Ten Hell’s Kitchen kids perform mini-musicals, mere steps from the Browadway big time.
HELL’S KITCHEN KIDS PERFORM MINI-MUSICALS
Some kids go to summer camp to sit around the fire and toast marshmallows — and that’s fine, if that sort of thing entertains you. But by the time 10 Hell’s Kitchen kids return from their week in the country, the stories they have to tell will be well-written, thoroughly rehearsed, and performed for an out-of-town tryout audience. The 52nd Street Project’s annual Block Island One-on-One series (“What’s My Line?, The Professional Plays”) pairs kids with a playwright, who creates a mini-musical specifically for that child. The shows are rehearsed over the course of the week, performed informally for the community in the retreat setting, then whisked off to Off-Broadway. This year’s crop of unknowns (with marquee name potential) are Adam Alkindi, Duaa Alkindi, Allyssia Feliciano, Kiara Figueroa, Joshua Gomez, David Ortiz, Kayla Ortiz, Karen Tineo, Milen Tokarev, and Kaylee Zambrano.
July 18–20, Fri./Sat. at 7:30 p.m. & Sun at 3 p.m. At Five Angels Theater (789 10th Ave., 2nd Floor; btw. 52nd & 53rd Sts.). Free, but reservations required. Call 212-642-5052. For more info on the 52nd Street Project, visit 52project.org. Like them on Facebook or follow @52ndStProject on Twitter.
Sharon Shah and Gus Solomons, as the title characters in Michael F. Bruck’s “Lottie and Leo,” a featured work in the Midtown International Theatre Festival.
“LOTTIE AND LEO” at THE MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
As a follow-up to last year’s entry — the comedy “Fancy” — decades-long Chelsea resident Michael F. Bruck returns to the Midtown International Theatre Festival with “Lottie and Leo.” Based on his own experience with multiple myeloma, this sober, sweet, and ultimately uplifting waiting room drama — about a young patient whose chance encounter with an elderly couple blossoms into a fast friendship — is a brief but emotionally intense discourse on everything from caretaker relationships to government assistance to generational differences to demonstrating grace in the face of unwelcome events.
Mon., July 28 at 6 p.m., Sat., Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m. & Sun., Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. At the Dorothy Strelsin Theater (312 W. 36th St., Sixth floor, btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). For tickets ($18), 866-811-4111 or midtownfestival.org.
Flo Fox’s “Disco Line-Up” (16” x 20” framed, 1978) is on view at the Carter Burden Gallery through July 24 (the same date as the Chelsea Art Walk).
“DISCO BALL” AND THE CHELSEA ART WALK
It’s a sight that can only be fully appreciated by those of us who loved the nightlife — and had to boogie — during that too-brief period in the 1970s. Occasional theme nights notwithstanding, we’ll never again see a time when flecks of light from a swirling, mirrored ball land on the shiny polyester and slick vinyl threads worn by hundreds of sweaty, twirling revelers.
From the late ’70s through the early ’80s, photographers Flo Fox and Len Speier captured the dance moves, immaculately shellacked hair, and decadent revelry of the NYC disco scene. Nine works each — from their time spent prowling long gone clubs such as Xenon, Area, Roseland, Starlight, and Studio 54 — comprise “Disco Ball.” It’s one of three exhibits currently at Carter Burden Gallery. The nonprofit space gives voice to New York City’s re-emerging older artists — who, this exhibit reminds us, were in their prime during the reigning days of Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, The Village People, The Bee Gees, and The Weather Girls. You won’t find any of those artists in this exhibit, though, nor will you see the garish colors of 1970s fabrics or the ultra violet lights that flooded the dance floor. By presenting the disco era in black and white, Fox and Speier allow the viewer to focus on the intense displays of self-expression, rather than the bright and shiny surroundings.
![Courtesy of the artist & Carter Burden Gallery Bill Richards’ “Crossover” (72” x 120” [Dyptych], acrylic on canvas, 2012-2013) is one of the “Streamed Space Paintings” on view at the Carter Burden Gallery through July 24.](https://www.amny.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/July17_JDA_Disco_Crossover.png "Just Do Art 4")
Bill Richards’ “Crossover” (72” x 120” [Dyptych], acrylic on canvas, 2012-2013) is one of the “Streamed Space Paintings” on view at the Carter Burden Gallery through July 24.
Also on view through July 24, Bill Richards’ bold “Streamed Space Paintings” are filled with luminous streams of color that, curator Marlena Vaccaro notes, appear to “converge and diverge simultaneously, forming a kind of fluid Gordian knot that seems to unravel as it is tied.” In the installation “On the Wall,” Marilyn Sontag uses cut and torn shapes of paper to create a light, ethereal environment that gives the illusion of movement.
Free. On view through July 24. A closing reception will be held that day, from 5–8 p.m. — as part of the Chelsea Art Walk. For info on other galleries and studio artists participating in the Art Walk, visit artwalkchelsea.com. Carter Burden Gallery is located at 548 W. 28th St. (btw. 10th & 11th Aves. Suite #534). Hours: Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m–5 p.m. & Sat., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. For info, call 212-564-84505 or visit carterburdengallery.com.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT PRESENTS “TWELFTH NIGHT”
Shakespeare on the roof? In an alley? On a moving flatbed truck, perhaps? The Drilling Company is weighing its options, determined to ensure that the show will go on. After the current (20th!) season of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, the much-loved “Bard-under-the-stars and among-the-cars” open air must-see will be kicked to the curb. This is no midsummer night’s dream. Plans have been cemented to pave over the parking lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome, to accommodate the Essex Crossing project. Fittingly, The Drilling Company notes that the first of two swan songs in this particular location — “Twelfth Night” — is “one of the last and most bitter-sweet of Shakespeare’s comedies.”
This adaptation casts shipwrecked twins Sebastian and Viola as lost visitors swept into the Municipal Parking Lot — where they must navigate mistaken identity and unrequited love, after encountering characters reimagined as contemporary Lower East Side denizens (Sir Toby is an affectionate nod to the drunks who’ve injected their own drama to past productions; Olivia resides in one of the area’s new upscale towers; Feste is a drag queen, and the servants are longtime neighborhood residents employed by monied newcomers).
“Like the Lower East side itself,” notes director Hamilton Clancy, “the Parking Lot is a melting pot. Shakespeare speaks to human diversity and performing it in the Parking Lot has always seemed the perfect frame for us. This production aims to celebrate that.” The celebration doesn’t end with the last night of “Twelfth.” One final stab at immortality remains, when The Drilling Company presents “Othello” (July 31–Aug. 16).
“Twelfth Night” plays through July 26. Thurs.–Sat., 8 p.m. at the Municipal Parking Lot (corner of Ludlow & Broome Sts.). Free (donations gratefully accepted). Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. For info, call 212-873-9050 or visit shakespeareintheparkinglot.com.
HELL’S KITCHEN KIDS PERFORM MINI-MUSICALS
Some kids go to summer camp to sit around the fire and toast marshmallows — and that’s fine, if that sort of thing entertains you. But by the time 10 Hell’s Kitchen kids return from their week in the country, the stories they have to tell will be well-written, thoroughly rehearsed, and performed for an out-of-town tryout audience. The 52nd Street Project’s annual Block Island One-on-One series (“What’s My Line?, The Professional Plays”) pairs kids with a playwright, who creates a mini-musical specifically for that child. The shows are rehearsed over the course of the week, performed informally for the community in the retreat setting, then whisked off to Off-Broadway. This year’s crop of unknowns (with marquee name potential) are Adam Alkindi, Duaa Alkindi, Allyssia Feliciano, Kiara Figueroa, Joshua Gomez, David Ortiz, Kayla Ortiz, Karen Tineo, Milen Tokarev, and Kaylee Zambrano.
July 18–20, Fri./Sat. at 7:30 p.m. & Sun at 3 p.m. At Five Angels Theater (789 10th Ave., 2nd Floor; btw. 52nd & 53rd Sts.). Free, but reservations required. Call 212-642-5052. For more info on the 52nd Street Project, visit 52project.org. Like them on Facebook or follow @52ndStProject on Twitter.
“LOTTIE AND LEO” at THE MIDTOWN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL
As a follow-up to last year’s entry — the comedy “Fancy” — decades-long Chelsea resident Michael F. Bruck returns to the Midtown International Theatre Festival with “Lottie and Leo.” Based on his own experience with multiple myeloma, this sober, sweet, and ultimately uplifting waiting room drama — about a young patient whose chance encounter with an elderly couple blossoms into a fast friendship — is a brief but emotionally intense discourse on everything from caretaker relationships to government assistance to generational differences to demonstrating grace in the face of unwelcome events.
Mon., July 28 at 6 p.m., Sat., Aug. 2 at 6:30 p.m. & Sun., Aug. 3 at 1 p.m. At the Dorothy Strelsin Theater (312 W. 36th St., Sixth floor, btw. Eighth & Ninth Aves.). For tickets ($18), 866-811-4111 or midtownfestival.org.
“DISCO BALL” AND THE CHELSEA ART WALK
It’s a sight that can only be fully appreciated by those of us who loved the nightlife — and had to boogie — during that too-brief period in the 1970s. Occasional theme nights notwithstanding, we’ll never again see a time when flecks of light from a swirling, mirrored ball land on the shiny polyester and slick vinyl threads worn by hundreds of sweaty, twirling revelers.
From the late ’70s through the early ’80s, photographers Flo Fox and Len Speier captured the dance moves, immaculately shellacked hair, and decadent revelry of the NYC disco scene. Nine works each — from their time spent prowling long gone clubs such as Xenon, Area, Roseland, Starlight, and Studio 54 — comprise “Disco Ball.” It’s one of three exhibits currently at Carter Burden Gallery. The nonprofit space gives voice to New York City’s re-emerging older artists — who, this exhibit reminds us, were in their prime during the reigning days of Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, The Village People, The Bee Gees, and The Weather Girls. You won’t find any of those artists in this exhibit, though, nor will you see the garish colors of 1970s fabrics or the ultra violet lights that flooded the dance floor. By presenting the disco era in black and white, Fox and Speier allow the viewer to focus on the intense displays of self-expression, rather than the bright and shiny surroundings.
Also on view through July 24, Bill Richards’ bold “Streamed Space Paintings” are filled with luminous streams of color that, curator Marlena Vaccaro notes, appear to “converge and diverge simultaneously, forming a kind of fluid Gordian knot that seems to unravel as it is tied.” In the installation “On the Wall,” Marilyn Sontag uses cut and torn shapes of paper to create a light, ethereal environment that gives the illusion of movement.
Free. On view through July 24. A closing reception will be held that day, from 5–8 p.m. — as part of the Chelsea Art Walk. For info on other galleries and studio artists participating in the Art Walk, visit artwalkchelsea.com. Carter Burden Gallery is located at 548 W. 28th St. (btw. 10th & 11th Aves. Suite #534). Hours: Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m–5 p.m. & Sat., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. For info, call 212-564-84505 or visit carterburdengallery.com.
SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKING LOT PRESENTS “TWELFTH NIGHT”
Shakespeare on the roof? In an alley? On a moving flatbed truck, perhaps? The Drilling Company is weighing its options, determined to ensure that the show will go on. After the current (20th!) season of Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, the much-loved “Bard-under-the-stars and among-the-cars” open air must-see will be kicked to the curb. This is no midsummer night’s dream. Plans have been cemented to pave over the parking lot at the corner of Ludlow and Broome, to accommodate the Essex Crossing project. Fittingly, The Drilling Company notes that the first of two swan songs in this particular location — “Twelfth Night” — is “one of the last and most bitter-sweet of Shakespeare’s comedies.”
This adaptation casts shipwrecked twins Sebastian and Viola as lost visitors swept into the Municipal Parking Lot — where they must navigate mistaken identity and unrequited love, after encountering characters reimagined as contemporary Lower East Side denizens (Sir Toby is an affectionate nod to the drunks who’ve injected their own drama to past productions; Olivia resides in one of the area’s new upscale towers; Feste is a drag queen, and the servants are longtime neighborhood residents employed by monied newcomers).
“Like the Lower East side itself,” notes director Hamilton Clancy, “the Parking Lot is a melting pot. Shakespeare speaks to human diversity and performing it in the Parking Lot has always seemed the perfect frame for us. This production aims to celebrate that.” The celebration doesn’t end with the last night of “Twelfth.” One final stab at immortality remains, when The Drilling Company presents “Othello” (July 31–Aug. 16).
“Twelfth Night” plays through July 26. Thurs.–Sat., 8 p.m. at the Municipal Parking Lot (corner of Ludlow & Broome Sts.). Free (donations gratefully accepted). Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. For info, call 212-873-9050 or visit shakespeareintheparkinglot.com.
— BY SCOTT STIFFLER
