January 24, 2010
Lots going on this weekend with great exhibitions on Bauhaus and Velazquez at the Met and MoMA. If you like a little audience participation in your theatre-going, head to Broadway to see the recently transferred Fela! which has had rave reviews from the New York Times, amongst others, and for those who want to get out of Manhattan, consider going to Brooklyn – Monday sees the largest Martin Luther King Day celebration in New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and later in the week see Charlotte Gainsbourg singing at The Bell House.
QUICK LINKS: Brooklyn Academy of Music • Fela! • The Pride • The Met • MoMA • Cheim + Read • má pêche • Charlotte Gainsbourg
THEATRE
Fela! @ Eugene O’Neill Theatre
230 W 49th St,10019
Having made the move to the Eugene O’Neill theatre after a very successful run off-Broadway, the story of one of Africa’s most prolific musicians and activists brings the rhythms of Afrobeat to a wider audience. Audience participation (in the form of singing along) is encouraged and the theatre has been turned into a recreation of ‘The Shrine’ (Fela’s nightclub in Lagos). Whilst the play also explores the darker side of Fela’s political and personal journey, the overall experience should make for an exhilarating night. more
The Pride @ Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher St, 10014; +1 212 727 7722
British actors Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw are the stars of this off-broadway play which opens on 27 Jan. Directed by Joe Mantello, this examination of changing attitudes towards sexuality centres around a complex love triangle, tracing the story of the characters’ affairs from 1958 to the present time. Playwright Alexei Kaye Campbell won last year’s Whiting Award for the play. Book now
FESTIVAL
Martin Luther King Day celebration @ Brooklyn Academy of Music
Howard Gilman Opera House, 10.30am; 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn
On Jan 18th Martin Luther King Day celebrations will be taking place all over the country, but the BAM plays host to New York’s largest public celebration. Danny Glover, actor and also a UNICEF Ambassador will be giving the keynote speech and there will be musical performances from The New Life Tabernacle Mass Choir and Kenny Muhammad “The Human Orchestra”. more
New York Restaurant week @ various locations
Jan 25 to Feb 7
260 restaurants will be taking in part in the 19th biannual restaurant week, which will see restaurants offering meals at 2006 prices – $24.07 for three-course prix-fixe lunches and $35 for three-course prix-fixe dinners. New restaurants The Breslin and SD26 are amongst those participating. The offer excludes Saturdays (participating restaurants will have the option to offer the program on Sundays). more
ART
Velazquez Rediscovered @ The Metropolitan Museum
Runs til Feb 7; 1000 Fifth Avenue, 10028
Inspired by the restoration and rediscovery of a work by Velázquez that had been previously attributed to his workshop, this exhibition shows the painting in question, Portrait of a Man, alongside the Met’s collection of other paintings by the Renaissance artist. more
Bauhaus 1919 – 1933 @ MoMA
Runs til Jan 25th; 11 West 53 Street, 10019; +1 212 708 9400
Marking MoMA’s first major exhibition on Bauhaus since 1938, this is the penultimate weekend to see over 400 works from the influential school. Focussing on the broad output of the avant-garde movement, the exhibition features art, architecture, graphics, design, sculpture and more. Big names such as Kandinsky and Breuer are on show but there are contributions from lesser-known figures. Get in before the last-minute crowds. more
Diane Arbus: In The Absence of Others @ Cheim + Read
Runs til Feb 13th; 547 West 25th Street, 10001; +1 212 242 7727
Best known for her portraits of New Yorkers during the 1970s, particularly in choosing subjects from the fringes of New York society, this new exhibition presents a different side. The gallery will be presenting a group of rarely-seen photographs from the 1960s; this time the subject matter is less personal, though no less emotive – featuring empty interiors and artificial landscapes, the photographs nonetheless manage to convey the same sense of intimacy that is encountered when viewing her more familiar street portraits. more
MUSIC
Charlotte Gainsbourg @ The Bell House
19th and 20th Jan; 149 7th Street, Brooklyn, 11215, +1 718 643 6510
Catch the french songstress and actress making a rare Stateside performance at The Bell House. For two nights she’ll be playing songs from her debut album, 5:55. Advance tickets are sold out, so get down early to buy tickets on the door. more
FOOD
má pêche @ Chambers Hotel
15 West 56th Street; +1 212 974 5656
The first midtown outpost of David Chang’s Momofuku empire, this time with a French-Vietnamese cast, has been so highly anticipated that Chang placed it in a culinary form of out of town tryout. If you’re staying in the Chambers Hotel, where the restaurant is located, you can order his version of the Vietnamese sandwiches banh mi, rice noodles with pork sausage and shallots or any of the other dishes in the abbreviated menu. Otherwise, if you can find a space in the lobby, they’ll serve you there. more
MORE ON NY?
The New York destination page @ Globalista
If you’re planning a trip to New York, visit the Globalista New York Report to find out more information about the capital. Each of our reports is written by a resident writer and is packed full of insider tips to help guide your way around the city, as well as featuring the best in hotels, restaurants and shops that New York has to offer. more
Leave a Comment
<< return to homepage
