Tag Archives: The Joyce Theater

NY Mysteries Oct. 25, 2019

 

 

A Judsonite group attended Alice Elliot’s Miracle on 42nd Street. The documentary about Manhattan Plaza is part of the architecture & design film festival. It tells the saga of Manhattan Plaza, a 484 West 43rd Street residential complex that opened in 1977. The majority of the tenants are in the performing arts.  Director Alice Elliot captures the drama, the angst of neighbors afraid they’d be kicked out of their humble dwellings, performers at first loath to live in that neighborhood (Hell’s Kitchen) and then clamoring to. There are interesting interviews with Angela Lansbury, Giancarlo Esposito  and a slew of other celebrities who have lived there. We saw it at Cinépolis Chelsea.  Have you noticed that movie theaters are installing upscale, first class allurements? There are reclining leather seats you can adjust. Legs up? Press a button, Want your backside warmed? Press a button. Airport-like bars, an ad suggesting delicious food  (popcorn, more popcorn) delivered to your seat.

 

 

 

 

Manhattan Plaza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s always a joy to see a legend in action. Wendy Whalen retired from the New York City Ballet a few years ago. She is now the Associate Artistic Director of the company. At the Joyce she danced in The Day, a moving and moody piece, conceived by Maya Beiser and choreographed by Lucinda Childs. 

 

 

 

 

 

Wendy Whalen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alicia Alonso the great Cuban dancer, has died. She was 98. In the late 1930s Alonso and her husband, Fernando, traveled to NYC to establish dancing careers. Alicia Alonso was a soloist with the American Ballet Caravan which became New York City Ballet in 1940. She suffered detached retina which put a hold on her dancing but she persevered. !n 1943 she was asked to dance Giselle at Ballet Theatre. She danced the role until 1948. Other roles included:  in Swan Lake, Antony Tudor‘s Undertow (1943), Balanchine’s Theme and Variations (1947) and  deMille’s dramatic ballet Fall River Legend. She returned to Cuba in 1948 to found her own company, the Alicia Alonso Ballet Company. It eventually became Ballet Nacional de Cuba.

Alicia Alonso

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? Remorse over screwing up an important case? His corrupt boss being a trustee of the Windsor School?  His girlfriend marrying his boss? 

NY Mysteries Sept. 28, 2019

I’m going to get a room near the Joyce and have three meals a day at Cafeteria and die happy. 

Last week a friend and I went to Rubberband. It’s ten athletic (aren’t all dancers?) gymnastic, pugilistic, balletic dancers created Victor Quijada’s high-voltage choreography. They invade the stage, bounce off each other and keep up the movement. Breath-taking, stupendous. It’s Montreal-based and many of the dancers are Canadian. Hummm. Better contact ICE. 

 The Joyce is an encyclopedia of what the body can do.  

Ayodele Casel

This week another pal and I saw choreographer/ tap dancer Ayodele Casel and pianist/composer Arturo O’Farrill. Casel is amusing about having first learned about tap dancing from watching Ginger Rogers films. It’s another ballgame. Casel is Black/Latino and infuses energy, dynamism into her work. She is also devoted to encouraging young people, especially girls of color to live authentically and spark joy. O’Farrill is one of those gifted pianists whose fingers are glued to the keyboard. He is as thrilling to watch as the dancers. Casel has a fine troupe of five extraordinary dancers. 

Arturo O’Farrill

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

NYMysteries Feb. 9

What do these dance companies have in common? They’ve all appeared at the Joyce in the heart of Chelsea. The 472 seat Joyce is named after the daughter of the donor who underwrote the building in 1982 for $225,000. Sigh, pocket change in 2019. The building had begun life in 1941 as the Elgin, a movie house. Even if you don’t like modern dance, it’s a treat to go to the Joyce. Not a bad seat (maybe an exaggeration about the first two rows) in the house and the 1981-2 renovation was perfect. 

On Monday, a friend and I went to a half hour showing of the Royal Ballet of Flanders. The program included Sidi Large Cherkaoul’s Faun and an excerpt of  Drew Jacoby’s Supreme. Beautifully presented to a packed house (at least the main seating section). 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed ? His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

New York Mysteries December 22

A contingent from the Judson Memorial Church went to MOMA to see Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done. In addition to the exhibit, videos of various artists who had performed at Judson were shown on the enormous multiscreen. On Dec. 15 there was a live performance by the Stephen Petronio Company. We sat in the front row feeling pretty chuffed since one of the dancers, Mac Twining, is a Judsonite.

 

Steve Paxton
MOMA: Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done

 

 

The MOMA Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done video presentation

 

 

 

Afterwards I had a delicious bowl of soup and a strong cocktail, both suggested by some very friendly people at the MOMA bar. A mere $41! I then went to see the great Ugo Tognazzi in a dated, dopey, endearing Italian movie, The Climax. 

Dec. 18: We went on a tour of the Frick Art Reference Library. Although I volunteer there and have been in the library a zillion times I never tire of hearing about its founder, the indomitable Ms. Frick, the Frick daughter who founded the Library.  Stephen Bury, the Chief Librarian, conducted the tour. He told us in learned and witty language about the joys and vicissitudes associated with FARL. 

A friend and I went to an open rehearsal of Les Ballets Trocadero de Monte Carlo at the Joyce Theater. It was two hours of great fun. Founded in 1974, the Trocks attracted attention and audiences because of their ability to dance en pointe, be comic and be serious about dance. In the present company there are 14 members from all parts of the world.

Ever since I spent a few enchanting hours in Banksy’s The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem I’ve followed the mischievous fellow’s various stunts. Lately, he has decorated  a Welsh town with a mural that references the town’s air pollution.

Artwork by street artist Banksy, Thursday Dec. 20, 2018, which appeared on a garage wall in Taibach, Port Talbot, south Wales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the  prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner being stabbed while Kulchek was buying cigarettes? Escaping an attempted car bombing?  His hated boss, Captain Dick Holbrook, being a trustee of the Windsor School?  Losing his girlfriend to Holbrook? 

March 17 – March 24

Busy week.

Starting with St. Patrick’s Day and ending with the Morgan Library & Museum’s Now and Forever: the Art of Medieval Time where I learned that St. Patrick’s Day like Christmas harkens back to the middle ages when fixing a holiday on a specific date was done to keep track of time.

Now and Forever: The Art of Medieval Time

 

Now and Forever: The Art Medieval Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A memorial in New Jersey was followed by a birthday dance at the Joyce. The Stephen Petronio Company celebrates choreographers of the past. Tuesday was Merce Cunningham night. Petronio scored. Reverence for the past did not rob his pieces of their freshness and sexiness. The Butcher’s Daughter on Hudson is vegan, in spite of the name. I dote on their breakfast menu, especially soft boiled eggs and soldiers. Don’t tell me you don’t know what soldiers are.
A friend and I drifted across the Morgan corridor from the medieval to the modern. We went to the Peter Hujar: Speed of Life. Hujar was one of the many AIDS victims who died in the eighties. For me there’s a sadness that hangs over the exhibit of a very young, very talented photographer.

Peter Hujar: Speed of Life
Peter Hujar: Speed of Life

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic Lessons: Recent thirty-five-year-old widow Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a stabbed and dying man in the school kitchen, deals with the only witness to the stabbing – a troubled nine-year-old, develops a crush on a NYPD detective and her dog dies.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie.

Graphic Lessons: Something’s eating at NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek: a failed marriage? surviving a car bomb? his girlfriend marrying his corrupt boss? screwing up an important case? It doesn’t matter because he’s relentless.

March 10 – March 16

 

A friend wanted to celebrate his birthday at Hangawi, a Korean vegan restaurant on 32nd Street. Leaving our shoes at the entrance, we walked along a narrow corridor filled with rustic charm to our table. The menu’s descriptions are mouth watering. We shared the silky tofu, leek pancakes, spicy baby dumplings, all presented in beautiful containers. A member of the agile staff knelt beside us and explained different dishes. We toasted each other with a cocktail called Mindfulness. It’s freshly squeezed orange juice, citron paste and makgeolli, a Korean milky rice wine.

Hangawi’s Interior

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Frick Concert: Forma Antiqua. transported us back to seventeenth century Spain. The extraordinary musicians Pablo Zapico (baroque guitar), Daniel Zapico (theorbo), and Aaron Zapico (harpsicord ) were joined by Carlos Mesa the countertenor. The music complimented the current Zurbaran exhibit, Jacob and His Twelve Sons.

A Theorbo

 

 

 

 

 

 

A friend and I went to an open rehearsal at The Joyce Theater.  Brian Brooks Dance is currently performing. The choreographer, Brian Brooks, explained the setting and the music created by Jerome Begin. After the rehearsal, Brooks and Begin talked about the post modern NYC vibe of the various pieces. Brooks explained that he finds beauty in the natural and enjoys playing with the ordinary. Is there a bad seat in the house? If there is, I’ve never sat in it.

 

Graphic Lessons: Recent thirty-five-year-old widow Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a stabbed and dying man in the school kitchen, deals with the only witness to the stabbing – a troubled nine-year-old, develops a crush on a NYPD detective and her dog dies.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who never listens or accuses her of lying? Her father who’s started a new family in Singapore? She tells Millie.

Graphic Lessons: Something’s eating at NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek: a failed marriage? surviving a car bomb? his girlfriend marrying his corrupt boss? screwing up an important case? It doesn’t matter because he’s relentless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New York City Blog — Dec. 5 – Dec. 10.

I never thought I’d describe a musical evening at the Frick Collection as odd. I do after the debut performance of the pianist, Joseph Moog. The musical selections and arrangements suited the late José Iturbi’s very 1940’s movie music. If only the Frick had arranged to have skimpily clad girls rise on a floating fountain and Esther Williams diving off the ceiling. The (un)repentant Magdalena in the next room could have joined in. Afterwards, we had fun and delicious food at nearby Le Charlot.

Lucinda Childs Dance Company is at the Joyce. We went to a thrilling performance of DANCE, first performed in 1979. A film of the original production was flashed on the stage as the modern dancers, like champion race horses, galloped across the stage to Philip Glass’s throbbing music. We were practically part of the action since we were seated in the second row.

Once again down memory lane. This time it was with Merce Cunningham’s Beach Birds (1991). Eleven dancers recreated most of the piece in one of the City Center studios on 56th Street. John Cage’s liquid tone, barely audible, set a dreamy, quiet atmosphere. It was forty minutes of sustained pleasure. Among the superb dancers were Mac Twining and Monica Gonzalez.

COMING SOON:
GRAPHIC LESSONS: Recent widow Millie Fitzgerald applies for a private school teaching job, faints on a stabbed and dying man, deals with the only witness to the stabbing, a troubled nine year old, befriends a lying seventeen year old, develops a crush on a NYPD detective and her dog dies.