMT

Calling all brides to be! The Betsey Johnson sample sale kicked off this morning with a special surprise: discounted wedding gowns ($800)! Aside from the frilly frocks of white, the sale had tons of day dresses ($50), cocktail gowns ($75), playful baubles, plus a seeminly never-ending selection of purses and plastic cosmetic bags (hello, holiday gifts!) and a shoe selection ($50) with decent size ranges. Held at the Millenium Broadway Hotel, the sale wasn't your stereotypical chaotic sample sale with the orderly racks and tables making for a calming bargain hunt (well, aside from the shopgirl who kept on yelling, "here comes the bride!").

Theater: New Shows

Aaron Grunfeld — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:00:26 GMT

It's a strong week for theater, with three shows opening on Broadway alone—all of which sound interesting. One of them makes me feel especially old: a revival of "Ragtime", which debuted on Broadway the same year I moved to NYC to cover theater! (That was only in 1998, if you're keeping track.)

With so many choices, it's hard to make a Pick of the Week. Let's give the laurel to "In the Next Room", a Broadway drama by Sarah Ruhl.

Americana Kamikaze
Where: PS 122
First night: Saturday, Oct. 24
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 14
URL: TemporaryDistortion.com
J-horror meets avant-garde technodrama to strike fear into your heart! Temporary Distortion explores the twilight zone between madness and sanity, dream and reality, time and space, and East and West by using cutting-edge technology to create the ghosts and doppelgangers of nightmare.

The Brother/Sister Plays
Where: The Public Theater
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 21
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: PublicTheater.org
Like everyone else in American theater, I love these powerful, elemental dramas by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Metromix offered a rave review of "The Brothers Size" last season; now you can catch up on that and McCraney's two related plays (based on African myths) about sibling rivalry in a small Southern town.

Embraceable Me!
Where: Theater Row
First night: Friday, Oct. 23
Opening night: Wednesday, Oct. 28
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 14
URL: RachelReiner.com
There's not much available on this Off-Broadway romantic comedy. It's a two-hander, a "he said/she said" type of play about a quirky, vulnerable duo who take the slow, careful route from friendship to love.

Fela!
Where: Eugene O'Neill Theater (B'way)
First night: Monday, Oct. 19
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 23
URL: FelaOnBroadway.com
This musical thrilled audiences Off-Broadway last season, and it's not hard to see why. Fela Kuti was a guru of Afrobeat, a 1970s fusion of jazz, funk, chant, and polyrhythm—but he was also an outspoken supporter of African rights, social justice, and economic equality. This combo of music and politics is explosive thrill!

In The Next Room, or The Vibrator Play
Where: Lyceum Theater (B'way)
First night: Thursday, Oct. 22
Opening night: Friday, Nov. 18
URL: LCT.org
Sarah Ruhl is the darling of modern theater, a rare playwright whose so popular (with the in-crowd, at least) that she can write a Broadway play! "In the Next Room" is a period piece about the invention of the titular instrument-used in the 19th c. to "relieve hysterical women" of their tension.

Love Child
Where: New World Stages
First night: Friday, Oct. 23
Opening night: Saturday, Oct. 31
Closing night: Sunday, Jan. 3
URL: NewWorldStages.com
This pocket-drama about a play's disastrous opening night tickled audiences enough last fall for a return engagement. Two actors take every role in the play-within-a-play as well as several audience members. Part of the fun is watching the quick changes pile up as the chaos builds!

Made in Heaven
Where: Soho Playhouse
First night: Thursday, Oct. 22
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 2
URL: MadeInHeavenTheComedy.com
A "romantic" comedy about a set of conjoined twins who don't share everything-complications ensue when one comes out of the closet. With its high-concept set-up and quicky tone, the emphasis seems to be on snark and shock, not sincere emotions. But that doesn't mean it's not funny!

The Passion Project
Where: 3LD Art and Technology Center
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 20
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 24
URL: 3LDNYC.org
3LD is one of my favorite places for serious modern performance art, and this short revival sounds especially strong. A revival of a hipster hit last season, "Passion" is an experimental technodrama that expands the silent film masterpiece about Joan of Arc into a 3D experience. It's 21st-century magic.

Ragtime
Where: Neil Simon Theater (B'way)
First night: Friday, Oct. 23
Opening night: Sunday, Nov. 15
URL: RagtimeBroadway.com
A surprise upset in '98 had "Ragtime" lose the Best Musical Tony to "Lion King". Adapted from EL Doctorow's masterful novel, the musical shows the tumult of NYC in the first decade of the 20th century: historical figures rub shoulders with representatives from the Yiddish, black, and WASP neighborhoods.

The Starry Messanger
Where: Theater Row
First night: Saturday, Oct. 24
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 16
Closing night: Saturday, Dec. 12
URL: TheNewGroup.org
Playwright Kenneth Lonergan returns to NYC theater to work with childhood chum Matthew Broderick. This play-about a nebbish working at the old Hayden Planetarium and debating an affair with a single mother-has kicked from company to company over the last few seasons, but word is it's ready for its debut.

What Once We Felt
Where: The Duke on 42nd Street
First night: Monday, Oct. 26
Opening night: Monday, Nov. 9
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 22
URL: LCT3.org
I'm an unabashed fan of plays set in the future, so I'm looking forward to "What Once We Felt", a thoughtful drama about the last book to be published on paper. Ann Marie Healy, the playwright, is a talented, intelligent writer herself, so I expect some smart observations about modern culture.

Last chance!
The Cambria/Frederick Douglass Now!
Where: Irish Arts Center
URL: IrishArtsCenter.org

The Columbrine Project
Where: Actors Temple Theater
URL: TheColumbineProject.com

The Provenance of Beauty
URL: TheFoundryTheater.org

On the sale trail

Jessica Pascoe — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:19:24 GMT

Betsey Johnson sample sale
The queen of flirty frocks, Betsey Johnson, is throwing a summer sample sale. Scoop up evening dresses for $75, day dresses for $50 and sportswear pieces for only $30. (Wednesday, October 21 to Friday, October 23) UPDATE: Calling all brides to be! We swung by the sale Wednesday morning to find a special surprise: discounted wedding gowns ($800)! Aside from the frilly frocks of white, the sale has tons of day dresses, cocktail gowns, playful baubles, plus a seeminly never-ending selection of purses and plastic cosmetic bags (hello, holiday gifts!) and a shoe selection ($50) with decent size ranges.

Temperley London Fall Fashion Event
Fall into the season with Temperley London's autumn sale. Bargain hunters will find 20 percent off all new collection items , plus the chance to have their lipstick fortunes told Wednesday night between 6:30-8:30 pm.

Jonathan Adler-Calypso warehouse sale
In need of inexpensive but eclectic furniture and knick-knacks? Look no further than the Jonathan Adler-Calypso warehouse sale , where you'll save up to 75 percent on house accessories, apparel, chairs, sofas and rugs from the stylish universe of Jonathan Adler and Calypso St. Barth. (Thursday, October 22 to Saturday, October 24)

Triple Five Soul sample sale
As the mercury finally drops, snap up the comfy “urban gear” of Triple Five Soul at their 11-day long sample sale. Expect significant reduced prices on not only their classic hoodies, but also women's cotton twill jackets (now $50), and men's nylon puffer jackets (now $120). (Thursday, October 15-Sunday, October 25)

Escada sample sale
Look red-carpet ready every day by shopping at Escada's three-day sample sale, where everything from their chic gowns to shoes will be up to 75 percent off. (Friday, October 16 to Sunday, October 18)

Soon to open:

Limelight Marketplace
Already a site for chainstore eyes, Chelsea's Sixth Avenue will add a new mall to its retail row with the opening of Limelight Marketplace. But this will not be your usual chain store mall. Shoppers can expect venues inside to have a decidely artisan twist, from the Cupcake Stop to 92nd Street Eyewear.

Greenlight Bookstore
Fulton Street's retail renaissance continues with the soon-to-open Greenlight Bookstore. A labor of love for owner Jessica Stockton Bagnulo—who received a grant two years ago to open the shop—Greenlight Bookstore already has one famous fan: according to Racked, Jonathan Lethem already has requested a reading for his new book, "Chronic City."

Theater: New Shows (October 12)

Aaron Grunfeld — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:46:25 GMT

Theater fans only have three shows opening this week, a short lull in an otherwise busy season. Lynn Redgrave, always classy, offers up a monologue at the redoubtable MTC; and there's a thriller at 59 East 59 to put you in the Halloween mood. But our Pick of the Week is "The Pumpkin Pie Show", a sensational long-running series whose sole performer, Hanna Cheek, is an astonishingly subtle and energizing rising star of Off-Broadway!

Ghost Light
Where: 59E59
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 14
Opening night: Sunday, Oct. 18
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: 59e59.org
Just in time for Halloween, a chilling drama about a couple who sneak away for an afternoon tryst. But when hotel security informs them of their room's history, the couple discover there's a grain of truth behind an urban legend. Cat-and-mouse games ensue!

Nightingale
Where: City Center Stage 1
First night: Thursday, Oct. 15
Opening night: Tuesday, Nov. 3
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: ManhattanTheatreClub.com
Lynn Redgrave troopers through health problems to present this moving portrait of her maternal grandmother. Redgrave's force of personality and acting chops turn what could be a standard monologue into a resoundingly emotional and artistic homage to a woman forgotten by everyone except her family.

The Pumpkin Pie Show: Commencement
Where: Under St. Marks
First night: Thursday, Oct. 15
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: PumpkinPieShow.com
If you're want to see what's percolating in underground theater, check out this cult series in an East Village basement theater. Talented indie actress Hanna Cheek throws herself bodily into every performance of the Pumpkin Pie Show. This installment: three women react to a school shooting.

Last chance!
Aftermath
Where: New York Theater Workshop
URL: NYTW.org

Burn the Floor
Where: Longacre Theater (B'way)
URL: BurnTheFloor.com

A Disaster Begins
Where: Here Arts Center
URL: Here.org

Eye of God
Where: Theater Row
URL: TheaterEast.org

Is Life Worth Living?
Where: Mint Theater
URL: MintTheater.org

Killers and Other Family
Where: Rattlestick Playwrights Company
URL: Rattlestick.org

Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven
Where: Signature Theater
URL: EpicTheatreEnsemble.org

Underground
Where: Theater Row
URL: TheClockworkTheatre.org

RESTAURANTS: Battle of the pink cupcakes!

Alexis Loinaz — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:51:33 GMT

It's a pink-cupcake throwdown! In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, both Crumbs and Magnolia Bakery are trotting out girly-colored sweet bombs throughout October. Not that pink makes things any sweeter, but hey, at least each bite goes toward a good cause. Magnolia will be supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation with its custom-designed pink-ribbon cupcakes, while Crumbs will be donating $1 for every cupcake puchased to the National Breast Cancer Coalition Fund. (Crumbs' special cupcakes will be available through Oct. 15).

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Catherine Breillat's fierce fairy tale

Karen Wilson — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:21:37 GMT

"Bluebeard" screening Oct. 11 at the New York Film Festival. For more information visit filmlinc.org.

A child bride, a wealthy serial killer and a creepy mansion on the hill—it sounds like the premise of a suspenseful modern thriller. But it's actually the premise of provocative French director Catherine Breillat's newest movie to screen at the New York Film Festival, "Bluebeard." Breillat retells the classic fairytale of a curious young wife and the secrets her husband keeps behind closed doors with her signature female-centric film making. While "Bluebeard" is not any where near as sexually explicit as some of Breillat's previous movies such as "Romance" or "The Last Mistress" (which played at NYFF in 2007), her sexual politics and her rival siblings are as incendiary as usual.

Breillat adapts the Bluebeard story in two parts: one pair of sisters in modern day explore an attic storage room and read aloud the fairy tale, while another pair of sisters act out the scenes in the 16th century. In both duos it's the youngest who is the most precocious, egging on her older sister with taunts and competition. In the 16th century, the two girls have been left penniless after their father is killed in an accident. A nearby wealthy landowner invites them to his estate and offers to marry one to save the family from penury. Even though the sisters have heard the tales of Bluebeard's missing wives, the youngest decides to take him up on his offer. However, no relationship with a man whose beard has an otherworldly blue hue is going to end happily ever after. But you knew that already.

Just as in her 2001 movie "Fat Girl," Breillat has cast some phenomenal young actresses. Self-possessed and yet sweetly innocent, all four performances are surprisingly naturalistic and even funny. It's a surprise in such a stylized fairy tale story. Another signature Breillat touch is her use of stunning costumes and set dressing, and "Bluebeard"'s decor doesn't disappoint. The director told the audience at a press conference for "The Last Mistress" two years ago that despite her physical limitations (she suffered from a stroke in 2004), she insisted upon purchasing many of the period props and materials herself. That attention to visual detail is all over "Bluebeard" as well, from the lush costumes to the ornate place-settings at Bluebeard's dinner table. Even when Bluebeard brandishes a curved knife, threatening to chop off his disobedient wife's head, I couldn't help but marvel at what an amazing looking sword Breillat had found. If you're going to nearly loose your life to your maniac husband, at least it's with his fanciest sabre.

New shows!

Aaron Grunfeld — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:49:23 GMT

We're smack in the middle of that wonderful period when more shows are starting up than are closing out. With extravaganzas like the kid-friendly "Finian's" Rainbow" makes its return to Broadway, and revivals (like the Irish Repertory's thrilling cast in "The Emperor Jones"), it'd be easy to miss small dramas like the timely "middlemen", a piece of snark that takes aim at the corporate drones who helped collapse the world economy. Still, our Pick of the Week is "The Understudy", whose smart writer and hilarious actress are a guarantee of backstage hilarity.

Avenue Q
Where: New World Stages
First night: Friday, Oct. 9
opening night: Wednesday, Oct. 21
URL: AvenueQ.com
This hilarious, profane, puppet musical makes its unprecedented move from Broadway to Off-Broadway. If you haven't caught its clever post-college parody of Sesame Street—with advice about casual sex, race, and renting in modern NYC—you should go now, since its move gives it a revitalized energy!

A Disaster Begins
Where: Here Arts Center
First night: Friday, Oct. 9
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 17
URL: Here.org
A harrowing piece about a hurricane that devastated Galveston TX over a century ago. The parallels with 2005 New Orleans are obvious, of course. But trust the gifted Veanne Cox and local writer/director Ain Gordon to bring to life the particular story of a woman who finds love and art in the midst of catastrophe.

The Emperor Jones
Where: Irish Repertory Theater
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 7
opening night: Sunday, Oct. 18
closing night: Sunday, Nov. 29
URL: IrishRep.org
John Douglas Thompson won several acting awards for his Othello last season; now he conquers another classic tragic role in Eugene O'Neill's "Emperor Jones". His titanic presence should lend force to the tricky role of a train conductor-turned-dictator who experiences a night of primal terror.

Finian's Rainbow
Where: St. James Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 8
Opening night: Thursday, Oct. 29
URL: FiniansOnBroadway.com
We're a little surprised to see this kid-friendly musical from Broadway's Golden Age make its return after a 40-year absence. Maybe we've sold it short: it's got tunes by Yip Harburg ("The Wizard of Oz"), a whimsical love affair, a leprechaun, an observation or two about bigotry, and even a credit crisis.

Glue Trap
Where: Axis Theater
First night: Thursday, Oct. 8
Opening night: Saturday, Oct. 10
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 7
URL: AxisCompany.org
A Latina actress offers her perspective on the Big Apple by comparing it to a glue trap: the more you struggle, the longer you stay. She trades a successful career in Brazil for the chance to act in New York, but finds that her dayjob cleaning apartments allows an indiscrete peek into the lives of locals.

Good Bobby
Where: 59e59
First night: Thursday, Oct. 8
Opening night: Wednesday, Oct. 14
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 8
URL: 59e59.org
Almost fifty years later, it's astonishing to hear how honest, idealistic, and inspiring Robert Kennedy truly was. If you're feeling disillusioned by politicians—and who isn't, these days?—or if you simply like a good biography, you should check out this one-man show about one of America's great leaders.

The Lady With All the Answers
Where: Cherry Lane Theater
First night: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Opening night: Wednesday, Oct. 14
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 29
URL: CherryLaneTheatre.org
Who doesn't like to give advice? Fans of unvarnished honesty will want to check out this zesty monologue drawn from the life and letters of the witty Ann Landers. It's been immensely popular across the country, and it finally arrives in Gotham starring two-time Tony winner Judith Ivey.

middlemen
Where: Walkerspace
First night: Friday, Oct. 9
Opening night: Saturday, Oct. 10
Closing night: Friday, Oct. 30
URL: MiddlemenThePlay.org
This comic parable for our times about two midlevel drones who may be the last men left in the building, who may have destroyed the economy of a small country, and who now must face the consequences of just following orders. It comes with good buzz, and it's free with proof of unemployment!

Such Things Happen Only in Books
Where: Theatre Row
First night: Tuesday, Oct. 6
Closing night: Saturday, Nov. 14
URL: KeenCompany.org
Thornton Wilder is having a renaissance decades after his height, with the Off-B'way "Our Town" approaching its anniversary and a surprising 2004 production of "Pullman Car Hiawatha" showing off his minor work. The producers of "Pullman", the classy Keen Company, now offer a bill of Wilder one-acts.

The Understudy
Where: Laura Pels Theater
First night: Friday, Oct. 9
Opening night: Thursday, Nov. 5
Closing night: Sunday, Jan. 3
URL: RoundaboutTheatre.org
A backstage comedy about the most thankless role in every play: the understudy. This show reteams the wicked writing of Theresa Rebeck with the razor-sharp timing of comedienne Julie White. They're two of the best craftswomen in NYC theater, the closest that comedy comes to guaranteeing a fun evening.

Last chance!
THE COLUMBINE PROJECT
Where: Actors Temple Theater
URL: TheColumbineProject.com

IN THE DAYLIGHT
Where: McGinn-Cazale Theatre
URL: VitalTheatre.org

LUCK
Where: 59E59
URL: 59e59.org

THE PIED PIPERS OF THE LOWER EAST SIDE
Where: Theatre 80
URL: TheAmoralists.com

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Todd Solondz, and the ugly beauty of suburbia

Jim Snyder — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:37:33 GMT

"Life During Wartime,” screening Oct. 10-11 at the New York Film Festival. For more information visit http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/program.html.

If American prosperity could be equated with a mighty Redwood, then Todd Solondz has made a career out of digging up the dirt to expose the rotten roots underneath. From “Happiness” to “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” Solondz has explored the fears, prejudices, insecurities and shallowness of middle class suburban America, creating caricatures within satires who are often both hilarious and loathsome. The New York Film Festival – always a fan of Solondz – is playing host to his latest work, “Life During Wartime,” a sequel of sorts to “Happiness” but employing an entirely new cast of actors, who gives the story a dynamically different look and feel.

For anyone who’s seen “Happiness,” this altered texture is jarring, as new faces swap in, to embody old personalities. It’s a casting trick that Solondz has used before, in “Palindromes,” when he cast eight different actresses to play the part of a single female character. In that movie, the function behind his form was clear: Our inner character is not an issue of nature or nurture. Things are the way they are; nothing changes.

And so it is in “Life During Wartime,” as we witness suburban life at its most confused and uncomfortable. The story is based around three sisters: One woman who claims that her husband – a pedophile – is dead, another who has yet to learn that her husband has returned to his perverted ways, and a third who has all but lost her mind at the destruction of her family. In all three storylines, we see the social pressures bearing down on everyday people in “atypical” situations, the way men and women turn on each other, on their siblings, as well as on themselves in a bid to be “normal.”

There is some serious critical disagreement when it comes to Solondz’s many bleak visions. After the press screening I attended, numerous critics decried the director for looking down on characters that he often reduces to unlikable stereotypes. But I think that in his uniform approach, eschewing everyone in his fables equally, he is trying to show that there is no baseline. There is no normal. This is world comprised of people with flaws and differences, operating at one extreme or another, not easily compartmentalized into a singular mainstream. Everyone is flawed, and I see Solondz’s films less as acts of mocking his antiheroes than as fond embraces of people who feel guilty for not quite fitting in. Yes, they are funny in their dysfunctions, but that laughter is not ridicule. It’s fondness.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Haneke's pitch-black 'White Ribbon'

Jim Snyder — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:04:55 GMT

"The White Ribbon," screening Oct. 7-8 at the New York Film Festival. For more information visit www.filmlinc.com/nyff/program.html.

Unsettling things occur in “The White Ribbon,” the latest tense opus from French provocateur Michael Haneke – the man behind the voyeuristic thriller “Cache” and the bloody “The Piano Teacher.” But what’s most disturbing about his latest film is how little, in fact, happens. The film is a long steady build up to an eruption that never occurs, and as the final image of a singing congregation slowly fades to a black silence, it’s the silence that may stand as the most horrifying moment of Haneke’s canon. We await something explosive, but instead are privy to something far more insidious, and subtle. At least that’s my opinion – as well as that of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival, which chose “The White Ribbon” as this year’s top entry.

The story begins conventionally enough, set in a utopian village in rural Germany, daily life revolving around the church and the land baron, who employs most of the residents. It seems like a simple and pleasant life, until we start to see the glimmers of heinous behavior churning away just out of sight, behind closed doors. A mother dies on the baron’s estate, and the family retaliates, ruining his crops. Two children are late for dinner and they are whipped by their father – the priest, who later will also distinguish himself by tying a teenage son to his bed so that he cannot masturbate. A midwife cares for a man’s children when he has to go to the hospital for an extended stay, and when he returns he proceeds to torture her emotionally.

Without a shouted word or shred of violence, this system of dominance, submission and punishment plays out – the “white ribbon” of the film’s title being the ribbon that the priest ties on to his kids to remind them of “purity” and goodness. It’s the most innocent sort of psychological branding you’ll ever see.

What slowly becomes apparent is that Haneke’s world is one in which we are no longer sure of who’s pious and who’s evil. The kids congregate after school, perhaps to evil ends. Parents, at every level of the socioeconomic ladder, confront their children with abuse and hostility that seems wrong. The little ones seem to be strategizing against their elders – but we’re never sure is the scheming is malevolent or retaliatory. At the end of all this, as one character puts forth a series of theories about all the recent violent acts in the town – each one more outlandish than the next – it slowly dons on audiences that none of these far-fetched concepts can be dismissed outright. Anything is indeed possible in this world of everyday barbarism. And unlike Haneke’s previous films, which have elicited shrieks of terror from New York audiences, “The White Ribbon” isn’t the punch to the gut that festivalgoers might be expecting (for that, look to Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist”). It is instead a slow and steady assault on the spirit, a black and white drama that gradually veers all-black.

Haneke, who loves to provoke, has worked far more subtly this time, providing us with a riddle that grows darker and darker the more we try to unravel it.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Divas Doin' It For Themselves in 'Precious'

Karen Wilson — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:32:27 GMT

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" screening on Oct. 3 at the New York Film Festival. For more information click here.

Lee Daniels has a way with divas—he would do the (recently revived!) VH1 Divas Live franchise proud. But Daniels isn't a concert producer, he's a movie director and his way of eliciting heart-wrenching and gut-punching performances from his all-star team of actresses in "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" hits the movie version of high C. After sweeping Sundance and bowling over Toronto this year, "Precious" has come to the New York Film Festival as its Centerpiece selection.

"Precious" stars newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as the titular Harlem 16-year-old who can't read or write and is pregnant for the second time with her father's baby. She lives with her abusive mother Mary (Mo 'Nique) in the crack-infested projects but escapes her bleak circumstances with elaborate fantasies about walking the red carpet with a doting light-skinned boyfriend. Precious gets the chance to make her hopeful fantasies reality when she transfers to the alternative high school Each One Teach One and meets teacher Blu Rain (Paula Patton) and then a sympathetic social worker, Ms. Weiss (Mariah Carey).

In a press conference this week, Daniels explained to the audience that he's been passionate about this intensely personal material ever since he read Sapphire's best-selling book in 1996. He spent years convincing her he was the right filmmaker to bring her story to the screen. "I wanted to do something that was very intimate to [my family and friends] and that they would connect to," he said. "I brought that world of what I know to be cinema into the world of the urban."

Key to making this gritty story come to life are the acting performances. It took Daniels hundreds of audtions around the country to find Sidibe, and it's hard to imagine anyone else inhabiting the role in the same way. The same goes for comedian Mo 'Nique as the monstrous Mary. Her character is haunting and not a little bit terrifying. But when Mary finally breaks down in an meeting with the social worker and Precious recalling the beginning of her daughter's abuse, it's not surprising to even see Mariah shed a tear. Bringing painful emotions to the surface for catharsis, that's what a true diva does.

Intern Intel: Macbar

Matt Rodbard — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:00:21 GMT

By Kate Bonacorsi, Special to Metromix

I can see the allure of an all-macaroni and cheese restaurant. I get it. Everyone loves macaroni and cheese. Simple, tasty and overwhelmingly filling seems to be the American way. I’ve been to S’MAC several times and I wasn’t impressed. The macaroni was too heavy to enjoy the flavors and the menu was less than inspired. Buffalo chicken, cheeseburger and Mediterranean varieties all seem so basic. So when I was asked to check out Delicatessen’s new mac ‘n’ cheese stand, Macbar, I was less than enthused.

My attitude quickly changed.

Upon entering Macbar it’s hard not to notice the crowded space. Shaped like an elbow macaroni noodle with yellow interior, this Soho postage stamp only seats eight people. The menu—with prices slightly more expensive than S’MACS’s (the small runs an average $7, medium for $10 and large for about $15)—is more inventive, using ingredients that one would never think to combine with mac 'n' cheese. With options like Mac Lobsta, Mac Reuben and Mac Stroganoff, Macbar does more than switch up the cheese (which, by the way, they do as well). They seriously raise the bar with duck confit macaroni, appropriately dubbed Mac Quack.

I started with Margarita Mac (mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, parmigiano and fresh basil) and Mayan Chipotle (chicken diablo, Chihuahua cheese and green onions). The Margarita tasted very fresh and the basil wasn’t too overpowering. Portion wise, the medium is pretty big. If that's all I had gotten, I still wouldn't have been able to finish it (keep in mind, I'm just over 5 feet tall). Then again, I wasn't in it simply for the macaroni. (I ordered the medium for take-home plastic yellow noodle).

The Mayan Chipotle was better because there was more going on. The chicken was seasoned just right. I like my food pretty spicy and I barely had to use the hot sauce available at the seasoning station (where I also found salt and pepper, red pepper flakes, pecorino cheese and bacon/brioche crumbles). The onion added nice color to the dish. Typically, when you order something that has chicken in it as opposed to a chicken dish, I find that restaurant s like to skimp on the protein. Not the case here. Every other bite contained a piece of tender chicken. Well done, Macbar. I left overwhelmingly full (hey, it was on Metromix) carrying my bright yellow noodle proudly under one arm.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: The reign of 'Antichrist'

Jim Snyder — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:06:02 GMT

"Antichrist," screening Oct. 2-3 at the New York Film Festival. For more information click here.

Leave it to Lars Von Trier to stir up some controversy. At this year’s New York Film Festival, the controversial director has delivered his bleakest vision yet: A morbid and hopeless affair named “Antichrist,” in which two characters named He and She head off to Eden to get over the death of their child. Going off her meds – at the behest of her therapist husband – She goes maniacal, lashing out at the dead boy’s father, while also turning an array of brute instruments on herself.

It’s a dark, dark affair – a depth charge of an art-house horror film that has already had festival crowds from Cannes to Toronto lined up to get a peak. But appearing at a Sept. 23 press conference, Von Trier brushed aside all talk of god and the devil to suggest that his film advocated less a conflict of good vs. evil than a post-apocalyptic hellscape. Which is to say: This isn’t a gray tug of war; it’s just pitch-black. “The biblical things, like they come from Eden, I’m sorry for that,” he said. “Normally I’d go through all that out. But I didn’t do that this time….there is no God, that’s how I see it.” Noting that he has owned an antichrist-related book for decades that he’s never opened, Von Trier said the title in part stemmed from having that bound text around. But apparently he does not consider this a story of two grieving parents attempting to bring themselves back from the brink. This is about the long, steady fall into outright desolation. Thanks Lars, you really cheered us up!

He’s the first to admit that this film stemmed from a serious bout of depression, that he worked different as a result because of the fractured psyche that wracked him after the death of his own child. In his New York press conference, he implied that the film had not helped him move beyond his darkest phase, and that he was still suffering as a result. It’s curious that so few early critics have discussed the tone and atmosphere of this film, more intrigued it seems by the overt violence of a drill going through a leg, and various blood springing from sexual organs.

These are horrifying images, yes, but they merely seem to be the climax of a long and steady nightmare, molded very carefully by a master filmmaker. There are tears and screams, but there are also sequences in which characters find it difficult to walk and move, where they seem to be acting outside of their own intentions, disassociated from their own bodies. A man takes his wife off medication, a woman slowly wages a psychological war on his love for her and his dead child. These are vicious acts, not merely a precursor for physical violence. Von Trier says he set out to make a horror film, but obviously something else occurred here. He didn’t refine a bleak script because it resonated with him; he didn’t go for the obvious scares of a horror film because this film’s emotional assaults are more effective in terms of scares, chills and torment. He’s taken the human condition, one of hope and love and family, and twisted it all out of proportion. He’s perverted God’s order, and the very human body. “Antichrist” is a macabre masterpiece, of the most unsettling kind.

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Returning to Lebanon, on the Front Lines

Jim Snyder — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:15:44 GMT

“Lebanon,” screening October 1-2 at the New York Film Festival. For more information click here.

Why is it, that the best war movies of recent years have come from filmmakers working in Europe and the Middle East? Just as Hollywood remains fixated on casting big movie stars and filming sweeping battle scenes, Europe’s given us films like “No Man’s Land,” “Waltz With Bashir” and “The Pianist,” quieter works that understand the ways in which a smaller story can have a larger impact.

At this year’s New York Film Festival, we can add another title to that list of hits from across the pond: “Lebanon,” the stunning and confident combat thriller by Israeli director Samuel Maoz, which puts the audience into the cockpit of a tank during the first 24 tense and turbulent hours of the 1982 Lebanon War. It’s both a story about the tumultuous interpersonal relationships of the four army comrades as they plow headfirst into the storm across the border, and the confusion that reigns supreme among those in the Israeli ranks – as civilians blur together with combatants, and as the Falangists arrive on the scene, asserting authority over Israel’s combat operations. The chain of command starts to become unclear.

The Lebanon War, with its numerous players and dense historical context, is a complicated topic to explore, but Moaz succeeds in bypassing all of that confusing exposition by making this a far more intimate portrait about four young, scared and unprepared tank operators, all relatively ignorant of the issues at play. All but shielded from danger, they view the combat as passive observers through their viewfinder, directing our gaze through the chaos just as Jimmy Stewart did with his camera in Hitchock’s “Read Window.” And by telling the story in this fashion, Moaz makes “Lebanon” less a parsing of this specific conflict than a universal saga of young men thrust into untenable situations, working their hardest simply to survive.

Few films have so bravely captured the anxiety of the front lines – the way that nerves rattle and shatter, and how a power vacuum in the war zone can result in atrocities that at the time seemed justifiable. Moaz focuses first on the chemistry of the unit, as they grapple with issues of authority. Then, as they enter more dangerous territory, we are shown the speed with which they must determine friend from foe, their finger always on the trigger. As the battle turns grim there’s even a moment of resignation, when a fighter thinks that all hope is lost, and a daring, last-second dash for safety when his pessimism is proven premature.

Having already won one of the top prizes at the Venice Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics decided to pick up “Lebanon” for distribution, an exciting development that suggests it might have a decent chance of launching a campaign for a foreign film Oscar. I believe it’s an accomplishment on the level of “The Hurt Locker,” a claustrophobic nail biter as well as a fascinating, first-person account of what went on during the first hours of Israel’s invasion, that you’re going to be hearing a whole lot more about this year.

It screens Thursday and Friday nights; be one of the first to see it!

NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL: Harmony Korine's uplifting ugliness

Jim Snyder — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:13:43 GMT

“Trash Humpers,” screening Oct. 1 at the New York Film Festival

For more information, click here

Harmony Korine, the director who’s forged a serious love-hate relationship with New York critics, is back in action at this year’s New York Film Festival with a new work titled “Trash Humpers.” Set to premiere for the public Thursday evening, it’s a film that in several ways harks back to Korine’s “Gummo” days, a cruddy-looking film about a pretty-crappy-looking universe. After crafting stories about a dysfunctional Ohio town languishing in the wake of a tornado strike (“Gummo”), an ugly family coping with a son’s schizophrenia (“Julien Donkey Boy”) and an eclectic clan of celebrity impersonators (“Mister Lonely”), Korine has abandoned the glossy veneer of the latter to once again embrace the gritty, naturalistic aesthetic that set his earlier projects apart.

Looking and feeling like an unearthed VHS home movie, of a twisted crew of cretins in a backwaters town, “Trash Humpers” is quite literally a film about masked men and women who roam the urban landscape, all the while beating up dolls, suggestively rubbing up against trash cans and molesting vegetation. They are freaks starring at the center of their own indulgent freakshow, a label that could fit just about every one of Korine’s visions. But, as is also the director’s hallmark, out of all the banal and gratuitous asides emerges moments of quiet and empathetic poetry. Korine is clearly drawn to the challenge of seeing beauty in the grotesque, and in the best moments of “Trash Humpers,” you can hear a lullabye breaking free of all the ugly static.

At early screenings of the film, both in New York and elsewhere, there have been numerous walkouts. Clearly some people are unprepared for Korine’s mix of monstrous antics and genuine emotions. But for those who dig what Korine does, in testing just how far audiences are willing to walk alongside thoroughly unlikable characters—in examining how far our empathy can go towards the least sympathetic souls—“Trash Humpers” may be his ultimate masterpiece. He has created a work where the form fits the function, scratching up the surface of the film to match the scattered psyches of his antiheroes, all the while daring audiences to peer through a jagged façade in search of humanity. It’s there to be found for the patient and the brave, and in this one key way Korine establishes himself as titan of the form: He takes ugliness and, against all odds, finds a way to frame it as beauty.

RESTAURANTS: Il Buco Pig Fest

Kirk Miller — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:51:39 GMT

My weekend assignment was Il Buco's 6th Annual Pig and Apple festival commemorating the autumn equinox. I wasn't sure how many people celebrated that holiday, but I am always down for some swine (the food, not the flu). So I yanked my roommate out of bed and dragged her to the train. We were about a block away when I noticed an immense cloud of thick smoke that must have been the source of a smell that words cannot describe. Let's just say it was intoxicating. And I was certainly not the only one who noticed it, the line stretched more than halfway down the block.

As soon as we got close to the cooking station that was set up outside the restaurant, I noticed an old oil tank, with plumes of smoke pouring out. I found it, the source of the smoke. It was also the source of the smell. On clear display was a whole pig roasting, with its skin turning a crisp, golden brown. I was torn. Part of me couldn't help but think of "Lord of the Flies." The other part of me was drooling like a newborn. Apparently this was the second, secret, pig. The first one had already been devoured.

Now down to business. We grabbed our plate of food (it looked well worth the $20 ticket) and were lucky enough to find two seats at the bar inside, the only two seats available anywhere. People were sitting on the curb, in between parked cars, in doorways. I saw a man use his wife as a seat. It was pig frenzy, survival of the fittest, and for good reason. The pig was juicy, tender and a tad smoky. The apple sausage had a little bite to it. The highlight was definitely the porchetta panini, with its blueberry-balsamic mostarda. As we were leaving, one of the chefs approached us with a bowl of something not on the menu. I guess it was the apple portion of the festival. He was offering us sliced apples tossed in, that's right, pig fat. The apples were glistening in the sunlight. I had no choice. I stuck my hand in, grabbed as much as I could, and ran. And boy, was it delicious. —Kate Bonacorsi

New shows

Aaron Grunfeld — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:22:07 GMT

Even though there's a musical opening on Broadway (the dull-titled “Memphis”) and a whole festival of song-and-dances around town (The New York Musical Festival), this week belongs to the one-woman autobiographies. You can try the Vegas-themed gambling of “Luck” or the African-American homilies of “Night Watcher”. But word is, Carrie Fisher is hilarious when she talks about her alcoholism in “Wishful Drinking”. Check her out at Studio 54. It's our pick of the week!

Imelda
Where: Julia Miles Theater (Pan-Asian Rep)
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 22
Opening night: Wednesday, Sept. 30
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 17
URL: PanAsianRep.org
A portrait, presumably satiric, about the infamous shoe-loving wife of a Philippine dictator. Hopefully the fact that “Imelda” is a musical, plus the subject and a zippy approach, will counteract the company's generally staid, noble-minded approach to drama.

Luck
Where: 59E59
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 22
Opening night: Sunday, Sept. 27
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 11
URL: 59E59
Though the format of “Luck” is conventional—it's a one-woman autobio—the subject is rife with possibility. Performer Meghan Riordan uses her childhood with her father, a Vegas gambler, as a springboard for a philosophical inquiry into superstition and destiny, and lets the audience try its hand at games of chance.

Memphis
Where: Shubert Theater (B'way)
First night: Wednesday, Sept. 23
Opening night: Monday, Oct. 19
Closing night: open run
URL: MemphisTheMusical.com
This musical about the birth of rock & roll is an unknown quantity. It's got no stars to speak of, and its subject that makes squares jumpy (blacks and whites in love). But the music's by Bon Jovi's guitarist, David Bryan, and the the cast looks pretty good. And who hates 1950s rock? A: nobody!

New York Musical Festival
Where: various
First night: Monday, Sept. 28
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 18
URL: NYMF.org
The massive scale of the NYMF—30 shows in as many days—is a boon for triple-threat performers, but a treacherous maze for audiences. How to pick what you want to see? Try this “taster's menu” on the festival's website. You know the drill: if you like 'A', try 'B' or 'C'! Good luck!

Night Watcher
Where: 59E59 (Primary Stages)
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 22
Opening night: Tuesday, Oct. 6
Closing night: Saturday, Oct. 31
URL: PrimaryStages.org
A gifted actress, Charlayne Woodard takes time from playing other roles to perform in this one-woman autobiography. Woodard takes a 21st-century approach to family: though without biological children, she describes the various youngsters she's been a “mother” to.

Wishful Drinking
Where: Studio 54 (B'way/Roundabout)
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 22
opening night: Sunday, Oct. 4
closing night: Sunday, Jan. 3
URL: WishfulDrinkingBroadway.com
Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher, rides to our rescue with her one-woman autobio, “Wishful Drinking”. Fisher offers anecdotes from her early years, when she partied with John Belushi during “The Blues Brothers” and snorted coke in her famous gold bikini on the set of “Return of the Jedi”. And fittingly, the show's at Studio 54.

Last chance!
After Luke and When I Was God
Where: Irish Repertory Theater
URL: IrishRep.org

The Bereaved
Where: The Wild Project
URL: PartialComfort.org

Dial 'N' for Negress
Where: Theatre Row
URL: DialNForNegress.com

Oohrah!
Where: Atlantic Stage 2
URL: AtlanticTheater.org

The Retributionists
Where: Playwrights Horizons
URL: PlaywrightsHorizons.org

The River Crosses Rivers
Where: Ensemble Studio Theatre
URL: EnsembleStudioTheatre.org

RESTAURANTS: Bon Appetit pops up in Midtown

Alexis Loinaz — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:55:42 GMT

Bon Appetit kicked off today its weeklong pop-up eatery, Bon Appetit Supper Club and Cafe, at a bright corner at 57th and Sixth Avenue. It's the pop-up's third year (and its first at this location), peddling grub from top toques (Jose Andres, Nate Appleman, Gina DePalma), along with cookbooks and culinary demos at their on-site kitchen, which is waaaay nicer than ours.

We swung by a little past 11 a.m., right before they opened to the public, and found a line outside—Chelsea-club-style—complete wtih a very stern and imposing woman-bouncer. She shot us a mean look. We were brave. Chill out, lady!

Initial thoughts: really nice, airy space, with floor-to-ceiling views of the busy block. Go for the sandwiches, which were delish. Jose Andres, the estimable (and Beard-winning) D.C. chef, is serving a "JLT", aka his version of a BLT but with Jamon Serrano, while hot property Nate Appleman (of McNally's upcoming pizzeria Pulino's) has a terrific veggie sandwich here. It's a melange of zucchini, peppers and onions, with smoked ricotta on a rosemary-sprinkled focaccia. I'm a huge meat-eater and tend to stay away from the all-veggie stuff, but I ate this one pretty fast—it was great.

Not too impressed, though, with the porcini pizza, which was created by Lisa Kielas, who won a gourmet pizza competition hosted by Cavit wine. Good in theory, but it looked pretty sad, served on a metal chafer used for catering. It was also lukewarm and spongy. I imagine that this dish would rock if it was fresh out of the oven and piping hot.

As for dessert, there's a a wonderfully springy yellow cupcake from wd-50's Alex Stupak, with a swirl of chocolate ganache on it. Prices are what you'd expect for midtown—about $9 for sandwiches, $3 for dessert—but worth a shot, at least if you wanna get your Nate Appleman fix before he hops on the pizza train.

Fashion Week recap: Day eight

Jessica Pascoe — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:58:01 GMT

The last day of Fashion Week ended with an optimistic nod to the future, while drawing from past icons for inspiration.

At the Allude show—which marked Munich designer Andrea Krag’s Tent debut—we caught up with Top Model judge Nigel Barker, who found the collections full of promise.

"Jill Stuart was very different, very structured, very '80s," noted the famed fashion photographer. "Pamela Roland's was very wearable. Backstage everyone [was] trying to buy. I've found the collections to be quite optimistic."

And for Top Model fans, it seems this season’s 5'7 and under model search has become a hit. “It is a very successful season for us so far," Nigel revealed. "We always reference Kate Moss and Twiggy—both under 5'7—so it only made sense for us to have a season were we included these girls. Maybe there will be more of this on Top Model to come."

Later that evening, we headed to Milk Studios to catch the ThreeASFOUR show. A design collective known for their avant-garde experimentation, it was no surprise that they had selected Yoko Ono’s dot drawings as inspiration and opted to debut her Plastic Ono Band album—produced by son Sean—during the show. Afterwards, the label hosted a boisterous bash at Santos Party House that—fueled by Hornitas Tequila—partied until dawn.

Fashion Week recap: Day seven

Jessica Pascoe — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 15:46:09 GMT

We caught up with stylist Robert Verdi yesterday after the Michael Kors show to chat about the famed American designer and the trends emerging from this crazy week of fashion.

"I love Michael Kors for the simple reason that he understands great American sportswear and women," remarked Verdi. "He understands that women want to look sexy all the time. He is one of the greatest American designers we have."

As for the salient trends coming out of fashion week, Verdi noted the idea of traveing through one's wardrobe as a way to visit different cultures in a recession economy.

"People are not traveling because it is so expensive, so they are going to far and exotic places through clothes. You are starting to see a lot of ethnic derivatives on the runway: Diane Von Furstenberg you saw all these African bangles, at Carolina we saw these macrame insets on dresses and woven leather bags."

Fashion Week recap: Day five

Jessica Pascoe — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 22:23:28 GMT

We will give Betsey Johnson one thing: that gal can really through a party! Her spring 2010 show at the Plaza Hotel was a riotuous affair with the punky tunes of Norwegian rocker Ida Marie and a slew of festive models sipping bubbly from little pink bottles and dancing on the stage with the designer. The delictable chocolates and pastries served were the cherry on top of this modern Marie Antoinette soiree. And although many outfits from Betsey's collections blend together, Spring 2010 brought male models decked out in rainbow leopard t-shirts and club pants. We hope they carried the Betsey Joohnson vitality downtown and partied until the wee hours.

Theater: New Shows!

Aaron Grunfeld — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:46:37 GMT

This week, Broadway sees some big action, but Off-Broadway isn't quiet. In an unprecedented move, the producers of “Avenue Q” announced that they're transferring from their Times Square home to a much smaller venue off the main spur. That's the first time a show has moved from Broadway to Off-Broadway! But it's brilliant, it opens a new avenue (ahem!) for shows to gain audiences, and it could revitalize both categories of drama.

In honor of this radical development, we're impulsively making two Picks of the Week, one for Broadway and one for Off-. On the Rialto, we can't wait to check out “Superior Donuts”, by the team that made “August: Osage County” so good. Nearby, Second Stage premieres new work by the gifted monologuist Anna Deveare Smith, “Let Me Down Easy”.

After Miss Julie
Where: American Airlines Theater (Roundabout)
First night: Friday, Sept. 18
Opening night: Thursday, Oct. 22
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 6
URL: RoundaboutTheatre.org
Sienna Miller trades her skintight “GI Joe” battle armor for the psychological repression of “After Miss Julie”. It's an adaptation of the original battle-of-the-sexes psychodrama by August Strindberg. A true star vehicle (there are only two other actors), Miller will try to prove she's more than a sex symbol.

Cambria/Douglass
Where: Irish Arts Center
First night: Wednesday, Sept. 16
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 25
URL: IrishArtsCenter.org
The Irish Arts Center presents this double-bill about the embrace that the emerald isle gave to the great 19th-century African-American activist Frederick Douglass. "The Cambria" approaches the subject from the Irish POV, while "Douglass NOW" describes the black American's vision of kelly green.

Father and Sons
Where: Theatre Row
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 15
Opening night: Thursday, Sept. 17
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 4
URL: FathersAndSonsOnstage.org
Not an adaptation of the classic Russian novel but a play-within-a-play that has two actors explore the complex filial bond. It's not much of a twist to reveal that the actors are also pop-and-pip, which presumably adds weight and irony to their improvised actions.

Howl: Arts Project 2009: Theater Series
Where: The Theaters at 45 Bleecker
First night: Friday, Sept. 18
Closing night: Tuesday, Sept. 29
URL: HowlFestival.com
An East Village tradition, the Howl Festival keeps Allen Ginsberg's non-conformity alive with a metaphorical riot of do-it-yerself art. The fest includes a theater series at 45 Bleecker. Pick a show, from neo-Noh to Irish drama to a revival of the classic leftie musical “The Cradle Will Rock”.

In-I
Where: BAM Harvey Theater
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 15
Closing night: Sunday, Sept. 20
URL: BAM.org
Juliette Binoche, the fine French actress, arrives in Brooklyn for a short run of this artsy show about a love affair. That buzzing sound is the European press, who were mesmerized by this global dance-theater hybrid, choreographed by acclaimed Brit dancer Akram Khan.

Killers and Other Family
Where: Rattlestick Playwrights Theater
First night: Thursday, Sept. 17
Opening night: Thursday, Sept. 24
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 11
URL: Rattlestick.org
Another taut thriller from the Rattlestick. With most playwrights, you'd take that title ironically. But in Thurber's play, Samantha Soule opens her apartment to her criminal brother, kicking off a waking nightmare. As with many Rattlestick prods, there's nudity onstage—always a bonus. Always.

Let Me Down Easy
Where: Second Stage
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 15
Cpening night: Wed., Oct. 7
Closing night: Sunday, Nov. 8
URL: 2st.com
Anna Deveare Smith more or less invented the modern genre of interview-as-drama with an early '90s piece on the LA riots. Her new piece investigates the human body itself, repeating her convos with Lance Armstrong among others. This is an especially timely piece, as she noted in a recent NYTimes op-ed!

Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven
Where: Signature Theater (Epic)
First night: Wednesday, Sept. 16
Cpening night: Saturday, Sept. 26
Closing night: Sunday, Oct. 11
URL: EpicTheatreEnsemble.org
A young company, the Epic Theater, dives into politics with “Mahida's Extra Key to Heaven” (which, incidentally, wins our award for Best Title). It's a haunting tale about a female Iranian college student in exile, which asks how well we can understand another culture. Provocative in the best way.

The Royal Family
Where: Friedman Theater (B'way/MTC)
First night: Tuesday, Sept. 15
Opening night: Thursday, Oct. 8
Closing night: Sunday, Dec. 13
URL: ManhattanTheatreClub.com
MTC fills their B'way stage with a huge cast, including Ana Gastayer, Rosemary Harris, Jan Maxwell, and Off-B'way maestro David Greenspan. This 1920s backstage classic is by a pair of playwrights who are actually funny: George Kaufman and Edna Ferber, two legs of the famed Algonquin Round Table.

Still Life
Where: Lucille Lortel Theater (MCC)
First night: Wednesday, Sept. 16
Opening night: Monday, Oct. 5
closing night: Sunday, Nov. 1
URL: MCCTheater.org
MCC explores an introverted soul in “Still Life”, whose cast is one class act after another: Dominic Chianese (“The Sopranos”), Adriene Lenox (“Doubt”), Sarah Paulson (“Crimes of the Heart”). The show follows a neurotic romance between Paulson's photographer and an trend analyst (whatever that is!).

Superior Donuts
Where: Music Box Theater (B'way)
First night: Wednesday, Sept. 16
Opening night: Thursday, Oct. 1
Closing night: open run
URL: DonutsOnBroadway.com
Tracy Letts and Steppenwolf return to Broadway after their smash “August: Osage County” with a very different show. “Superior Donuts” stars Michael McKean (“Spinal Tap”) in a small drama about a Chicago donut shopkeeper and the power of redemption. Sounds cheesy, but it's actually a smart, tough drama.

Vigil
Where: DR2
First night: Sunday, Sept. 20
Opening night: Wednesday, Sept. 30
Closing night: open run
URL: VigilThePlay.com
A banker (boo!) is getting tired of caring for his rich, mean-spirited elderly aunt. It's a two-hander, by a playwright acclaimed in Canada but nearly unknown in the US. The little we can glean about this play suggests that it's a black comedy. If it really goes for the jugular, it could be fun!

Last chance!
IN-I
Where: BAM Harvey Theater
URL: BAM.org

RACE MUSIC
Where: Theatre Row
URL: DiverseCityTheater.org

SPINNING THE TIMES
Where: 59E59
URL: 59E59.org

Fashion Week recap: Day four

Jessica Pascoe — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:06:32 GMT

Fashion got physical yesterday at the Y-3 show inspired by the upcoming 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Sure, the clothes put a high fashion spin on athletic wear, but the real star of the event proved to be Zinedine Zidane, the French soccer player who designer Yohji Yamamoto beckoned on to the gymnasium floor the Park Avenue Armory to kick some football with him. The fashion crowd, a usually non-jock sort, cheered Zidane on to great fanfare.

But before the show started, the camera bulbs flashed at Tavi Williams, the 13-year old blogger whose precocious style and blog have already made her a fashion icon at the age of 13. We won't hide the fact that we are envious of this middle-schooler. She sat next to Rufus Wainwright, posed with the MisShapes and fits into all of the designer clothes!