CITY OF GLASS | In the convoluted world of noir gumshoe tales, he who picks up the phone often does so at great personal risk — and so it goes, in “City of Glass,” the first entry in author Paul Auster’s pulpy “New York Trilogy.” The trouble starts when unassuming Daniel Quinn receives a call, then takes a case in the name of the man he’s mistaken for: Paul Auster. But the newly minted PI soon regrets that decision, when he’s plunged into an Upper West Side world of men without language, femme fatale protectors, and fathers with murderous intentions. Described by producing entity Untitled Theater Company No. 61 as a “meditation on the nature of identity…wrapped in a surreal mystery,” director Edward Einhorn’s adaptation — in which strange situations unfold via video projected onto surfaces of cracked glass — promises to deliver a down-the-rabbit-hole experience every bit as post-modern, uneasy, and ambitious as its source material.
“City of Glass” contains nudity and adult themes. Through Sat., Mar. 12: Wed. at 7 p.m., Thurs.–Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 5 p.m. Added performance Sat., Mar. 12 at 2 p.m. No show Sun., Feb. 28 or Wed., Mar. 2. At The New Ohio (154 Christopher St., btw. Greenwich & Washington Sts.). For tickets ($25-$30), visit untitledtheater.com or call 888-596-1027.
WEST VILLAGE CHORALE WINTER CONCERT: “OH, FREEDOM!” | Songs of hope, freedom, and inspiration from around the world give glorious voice to the triumph of human decency over social and political oppression, in this winter concert from the 45-member, nonsectarian, West Village Chorale. The program includes a concert arrangement of selections from the “Les Misérables,” spirituals, freedom songs, and the premiere of “In Honor of Martin.” A tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the choral piece was created by renowned sacred music composer and organist David Hurd, who recently stepped down from his academic and musical leadership posts after 39 years at General Theological Seminary. Malcolm J. Merriweather, the Chorale’s new artistic director, conducts.
Sun., Mar. 6 at 6 p.m., at Judson Memorial Church (55 Wash. Sq. South, at Thompson St.). For tickets ($25, $10 for students), visit westvillagechorale.org or call 212-517-1776.
MONK IN MOTION: THE NEXT FACE OF JAZZ | “These are people under the age of 30 who’ve devoted most of their lives to the craft, in the same way that Charlie Parker or Chet Baker once did.” That excerpt, from an article we published back in 2014, is exactly why we’re always singing the praises of BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center and the Thelonious Monk Institute’s annual “Monk in Motion: The Next Face of Jazz” event. This year’s three-part concert series showcases winning vocalists from 2015’s Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, who perform with their own bands. Feb. 20’s installment featured the First Place Winner — 23-year-old Jazzmeia “Jazz” Horn, a Harlem resident currently putting the finishing touches on her latest album. On Mar. 5, it’s Runner-Up Veronica Swift — who, at 21, is already headlining around the country. The series concludes on Mar. 19, with Second Runner-Up, Vuyo Sotashe — a 23-year-old South African who moved to NYC in 2013 and has gone on to win honors at a number of other prestigious competitions — including the Audience Prize Award and second overall placement at Switzerland’s 2015 Shure Montreux Jazz Voice Competition.
Sat., Mar. 5 & 19, at 7:30 p.m., at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center (199 Chambers St., btw. Greenwich & West Sts.). For tickets ($25, $15 for students/seniors per concert), visit tribecapac.org or call 212-220-1460. For info on the Institute, visit monkinstitute.org.
BENEFIT PERFORMANCE OF “PENNY PENNIWORTH” | All’s well that ends well — but not until this 70-minute, Victorian England-era farce (purporting to be a lost Charles Dickens epic) has subjected its young protagonist to all manner of strange relationships, as dirt poor but plucky Penny Penniworth finds herself alone in the world, after her childhood love is chased out of town for his involvement in a near-fatal incident involving a wealthy businessman. Playwright Chris Weikel’s ridiculous tale, performed by a “short-staffed theatre troupe with Royal Shakespeare Company aspirations,” was an Off-Broadway hit in 2010 and 2012. As directed by Mark Finley, the original cast returns for a benefit performance that will help fund the Drama Desk-nominated Emerging Artists Theatre’s New Work Series — which provides artists of different disciplines the opportunity to present a work in progress that solicits audience feedback directly following the performance. See the direct results of your kind support, when the New Works Series returns, Feb. 29–Mar. 20, to the venue that plays host to this one-shot revival of “Penniworth.”
Mon., Feb. 29, at 7:30 p.m., at TADA! Theater (15 W. 28th St., 2nd Fl., btw. Broadway & Fifth Ave.). For tickets ($75, which includes post-show mingle with the cast, hors d’oeuvres and a cocktail), visit brownpapertickets.com and search for “Penny Penniworth.” Artist info at newworkseries.com and emergingartiststheatre.org.
CINEKINK FILM FESTIVAL | Just as one person’s junk is another’s treasure, what constitutes kink is purely in the eye of the beholder. Everyone, after all, likes something specific when it comes to what goes down in the sack — or dungeon, or rooftop, or kitchen counter, or “furry” anthropomorphic animal costume. Proudly dedicated to providing alternatives to a culture that sells sex while shaming those who embrace it, the CineKink Film Festival wants to help you celebrate your own “pervy” predilections, while broadening your horizons.
The screenings and special events (some mildly spicy, others downright explicit) include “S&M Sally,” a humorous look at lesbians exploring BDSM; “The Pleasure of Rope,” a Japanese documentary about practitioners of bondage; “Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Sex Workers’ Words and Wisdom,” a panel whose members (Jiz Lee, Stoya, Chelsea Poe, Colin and Angie Rowntree, Morgana Muses) get personal about their chosen profession; the porn film showcase “Bring It!”; “Rites & Roles,” a collection of shorts exploring rituals and roles in sex play; and the closing film, “Schnick Schnack Schnuck,” a “sun-dappled homage” to 1970s porn.
Kickoff gala and fundraiser (with music, sexy performances, cinematic gems) on Tues., Mar. 1 at 8 p.m., at Taj (48 W. 21st St., btw. Fifth & Sixth Aves.). Wed., Mar. 2–Sat., Mar. 5, festival screenings at Anthology Film Archives (32 Second Ave., at Second St.). On Sun., Mar. 6, at 7 p.m., awards celebration. At 9 p.m., AfterGlow party (both events at Bowery Bliss; location provided to ticketholders). Screenings are $10, $8 for students/seniors. Kickoff gala, $20 at door, $15 in advance. Awards celebration free, with RSVP. AfterGlow party: $30/individual, $40/couple, $50/triad; no door sales. All-access pass: $85, $65 for students/seniors. For reservations and info, visit cinekink.com.
THE FRIGID FESTIVAL | Horse Trade Theater Group has cleared the decade mark since they first drew names out of a hat (then, in subsequent years, a plastic pumpkin) on Halloween night, for a very democratic determination of who makes the cut for this annual collection of solo shows, music, cabaret, and experimental oddities.
Among the offerings: Louisa May Alcott’s March sisters go old school, or, more specifically, schoolhouse, in “Lil’ Women: A Rap Musical.” Presented by Orlando, FL’s Lil Theatre Company, it tells the classic story in contemporary (i.e., hip-hop) style. Sick beats and the spitting of rhymes are rock solid certainties. At The Kraine Theater: Thurs., Feb. 25 at 7:10 p.m., Sun., Feb. 28 at 3:30 p.m., Tues., Mar. 1 at 8:50 p.m., Fri., Mar. 4 at 5:10 p.m., Sat., Mar. 5 at 3:20 p.m. Writer/performer Brad Lawrence and director Cyndi Freeman — the couple responsible for Downtown’s long-running, tribute-themed “Hotsy Totsy Burlesque” (currently ensconced at The Slipper Room) — team up for “The Gospel of Sherilyn Fenn”— a nod to the long, alternately debilitating and empowering shadow cast on young Mr. Lawrence by all manner of 1980s pop culture and political events. At UNDER St. Marks: Sat., Feb. 27 at 3:50 p.m., Thurs., Mar. 3 at 5:30 p.m., Sat., Mar. 5 at 10:30 p.m. Estranged pals Kate and Eddie have a chance meeting at a therapist’s office, in “Thank You For Waiting,” at The Kraine Theater: Sat., Feb. 27 at 6:40 p.m., Wed., Mar. 2 at 10:30 p.m., Sat., Mar. 5 at 12 p.m.
Highly recommended is a favorite of this publication: swishy storyteller (and tongue-twisting ace of alliteration) Dandy Darkly, whose “Trigger Happy” tours an American landscape where PTSD, gentrification, and celebrity worship get the horror treatment, with hilarious and disturbing results. At UNDER St. Marks: Fri., Mar. 4 at 10:30 p.m., Sun., Mar. 6 at 1:50 p.m.
FRIGID Festival shows are at the Kraine Theater (85 E. Fourth St., btw. Bowery & Second Ave.) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Pl., btw. First Ave. & Ave. A). For tickets ($8–$15), visit frigidnewyork.info.
—BY SCOTT STIFFLER
