NY Notebook :: May
True, there’s this little porcine flu thing flitting about town. I know, because -- shunning a face mask as the ultimate fashion faux pas -- I’ve already managed to acquire it. Still, a few potential aches and pains are no reason to cower at home and miss out on the many enticing cultural offerings this month.
I would definitely bestir myself for Lesley Gore at Feinstein’s (May 5-9) - ditto Tyne Daly (May 12-16) - as well as the Creative Time benefit at the 69th Regiment Armory May 6, if it means a chance to bid on Mickalene Thomas’s fun, gaudy portraiture. I’ll be trekking to the Brooklyn Academy of Music on the 6th to catch the brief run (to the 17th) of Edward Hall’s all-male "Merchant of Venice."
Eager to record for posterity the story of your life? The StoryCorps van - a collaboration of NPR and the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center - will be parked outside Lincoln Center May 6-23; just make an appointment and hold forth.
Not one but two gorge-athons are scheduled for the 7th: "Grand Gourmet - The Flavor of Midtown" in Grand Central’s newly renovated Vanderbilt Hall, sponsored by the nabe-improving Grand Central Partnership, and "Taste of the Lower East Side" at the Puck Building, to benefit the Grand Street Settlement. You might also want to fit in a free "Fringe Benefits" party at a private Chelsea abode to build interest in the Stonewall Chorale’s June 11 Pride concert, as well as a chance to hear Pulitzer Prize-winning Lynn Nottage discuss her phenomenal play "Ruined" (which keeps extending uptown) at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Or catch the very first preview of the musical "Coraline," with the amazing Jane Houdyshell as the bored-and-lonely little girl - details at TheaterMania.com.
I’d be so there for Michael Imperioli ("The Sopranos), Philip Glass, and Francesco Clemente chatting with Gelek Rimpoche on "Art, Creativity and Tibetan Buddhism" under the auspices of Jewel Heart at Cooper Union May 9, were it not for the Dalai Lama’s rather retrograde stance on homosexuality; perhaps the topic will come up. (If you go, why not raise it?)
A surer bet is "Brunch with the Broadway Boys" at Joe’s Pub on Mother’s Day (May 10). Who could resist a cadre of "hot tenors"? And for the perfect follow-up: "When You’re Good to Mama: The Mother of All Mother’s Day Concerts" at the LGBT Center that evening, featuring headliners like Kerry Buttler and Marc Kudisch, plus "the men of South Pacific."
Donald Hall is a dear, and he’ll be at the Guggenheim May 10, reading and discussing his poetry, and listening to musical settings by modernists ranging from Milton Babbitt to Charles Wuorinen.
When not busy kicking up her heels (and the odd phantasm) at "Blithe Spirit," Angela Lansbury is lending her presence to various theatre benefits: The Actors Company Theatre on the 11th, and Cape Cod’s venerable Cape Playhouse on the 14th.
Mid-month: A Bevy of Benefits, as the Stars Take Their Bows
The 11th is a very busy night, benefit-wise:
May 12 is the release date for Ghostlight Records’ double-CD release of "Next to Normal," currently rocking Broadway; the cast will be on hand to sign and sing at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble. Also on the 12th, the Galapagos Art Space in Dumbo holds a free book launch party for New Yorker editor Ben Greenman’s "funk-rock" novel, "Please Step Back."
Longtime Charles Busch muse Julie Halston sings at Birdland May 12 and 19, and Joan Rivers graces the West Bank Café’s Laurie Beechman Theatre May 12-20.
On May 13, Caroline’s Comedy Club hosts "Comedy Night With Judy Gold & Friends" to benefit the Westside Crime Prevention Program’s "Safe Haven" Project for urban kids (when ordering, use the code "WCPP" to earmark your donation); Seth Rudetsky co-hosts, and performers include Caroline Rhea and Jackie Hoffman.
En route, catch the opening reception for a sure-to-be-glorious show at the UBS Art Gallery: "A Parallel Presence: National Association of Women Artists, 1889-2009."
The East Village’s Poetry Project has a couple of heavy hitters scheduled: John Giorno on May 13 and John Ashbery on the 14th.
At Lincoln Center May 14-17, you can catch the Mark Morris Dance Group’s take on Prokofiev’s "Romeo & Juliet" (we hear it ends happily).
I won’t pretend to be an adept of minimalist Japanese dance, but a YouTube sampling convinced that that dancer/designer Hiroaki Umeda’s work is worth checking out: he’ll be performing at the Japan Society May 14-16.
Is your wardrobe ready for an overhaul? Re-dress yourself at Lighthouse International’s Posh Sale May 14-17, offering deep discounts on top designers.
Jeremy Irons and Cynthia Nixon co-host the 75th annual Drama League Luncheon at the Marriott Marquis May 15. Elton John and Angela Lansbury will be receiving special awards, and theatre-loving proles can attend for as little as $75 (sans meal).
That evening, Richie Havens sings at the Metropolitan Museum -- cool or what? It’s also first preview night for Theresa Rebeck’s comedy "Our House" - about the interface of news and reality TV - at Playwrights Horizons.
Also on the 15th, as part of its "On The Money: Cartoons for The New Yorker" show (closing May 24), the Morgan Library screens "Funny Business," Lyda Ely’s documentary about prominent cartoonists such as Roz Chast and David Sipress.
On May 16, the Dance Parade wends its way down Broadway - from midtown to Tompkins Square Park - starting at 1:00 PM. You’ll want to coordinate your viewing with a jaunt downtown to dabble in a Taste of Tribeca, 11:30am to 3pm, and uptown to catch at least part of Symphony Space’s "Wall to Wall Broadway" event, 11am to 11pm. Imagine, a chance to catch Broadway headliners like Melissa Errico, Raul Esparza, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Donna Murphy, Kelli O’Hara, and B.D. Wong absolutely free. Just a note of warning: Fanatics have been known to start lining up at midnight.
You might want to take a break that evening to bid at White Column’s 40th anniversary auction: donors include Alex Katz, Cindy Sherman, and Sarah Sze (works can be previewed online).
Or, if need be, drop everything to hear Leonard Cohen at Radio City Music Hall May 16-17.
May 17, of course, is the date of the AIDS walk. Rest up at the 54th annual Drama Desk Awards. Harvey Fierstein hosts, and presenters include Stockard Channing (herself a nominee), John Cullum, Andre De Shields, John Lithgow, and Parker Posey. Recession notwithstanding, it was a record-setting year.
May 18 brings another gala glut (choices, choices!):
On the awards front that same night:
Plus, May 18 marks the start of American Ballet Theatre’s spring season (through July 11). Highlights include a world premiere, "On the Dnieper," by the Bolshoi’s Alexei Ratmansky, and good news: On May 25, you can take a kid (4-17) for free!
On May 19, the Atlantic Theater premieres Leslie Ayvazian’s relationships drama "Make Me," featuring Anthony Arkin, Candy Buckley, Jessica Hecht, J.R. Horne, Richard Masur, and Ellen Parker.
Later this month: A Bacon Comeback, and Other Symphonies for the Senses
Talk about a doorbuster: The Met had better batten its hatches for "Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective" (May 20 - August 16); the late British iconoclast hasn’t had a major show here for decades. While there, check out the "Pictures Generation" show (up through August 2), especially Cindy Sherman’s early witticisms.
Nightlife options on the 20th include Campbell Scott, Donna Murphy, and Mary Stuart Masterson reading "Tales that Surprise" (by Amy Hempel, Shaun Tan, and Edna O’Brien) at Symphony Space; "Our Hit Parade" at Joe’s Pub, masterminded by Kenny Mellman (formerly known as "Herb," as in Kiki and Herb) and featuring indie cutie Adira Amram.
On the 21st drag diva Sweetie (Daniel T. Booth) hosts a one-night "Wig Out! Costume Extravaganza" commemorating the Vineyard Theatre’s recent production and supporting the theatre; after a fashion show/dance party, you’ll have a chance to bid on the costumes.
That same night, Andy Borowitz hosts the Moth Members Show at Symphony Space, on the theame of "Crack UP: Stories about Comedies and Calamities"; Malcolm Gladwell will be among the raconteurs.
My absolute favorite among the recent Tribeca Film Festival entries was "Easy Virtue," a Noel Coward-derived script about an American adventuress (Jessica Biel) doing her best to adapt to a stuffy British country house (the demesne of a redoubtable Kristin Scott Thomas). It opens in New York May 22, preceded by a few days by the soundtrack (the kid can sing - vide "Mad about the Boy").
The Brooklyn Academy of Music celebrates the 32nd annual DanceAfrica Festival May 23-25; performances - plus a bazaar featuring 250 vendors - offer a stirring way to spend Memorial Day weekend.
"Thank You for Being a Friend" - an unauthorized musical parody of "The Gold Girls" -- starts previews at the Kraine Theater at KGB Bar May 24 and runs to June 12.
Gay comic Billy Eichner, co-creator of "Creation Nation" and a writer for Logo TV’s "Big Gay Sketch Show," starts a four-week Monday-night run at Joe’s Pub May 25.
On the 26th, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean & Harry Shearer reprise their greatest hits from "Spinal Tap," "A Mighty Wind," and more in "Unwigged & Unplugged" at the Beacon Theatre. And Deborah Voigt stars in a concert version of "Alceste" with the Collegiate Chorale -- look for me among the soprani -- at Lincoln Center.
On the 30th, you can nosh your way through the New Taste of the Upper West Side, which will offer unlimited tastings from such hot spots as Dovetail (a personal fave).
It’s BYOBBB (bring your own brown bag brunch) for the May 31 "Depression Brunch: Idol Idle Idyl Workship (Sacred and Profane)" at Joe’s Pub on the 31st, the first in a proposed series of low-cost ($15) gatherings. Special guests this Sunday include the lovely trans-pianist Our Lady J and the incomparable Justin Bond.
The summer-long River To River Festival starts off on the 31st with a bang - a 12-hour performance by members of Bang on a Can, to be precise.
And for something truly different, get a whiff of the "ScentOpera" at the Guggenheim on May 31 and June 1. In this "new art form" invented by Stewart Matthew, composers Nico Muhly and Valgeir Sigurdson have collaborated with fragrance designer Christophe Laudamiel to produce a work for "scent organ." You would definitely have to be there.
