4/7/19 O&A NYC WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK: April 7 through April 14, 2019

Its beginning to feel a lot like springtime, and New Yorkers are out and about!  And this week we have a new film about the Queen of Soul and a Fosse muse on Broadway. America’s mother of modern dance turns 93 in Chelsea and Arthur Mitchell’s dream turns 50. Here are a few of the many events happening in the city that never sleeps, guaranteed to keep you Out and About.

 

 

Monumental Journey: The Daguerreotypes of Girault de Prangey at The Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 12, 2019. The work of Girault de Prangey (1804–1892), an artist, architectural historian, archaeologist and daguerreotypist, who spent three years capturing locales throughout Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Jerusalem between 1842 and 1845. During his journeys, he created some 1,000 plates, an amazing feat at a time when photography was a cumbersome practice.

FRIDA KAHLO: APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING at the Brooklyn Museum (through May 12). This is not exactly an exhibition of Kahlo’s art — it contains just 11 paintings, from compelling self-portraits to ghastly New Age kitsch — but an evocation of an artistic life through her elegant Oaxacan blouses and skirts, not to mention the corsets and spinal braces she wore after a crippling traffic accident. Do her outfits have the weight of art, or are they just so much biographical flimflam? Your answer may vary depending on your degree of Fridamania, but the woven shawls and color-saturated long skirts here, as well as gripping photographs of the artist by Carl Van Vechten, Imogen Cunningham, Manuel Álvarez Bravo and other great shutterbugs, suggest Kahlo’s real accomplishment was a Duchampian extension of her art far beyond the easel, into her home, her fashion and her public relationships. (Farago)

Birds Of Paradise (A group exhibition for women’s history month) Caribbean Literary and Cultural Center at the Flatbush Library, 22 Linden Boulevard (btw Flatbush & Bedford Avenue) Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Ava Tomlinson and featuring works by Pamella Allen, Sandra Ayana, Ramona Candy, Mary Chang, Sophia Domeville, Laura James, Gina Samson, Cheery Stewart Joseph, Ava Tomlinson and Valerie Williams. The exhibition runs through May 4. 

Nedjemankh and His Gilded Coffin at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Ever since Howard Carter uncovered the tomb of King Tut in 1922, people have been fascinated by Ancient Egyptian treasures. The Met recently acquired one such object—a gold-leafed covered coffin for a High Priest from Egypt’s Ptolemaic period. It’s on display, along with 70 other Egyptian artifacts from the Met’s collection.

Jean-Michel Basquiat Solo Exhibition: The Brant Foundation announced this week that it will present a solo exhibition of works by the late artist Jean- Michel Basquiat as the inaugural show on March 6 in its new East Village space in New York City. Located at 421 East 6th Street in a century-old, 16,000 square-foot building originally designed as a Con Ed substation, the show is free to the public, but you’ll need a ticket to get in. The show begins on March 6 and tickets can be reserved through May 12, but available dates and times could run out before the show closes on May 15.

Martha Graham Dance Company April 2- 14 at the Joyce Theater: Martha Graham’s relationship to feminism was as complex and conflicted as the heroines at the center of her dance dramas. But, as Martha Graham Dance Company commissions new work to present alongside its founder’s repertory, it’s clearly a good idea for it to hire women dancemakers. The company’s programs at the Joyce, April 2-14, bring back pieces made for the troupe by Annie-B Parson and Lucinda Childs. There are also two premières. One is by Maxine Doyle, a creator of the immersive show “Sleep No More,” and Bobbi Jene Smith, a gutsy alumna of that show and of Batsheva Dance Company; it borrows themes from the myth of Demeter and Persephone. The other is by Pam Tanowitz. 

New York City Center: For 50 years, Dance Theatre of Harlem has inspired the world with a revolutionary vision of a multiethnic ballet company. Co-founded by the great Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, the company performs ground-breaking works with power and grace. The 17-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture. Following Arthur Mitchell’s sudden passing in September, we dedicate the 50th Anniversary Season to him, his life and legacy.

Spring 2019 newsteps: a choreographers Series will present its Spring 2019 showcase Thursday April 11 through Saturday 13, 7:30pm at the Chen Dance Center, 70 Mulberry St, 2nd floor in New York City’s historic Chinatown district. Five choreographers Annie Heath, Mat Elder, Erin Bryce Holmes, Tanner Ryan and Spencer Weidie will premiere original works and works in progress. 

STREB at the Streb Lab for Action Mechanics, 51 N. 1st Street, perform weekends through May 12. The shows that STREB Extreme Action puts on at its Williamsburg headquarters (weekends through May 12) have a carnival atmosphere, and not just because eating and drinking are encouraged. Will the Action Heroes, as the intrepid dancer-acrobats are styled, collide as they hurl themselves off a trampoline? Will they get whacked by swinging cinder blocks or huge metal contraptions? Probably not, but they want you to cringe. Their newest machine is the Molinette, a giant bar that revolves like the blade of a windmill.

Amazing Grace, the new documentary about Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul features never-aired footage of Franklin recording her legendary gospel album that’s been hidden for half a century.

Amazing Grace- Aretha Franklin

Based on a true story, The Best Of Enemies centers on the unlikely relationship between Ann Atwater (Henson), an outspoken civil rights activist, and C.P. Ellis (Rockwell), a local Ku Klux Klan leader who reluctantly co-chaired a community summit, battling over the desegregation of schools in Durham, North Carolina during the racially-charged summer of 1971. The incredible events that unfolded would change Durham and the lives of Atwater and Ellis forever.

Best Of Enemies

In the new Jordan Peele‘s horror film Us a family is haunted by an unexplainable and unresolved trauma from her past and compounded by a string of eerie coincidences, Adelaide feels her paranoia elevate to high-alert as she grows increasingly certain that something bad is going to befall her family. After spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers (Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon), Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.

Us Trailer

Music of The Beatles for Kids- The Rock and Roll Playhouse (RRPHKIDS) at Industry City, 274 36th St., Brooklyn, a family concert series hosted at Industry City, allows kids to get down to songs created by the most iconic musicians in rock history. This week, kids get their groove on the the music of The Grateful Dead. 
Ben Vereen at Dizzy’s Club (at Frederick  P. Rose Hall, 10 Columbus Circle) Fosse muse, jazz cat and showbiz triple-threat entertainer Ben Vereen—of Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar and All That Jazz fame—struts his still-slick stuff. His show is a potent mixture of sweat and veneer; the man has a firm place in Broadway legend. Sunday April 7, 7:30pm and Monday April 8, 9:30pm.

Glenda Jackson as King Lear is in her own world as the maddening monarch of Shakespeare’s tragedy. The production at the Cort Theater runs through July 7, 2019.

Ain’t Too Proud follows The Temptations’ journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. With their signature dance moves and unmistakable harmonies, they rose to the top of the charts creating an amazing 42 Top Ten Hits with 14 reaching number one. Through friendship and betrayal amid the civil unrest that tore America apart, their moving and personal story still resonates five decades later.

Choir Boy, the Broadway premiere of Oscar winner Tarell Alvin McCraney’s acclaimed drama at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre261 West 47th Street, centers on the Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys, which for a half a century has been dedicated to the education of strong, ethical black men. One talented student has been waiting for years to take his rightful place as the leader of the school’s legendary gospel choir. But can he make his way through the hallowed halls of this institution if he sings in his own key?

FrankieFridays is Brooklyn’s best kept  house music secret! The party takes place every Friday at The Happiness Lounge, 1458 St. Johns Place (bet. Utica Avenue and Rochester Avenue).  The party rocks the best dance classics and soulful house music masterfully mixed by New York City’s own DJ Frankie Paradise. The predominantly mature gay crowd are there to get down, and create a warm inviting atmosphere for all. Reasonably prices drinks and a small admission price (feels more like a donation) of $5 before midnight and $10 after makes this the don’t miss Friday night dance party. 

Eataly Flatiron, 200 Fifth Avenue (between 23rd and 24th Street), is going back to its roots with the new Serra Fiorita by Birreria by, which launched to the public yesterday. The new rooftop space focuses on seasonal, homegrown dishes, natural wines and an extensive list of signature spritzes.

Glow NYC Caribbean Afrobeats & Hip Hop party Friday April 12 at Sound Of Brazil, 204 Varick Street, with music by DJ Kevin Crown and DJ Bless Tha Child. Complimentary glow sticks and Hennessy while supplies last. Ladies free until 12am with rsvp Men free until 1130 with rsvp.

We look forward to seeing you Out and About

About OutandAboutnycmag

Out & About NYC Magazine was founded to offer the arts and lifestyle enthusiast a fresh new look at New York City. We will showcase the established and the emerging, the traditional and the trendy. And we will do it with élan, and panache with a dash of fun.
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