By Walter Rutledge
SummerStage, New York’s largest free performing arts festival, bringing over 100 free performances to fourteen parks throughout the five boroughs. On Wednesday, August 6, at 8pm the Central Park MainStage venue will present Spectum Dance Theater and Sidra Bell Dance New York.
The company will also perform on Friday, August 9 8pm at East River Park Germaul Barnes will teach a master class prior to the performance at 7pm.
Sidra Bell Dance New York, is a boutique company of prolific movement artists based in New York City that presents innovative, kinetic, and provocative dance theater works. Bell is a sought after voice in contemporary dance with a strong female vision creating works that ignite the imagination and explore the psyche. The company synthesizes the worlds of design, media, fashion, and spectatorship.
Mark Morris Dance Group returns to the Mostly Mozart Festival Thursday, August 7 through Saturday, August 9, 7:30pm at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center with Acis and Galatea. A production of Mozart’s arrangement of Handel’s operatic work depicting a tragic love triangle among Acis, an Arcadian shepherd; Galatea, a sea nymph; and the giant Polyphemus. Costumes are by Isaac Mizrahi, and scenic design is by Adrianne Lobel. San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale, led by Nicholas McGegan, performs, and Morris—of course—choreographs and directs. Acis and Galatea marks his 12th opera. For more information and tickets visit mostlymozart.org.
DELIRIOUS Dances will present a special, mid-summer dance performance of Enchanted at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden on Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 3pm and 5pm. Enchanted is inspired by the textures, patterns and beauty of plants and flowers native to New York, that are being threatened by invasive species and over development. The performances are free with admission to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (Adults $10, Seniors/Students $5, children under 12 are free). The space is limited (40 people) and is first come, first served , it advised wear comfortable shoes.
Pilobolus Dance Theater concludes the Joyce Theater season on Sunday, August 10. The company will present two rollicking programs that exhibit the signature quirkiness and athleticism that leave audiences dazzled year after year. This 2014 roster includes two New York premieres The Inconsistent Pedaler, a created in collaboration with writer/director Shira Geffen and Israeli short story, graphic novelist, and film writer Etgar Keret; and On the Nature of Things. Also presented will be last season’s wildly popular work created with Penn & Teller, along with Megawatt and more favorites from the rich Pilobolus repertory.
Finding Fela will be presented at the IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street, continues through Thursday, August 7. No individual better embodies African music of the 1970s and ’80s, and its pivotal role in postcolonial political activism than Fela Kuti. After quickly taking his native Nigeria by storm, the pioneering musician’s confrontational Afrobeat sound soon spread throughout the continent and beyond, even as it made determined enemies of the repressive Nigerian military regime.
Within the past decade, a resurgence of interest in his work has posthumously repopularized Kuti, culminating in the massively successful Broadway show FELA!, written by Jim Lewis and directed by Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones. Academy Award winning director Alex Gibney interweaves the show’s skillful staging with a treasure trove of period interviews and hypnotic performances to recapture the essence of the man, his music, and his enduring cultural and political relevance.
Pilobolus Dance Theater returns to the Joyce Theater through Sunday, August 10. The company will present two rollicking programs that exhibit the signature quirkiness and athleticism that leave audiences dazzled year after year. This 2014 roster includes two New York premieres The Inconsistent Pedaler, a created in collaboration with writer/director Shira Geffen and Israeli short story, graphic novelist, and film writer Etgar Keret; and On the Nature of Things. Also presented will be last season’s wildly popular work created with Penn & Teller, along with Megawatt and more favorites from the rich Pilobolus repertory. Having sold out last season’s family matinee, the company treats audiences to two family matinees this time around.
Just Jim Dale at the Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street, through Sunday, August 10. His appearances on Broadway and Off have grown rarer in recent years, but English triple threat Jim Dale will always be remembered for his swaggering bravura turn in the title role of Barnum (which won him the 1980 Tony). The old dog teaches us a few new tricks in this autobiographical variety show made of stories, songs and fancy footwork. For showtimes and ticket information visit roundabouttheatre.org.
Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, the musical play starring record breaking six-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, will extend its strictly limited engagement through September 21st, 2014. The production will be dark from September 1st through September 7th while Ms. McDonald takes a previously scheduled vacation, and the final 16 performances will begin starting September 9th, 2014. Tickets are available via Telecharge.com, by calling (212) 239-6200, or at the box office of Circle in the Square (235 West 50th Street, btwn. Broadway and 8th Avenue).
Fuerza Bruta:Wayra at the Daryl Roth Theatre is the third installment of the De La Guarda trilogy runs through Sunday September 7. Conceived and directed by Diqui James with ensemble cast offers a unique thrills for a diverse audience of both the theatre savvy and newcomer. The production is a visually impressive dance-rave thrill ride that merges striking imagery with techno music and aerial showboating. Running time: 1hr 20mins with no intermission. For a complete schedule and tickets visit darylroththeatre.com.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem Street Festival will take place Saturday, August 9 from noon to 7pm on West 152nd Street between Amsterdam and St. Nicholas. The seven-hour event promises an afternoon of fun and entertainment including live performances of music and dance by students from the Dance Theatre of Harlem School with professional and amateur talent from around the city. Street vendors line the 152nd Street block offering a variety of American and ethnic foods, jewelry, books, clothing and other fare. Over the years, the Street Festival has grown more successful both in content and attendance.
Syfy Movies with a View Festival in Brooklyn Bridge Park, through August 28 combines four of your favorite New York activities—sitting in Brooklyn Bridge Park, watching a movie, doing something (anything!) related to animals and not paying any money—wit. The festival will be screening a different movie (for free!) every Thursday at sundown, with DJs to keep you entertained if you get there early. And you should get there early. The movie this week is Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
We look forward to seeing you Out and About
Get well soon Wale