Posts Tagged ‘City Center’

Concerts and Shows to See This Winter

We’re still in a virtual pause. Theaters are still closed, but there’s talk of outdoor concerts resuming this summer and Broadway theaters re-opening by the fall. In the meantime, there’s plenty to fill out your arts card from your computer.

CONCERTS

Emanuel Ax - New York Philharmonic String Quartet Photo: 92nd Street Y

92ND STREET Y

Winter/Spring Streaming Music Season

New York Philharmonic String Quartet and Emanuel Ax, piano

February 1 – 7:30pm

The first of 13 concerts in the season, world-renowned pianist Emanuel Ax joins friends and longtime collaborators the New York Philharmonic String Quartet on February 1. The Quartet takes the stage in Beethoven’s F-Minor Quartet, “Serioso,” before Ax joins for Dvořák’s exuberant Piano Quintet No. 2 in A Major. All concerts in the program are webcast premieres.

For the Y’s calendar of music events, both classical and popular, visit here.

THE TOWN HALL

“Preformances”

Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, The Town Hall continues its programming in a different format, offering Preformances concerts online, some free and others for a small ticket fee, featuring noted singers and musicians.

The ARK Trio Photo: The Town Hall

January 21

Allison Charney and the Ark Trio

The ARK Trio joins series host, soprano Allison Charney, discussing and performing works by composers Michael Ching and Kim D. Sherman who also appear to talk about their compositions.

This is a free livestream event. Registration is required to receive a personal link.

Mariza - Photo Courtesy of Ticketmaster

January 29

Mariza Sings Amalia

Portuguese singer Mariza celebrates the twentieth anniversary of her career and the centenary of the late Queen of Fado, Amália Rodrigues.

Judy Collins - Photo Courtesy of Ticketmaster

February 12

Judy Collins

Judy Collins performs a recreation of her 1964 concert hall debut at The Town Hall with music by Bob Dylan, Tom Paxton and Billy Ed Wheeler among others.

MUSIC DOCUMENTARIES

Carole King - (c) Tim Maggiani

BROADWAY ON DEMAND

“Carole King: Natural Woman”

Beginning January 29

If you loved Beautiful, you won’t want to miss this documentary celebration of the life of Carole King. Carole King: Natural Woman tracks King’s life and career from 1960’s New York to the music mecca of 70’s Los Angeles through the present. Performances, interviews, home movies and photos are featured.

For their full library of livestream programming, visit BroadwayOnDemand.com.

Please Call Home: The Big House Years -- Exclusive Allman Brothers Film – Photo Courtesy of: Tarrytown Music Hall

THE TARRYTOWN MUSIC HALL

“Please Call Home: The Big House Years” — Exclusive Allman Brothers Film & Live Q&A

January 23 – link available for 48 hours

Livestreamed by The Tarrytown Music Hall, Please Call Home showcases the early days of the Allman Brothers Band. The film is followed up by a live Q&A moderated by the Allman Brother Band Museum board member Mark Franzoso.

THEATER

Gloria - Photo by Carol Rosegg

THE VINEYARD THEATRE

“Gloria”

January 19-24

Presented as a benefit for the Vineyard Theater, the cast reading of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ funny and powerful play Gloria follows an ambitious group of editorial assistants at a notorious Manhattan magazine, each of whom hopes for an editorial career and a book deal before he or she turns 30. The play moves from ordinary to extraordinary, chronicling the changing lives of each of the protagonists.

Encores! - Photo Courtesy of New York City Center

NEW YORK CITY CENTER

“Encores! Inside the Revival”

Home of the beloved Encores! musical theater series, now on pause, City Center has created programs to tide you over until the next season. With Encores! Inside the Revival, you’ll see snippets and behind-the-scenes conversations and performances for each upcoming show.

Just released, The Tap Dance Kid is a dance and music riot featuring Dulé Hill (The West Wing). The 1983 Tony-nominated musical is currently being revived for new audiences through City Center’s commitment to producing musicals that deserve renewed attention. The video is a look into the creative process of the future show and features Tony-award winning director Kenny Leon (A Raisin the Sun), book adaptor Lydia Diamond, choreographer Jared Grimes and cast member from the original Broadway production Dulé Hill. The show is especially timely with a storyline about America as a place for everyone where every kid can and should dream.

Also available for viewing are The Life with Billy Porter, Love Life with Victoria Clark, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Into the Woods.

ONGOING

Stars in the House

STARS IN THE HOUSE

Hosted by Sirius XM’s Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley

Streamed live Tuesday-Saturday at 8pm, Stars in the House has raised more than $650,000 in this series of programs begun March 2020 in support of The Actors Fund. Programming changes nightly ranging from a full hour with stars from Broadway productions, to reunions of casts from TV shows such as Desperate Houses and the recent show featuring the cast of Grey’s Anatomy. Individual performers are also featured.

In addition to Broadway and broadcast topics, Stars in the House offers information pertaining to the pandemic and to ways to support the Broadway community. All shows are archived online.

Photo Courtesy of Broadway HD

BROADWAY HD

Pippin, 42nd Street, Oklahoma! and much more

Missing Broadway? Broadway HD is as close as you can get to it right now. With a yearly or monthly subscription, you’ll have access to their full library of recorded Broadway productions and more. It’s a treat if you’re longing for a musical fix. You can watch at your leisure and as many times as you’d like. Fan favorites are there as well as oldies that are pure magic. With Broadway likely not to return before next fall, you’ll be grateful to Broadway HD. It also makes the perfect gift for theater lovers. A sampling of shows available to watch include Kinky Boots, Jersey Boys, Forever Plaid, Godspell, She Loves Me, Into the Woods and Show Boat.

Pippin’s Circus Troupe Performs at City Center: April 16-26

Sequence 8If you loved the amazing acrobats and circus acts in Tony-award winner Pippin, you won’t want to miss Séquence 8, a stunning nouveau cirque performance by Les 7 Doigts de la Main from Montreal. Canada seems to be the homeland of death-defying, creative and gorgeous acrobatics.  Think Cirque du Soleil but with hip hop, theater, skateboarding, dynamic music and the acrobatics and humor that we’ve come to love.

It’s exciting that this show is finally coming to New York, after playing to audiences in 15 countries since 2012.

Sequence 8Les 7 Doigts de la Main (The 7 Fingers) was founded in 2002 by seven Montreal-based artists. The company’s name is a twist on the French idiom “the five fingers of the hand,” used to describe distinct parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal. In addition to having performed their own shows for the past 12 years, the company developed circus choreography for the hit Broadway revival of Pippin. For the 2014 Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony, Les 7 Doigts de la Main staged a 600-person spectacle that was broadcast to approximately four million viewers.

NY City CenterNew York City Center has again taken a premier stance in putting forth creative programs for the city, including the acclaimed Encores! musical theater series which mounts “forgotten” musicals with full orchestration, top Broadway stars, and minimal staging. City Center is also home to many distinguished companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, City Center’s Principal Dance Company, and Manhattan Theatre Club.  Their newest offering, the Encores! Off-Center series features landmark Off Broadway musicals filtered through the lens of today’s most innovative artists.  When you visit, be sure to look up at the ceiling – the restoration of a few years ago has made this theater an architectural landmark in its own right.

Séquence 8 will run for 12 performances, from April 16–26: Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday at 8 pm, Saturday at 2 and 8 pm, and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are $25-$110. More information at www.NYCityCenter.org.

Cuban Dance Group Debuts in NYC, February 18-22

HavanaDreaming about Cuba but haven’t quite figured out how to take advantage of the new travel agreements? There’s a wonderful dance group coming to New York City next week to get you prepped.  Havana Rakatan, the hot, sexy Cuban dance show from acclaimed Havana-based Ballet Rakatan will be making its U.S. debut at City Center, 135 West 55th Street, in Manhattan, February 18 – 22. In my opinion, it’s a shot of hot Cuban excitement that will help beat the Arctic blast and melt the mountains of snow forecast for later this week.

This is the first presentation of City Center’s A Bailar: Dance at the Center Latin dance festival which runs from February 18 – March 7. The Festival continues with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s m¡longa, a dance presentation focused on the sultry world of Buenos Aires tango. The final performance is Voces, Suite Flamenca, a new work from flamenco superstar Sara Baras.

The easiest way to get tickets (while staying warm) is at www.NYCityCenter.org or by calling (212) 581-1212.

Back to Cuba for the moment.  I really encourage you to get your tickets before they’re sold out. Havana Rakatan is a dazzling mix of salsa, mambo, jazz, bolero, son, cha-cha-cha and rumba, accompanied by the eight-piece Cuban son band Turquino, which will perform live onstage.

MilongaThe show presents a high-energy slice of Havana culture that charts the evolution of Cuban music and dance over the country’s 500-year history, from the West African rhythms brought by slaves beginning in the mid-16th century, to the jazz, mambo and bolero of the 1940s, the rumba and cha-cha of the 1970s, and the salsa and son of modern-day Havana. As I heard in both Havana and Trinidad last week, it’s son that brings it all to an exciting finish, combining elements of Spanish guitar and song with African rhythms and percussion. This is the heart of modern Cuban music and dance, and you shouldn’t miss the opportunity to experience it in New York.

Ballet Rakatan is one of Cuba’s most successful cultural exports. The company was founded by dancer-turned-choreographer Nilda Guerra in 2001 and has since toured throughout the world. Most of the dancers are graduates of the renowned Escuela Nacional de Arte de la Habana, one of Havana’s premier dance schools that offers contemporary dance training mixed with Cuban dance and Latin styles. It’s exciting that they’ve chosen New York City for their U.S. debut.

SaraThe performance schedule is:

Havana Rakatan, February 18-22: Wednesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 19 at 7:30 pm; Friday, February 20 at 8 pm; Saturday, February 21 at 2 and 8 pm; and Sunday, February 22 at 2 and 7 pm.

m¡longa, February 26 – March 22: Thursday, February 26, Friday, February 27 and Saturday, February 28 at 8 pm; and Sunday, March 1, at 2 pm.

Ballet Flamenco Sara Baras, March 4-7: Wednesday, March 4 and Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 pm; Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7 at 8 pm.

Planning a trip to NYC?