Tag Archives: McCarren Park

August 12-17 Get it while it’s HOT!

Can you believe it’s already the middle of August? If you haven’t been to your fair share of awesome summer events it’s time to get out of your apartment and get ’em while it’s HOT!

Tomorrow I will be on a plane on my way to Banff, but you will have to make the difficult choice between 2 great film screenings, an absurd musical event and a free opera performance!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will be playing on the ball fields of McCarren Park. This is a very hipster film so this screening in the heart of Hipsterville is a prime opportunity to view it in its… hmm… natural habitat?

The other movie screening worth considering is The Sex and the City Movie showing on Pier 54. If you’re just as in love with your new Prada sandals as you are with your new summer fling this is the event for you! Here’s the trailer (in case you’ve finally gotten the theme out of your head and need a refresher):

If you want some live melodrama (instead of onscreen) head up to Central Park where the New York Grand Opera will be performing a semi-staged production of Madama Butterfly in the Naumburg Bandshell (@ 72nd St.).

If you want to see a story whose ending is yet to be determined witness history in the making at the first Music Video Film Festival and Band Battle at Public Assembly!

On Thursday head to Brooklyn Bridge Park for another fabulous film screening, in this case Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Don’t forget to bring a picnic and get there early for a good spot!

Also on Thursday there will be a truly epic concert out at Coney Island– Blondie, Pat Benatar and The Donnas are playing the Seaside Summer Concert Series. Why see the imitators when you can see the originals, right?

This weekend some very (ahem) unique performers will be back in town- Puppetry of the Penis is live at the Bleecker Theater! This video doesn’t show you much but if it doesn’t terrify you this may just be the best show you’ll see all summer!

If that’s not your style, never fear, the monster of theater festivals is opening on Friday- the New York International Fringe Festival! Running through August 30th…

The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues – that’s a total of more than 1300 performances! FringeNYC generates an atmosphere of extreme excitement, and our energy is contagious!

There will be something for EVERYONE.

Friday night the free lecture at the Columbia Astronomy Center is ‘Teaching Old Stars New Tricks;’ as always the star gazing at the observatory post-lecture is also free and open to the public!

This weekend at Galapagos Suspended Cirque is presenting their newest creation- Urbanopolis! This talented troupe of aerial performers will tell a fanciful tale of a young man’s urban journey; their performance will stretch over the walls and ceilings and bring the audience into the world they’ve created.

On Saturday if you haven’t made it out to P.S.1 for the Warm Up this summer then this week is the week to go! DJ Pierre, Phuture 303, House of Stank, and Growing will be heating up the courtyard; if you need to cool down check out Leandro Erlich’s Swimming Pool (j/k).

Leandro Erlich: Swimming Pool

Last summer the Public Theater gave us bacchanalia in the form of naked hippies, this summer they’re taking it back to its roots with The Bacchae! Don’t wait until the end of the run to try to get tickets at the Delacorte; I tried to get tickets for the Twelfth Night at the end of the run and was too late at 6:30am!

Monday is your last chance to see a movie in Bryant Park this summer; Spielberg’s masterpiece Close Encounters of the Third Kind will screen at dusk. Here’s the trailer:

Next Tuesday for the singles among you there’s a free rooftop party at Tonic East in the village. The group running the event- Single and the City, aim to bring together the best of the best to help you find who you’re looking for- check it out, you never know, right?

I hope you all have a great week, follow me on Twitter to get the latest updates!

July 31-August 2 (+ Ongoing) Events!

Watching To Catch a Thief under the Brooklyn Bridge was amazing; it was one of those evenings that make you fall in love with NYC all over again; I’ll post some pictures of the magic later today. First let me tell you (a bit belatedly this week, sorry about that!) about the great events happening this weekend!

If you missed seeing Cary Grant last night you have another chance to tonight- Notorious is showing at the Rubin Museum as part of their Cabaret Cinema series. This is another great Hitchcock film, complete with secrets, treachery and lust; Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains (both of Casablanca fame) play alongside Grant. Here’s the original 1946 trailer:

For something a bit more explicit you can join fans of Andy Warhol for a screening of his rather unusual film The Nude Restaurant at the Anthology Film Archives:

Wondrous Warhol vixen Viva dishes up a monologue of hysterically epic proportions while co-star Taylor Mead and other nearly naked actors comically mill about the set in this rarely screened feature from The Factory gang. Warhol and crew supposedly rented a restaurant called The Mad Hatter and filmed this barebones, bare-skinned comedy in just one day. While the title aptly reflects the film’s content, it was also a smart marketing move on the part of Warhol and his assistant, Paul Morrissey, to exploit the then-current controversy surrounding “skin flicks” and the emergence of pornography in Times Square grindhouse theaters. Many favorite superstars – Billy Name, Alan Midgette, Louis Waldron, Ingrid Superstar, and someone named Electro Banana – appear in g-strings and much less….

If it proves to be a nice night stay out and enjoy it with opera in East River Park; this lovely strip of green has much the same feel as Brooklyn Bridge Park and tonight’s performance, with two singers from the Metropolitan Opera (Joyce El-Khoury and Keith Miller), is sure to be enchanting.

If you’d rather spend the evening in a less… hmm… green outdoor space, head down to Ludlow and Broome where Shakespeare in the Parking Lot is performing Measure for Measure- starting this weekend and continuing through August 15th.

Shakespeare in the Parking Lot

On Saturday you can continue the celebration of all things Warhol at the Prospect Park Bandshell, where his even weirder film Silent Film Portraits will be accompanied by a live soundtrack, provided by Dean & Britta:

Dean & Britta, who are beloved as one of the sexiest duo’s in rock, in addition to being alumni of the groundbreaking alt-rock band Luna, perform original scores to Warhol’s rarely seen short silent film portraits, which captured Factory superstars, celebrities, and anonymous teenagers in mesmerizing four-minute shots. Commissioned by the Andy Warhol Museum, the project is like an archeological dig unearthing NYC’s 1960s art scene, complete with an unforgettable soundtrack. Brooklyn’s Crystal Stilts, whom Pitchfork describes as “moody-sounding f*ckers who make fabulous stripped-down garage-pop,” will set the tone for the night.

Move from Warhol’s 60s milieu to the 70s punk scene with a visit to a hot new exhibit at the MOMA-Looking at Music: Side 2. I was there last week and I thought the setup was very effective; there are listening stations where you can hear the music being discussed, as well as music videos and various ephemera. Here’s a pic of a mother and daughter rocking out together:

Mom and daughter at Looking at Music: Side 2

For a different sort of punk you can learn to Punk Rope this Saturday at 10am on the Driggs side of the track at McCarren Park!

Punk Rope in action!

If you like your comedy outdoors head back to East River Park for NYC Laughs– the only outdoor comedy series!

On Sunday get one last dose of black and white cinema this weekend with a screening of Pygmalion at Symphony Space! I saw the live version with Claire Danes in 2007 but she can’t hold a candle to Wendy Hiller.

Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard in Pygmalion

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that Restaurant Week has been extended- make your reservations fast!

Have an excellent weekend and stay tuned for additions! Don’t forget you can get the latest updates by following TheBigRedApple on Twitter!

July 20-23 What to do?

Happy Monday everyone! I actually woke up at 5:45 and went to my 7am yoga class today so I’m already feeling hugely accomplished, plus since I’m funemployed I got to nap all morning afterwards! Hurray! I hope you are off to an equally good start this week! I wrote about a couple of events for tonight in an earlier post, so be sure to check that out.

This is the last week to check out Hiding Behind Comets, a play by Brian Dykstra that the NYTimes calls “a dark, gritty story with its full measure of sex, violence, profanity and general nastiness.” Check it out at the Spoon Theater!

David Tully, Rebecca Challis and Kiran Malhotra in Hiding Behind Comets

Tomorrow night celebrate Good Beer Month at the Local Grill-Off to benefit Slow Food! The event will be taking place at Water Taxi Beach, so you can check out the skyline while enjoying excellent food and beer! Get your tickets here.

In celebration of Good Beer Month, watch contestants show off their grilling skills using locally sourced ingredients in the Local Grill-Off to benefit Slow Food ($35). After sampling the entries, try locally sourced feasts from some the city’s top ‘cue joints (including Fette Sau, Rub BBQ and the soon-to-open Fatty Cue) and beers from Six Point Brewery.

Also on Tuesday you can embrace your inner geek at the launch party for a new weekly movie night at Teneleven– Classic Kung Fu Movie Night!

teneleven

On Wednesday those of you who are amongst the funemployed can further your education with a walking tour of the East Village focusing on the grittier side of its history:

This exciting walking tour covers everything from the Golden Age of the American gangster at the turn of the century to prohibition-era gang wars to the bohemian arts and drug culture of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. Some of the most influential and colorful criminals and characters in American history have called the East Village home — organized mobsters, social-political organizations, radical activists, religious cults, and everything in-between.

Trace the steps of everyone from Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, and Lucky Luciano to Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, The Hells Angels, GG Allin, and many many more. Riots, squatter evictions, cannibals, street gangs, kidnappings, shoot outs, assassinations, grave-robbers, hangings, bombings; we cover it all…

For a look at more recent history you can join the hipsters in McCarren Park for a screening of 24-hour Party People, a comedy documenting Manchester’s golden age of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll. Check out the trailer:

On Thursday celebrate the great Jazz music written for piano at the 92Y Tribeca. Performers include pianists Mulgrew Miller, Eric Scott Reed, Renee Rosnes and Bill Charlap.

If it’s dancing you want head out to Hugs for another addition of Excess Energy‘s much lauded Love Machine party! DJs Brian Blackout and Fucci will be spinning the tunes while you connect with that hot stranger in the crowd through interactive messaging! The UK Magazine Grazia Daily will be there checking out the action; go show them what Wburg is all about!

Excess Energy

If you want to add some art to your week head over to the Soho20 Gallery in Chelsea for the opening of their new exhibit Boxing Gloves and Bustiers! The exhibit explores different concepts of female identity through video art. Here’s a still from one of the pieces:

Under My Skin by Valerie Garlick

Have an excellent week and stay tuned for additions!

July 7-9 Fun in the Sun!

It’s my first week of funemployment and NYC has never felt so full of promise! There are lots of excellent events to consider attending this week.

The Summer Play Festival (SPF) starts Tuesday at the Public Theater:

The Summer Play Festival (SPF) stages original new plays and musicals by emerging writers during the summer months at the legendary Public Theater in New York City. Since its inception in 2004, SPF has invested millions of dollars in emerging theatre artists, produced over 500 public performances, and has provided an opportunity for 75 writers, as well as hundreds of directors, designers, actors, stage managers, and interns to present their work in a protected environment.

This year’s lineup includes a “testosterone-driven new musical” (Departure Lounge), which is possibly the most questionable statement I’ve heard this summer. All tickets are $10, so this is an excellent way to get your dose of questionable theater cheaply!

Tuesday night you can be part of the drama at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where an interactive retelling of an 1873 Murder Mystery casts the audience as the detectives. You can learn about the underbelly of NYC a century ago and test your intuition.

If you’re looking for a slightly more athletic participatory event on Tuesday, you can head out to The Bell House and join the Ping Pong Tournament. The Tournament is strictly amateur and just $5 to join but be forewarned- “whiners will be paddled!”

pingpong001

On Wednesday night at The Slipper Room you can experience a book release party of an unusual nature; this dirty book needs an array of naughty performances to usher it into the world:

On July 8th, Fugu Press will release “Scarlett Takes Manhattan,” the first graphic novel by Dr. Sketchy’s creator Molly Crabapple and her longtime collaborator John Leavitt. Set in the demimonde of Gilded Age New York, “Scarlett Takes Manhattan” tells the story of poor Bowery girl Shifra Helfgott, who rises to become the premier fire-eater of her age. Chock full of rigged boxing matches, dirty politics, and turn of the century lesbian culture, “Scarlett” has been described as “disgustingly wonderful” by Warren Ellis and led Margaret Cho to call Molly “THE artist of our time.” Hosted by Amber Ray, New York’s “Salvador Dali of Burlesque” / Book signing by “Scarlett Takes Manhattan” creators Molly Crabapple and John Leavitt / Burlesque by Gal Friday / Fire performance by Jo Boobs / Vaudevillian music by The Two Man Gentleman Band, who will debut their new song “Scarlett Takes Manhattan” / Free red-hot flavored cupcakes by Glittle Cupcakes.

scarlett flier

Also on Wednesday you can see Reality Bites at the ball fields at McCarren Park, as part of the Summer Screen Series by L Magazine. This is the movie that used the trope of home video years before youtube would propel our angst into the public realm. Check out the original trailer here.

ALSO on Wednesday, if you want to see some truly vintage movies head over to Dead Herring, where there will be a screening of “rare old-time cartoons hand-picked by Owen Kline and Tom Stathes, all projected on 16mm film.”

Thursday afternoon, if you’re funemployed (like me!), you can grab some gourmet munchies for a pittance at the World Financial Center Restaurant Showcase:

The 16 eateries of the World Financial Center will offer a tasting of world class cuisine for as little as $1 (and as much as $5) under the palm trees of the World Financial Center Winter Garden.

EAT

This may be the last week to see Twelfth Night at the Delacorte, but Thursday is opening night for another distinguished outdoor Shakespearean theater- Shakespeare in the Parking Lot! This year the parking lot, on the corner of Ludlow and Broome, will open its season with Midsummer Night’s Dream; what could be more dreamlike than Puck in a parking lot?

Finally I have one special advance theater notice: there will be two performances of Cirque Jacqueline July 25 and 26 at the Players Loft. This one-woman play about the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis has received excellent reviews and the tickets are likely to sell out quickly, particularly as they’re only $20 apiece! The New York Times says that its author and star, Andrea Reese, “becomes uncannily Jackie-esque.”

jackie0poster

Have a great week and stay tuned for additions!

May 15-17 More Weekend Events!

I’ve already told you about several awesome events happening this weekend, including but not limited to the opening of The Love Armor Project, a Gotham Girls Roller Derby match, an awesome dance party at Studio B and the Wet Spots’ show at Joe’s Pub. Check out the details of those events and others in my last post.

I have some additional events to announce…

Friday night there will be a benefit for Figment down at the Battery Maritime Building. Figment is “an annual arts event on Governors Island, with artwork in every medium, from installation to performance to music to games and many things in between. Participation is open to any artist who would like to share their work. It is a free, non-profit endeavor run by volunteers.” Figment will be taking place this summer from June 12-14. Head downtown Friday in your best nautical attire; the benefit will be almost as fun as the event:

On May 15, drop anchor and walk the plank at OVERBOARD, an all-night dance party to benefit FIGMENT. For one night only, we will transform a haggard ferry dock into a merry port of call, featuring the siren songs of the city’s finest bands, DJs and performers. Maritime, mermaid, sailor, pirate, deep sea creature or other nautical attire is encouraged.

You have three chances to see Hiroaki Umeda perform at the Japan Society this weekend:

Multidisciplinary solo artist Hiroaki Umedacommands all elements of his unique spectacle: choreography, dance, lights and computerized sound and video images. Minimal and radical, subtle and provocative, Umeda’s extraordinary butoh/street dance-inspired choreography appears within an environment of sparse, dramatic lighting, flashing cyber-imagery, electronic beats and crackling digital soundscapes.

Hiroaki Umeda

His performance has to be experienced in person so don’t miss this opportunity!

Do you remember jump roping in second grade? Were you one of the cool kids who did double dutch while the rest of us looked on in awkward admiration? On Saturday head to McCarren Park and see if you have what it takes to compete in the Punk Rope Olympics. First, check out this video to see what you’re in for:

This is the opening weekend of an exciting new exhibit at the International Center of Photography; the exhibit is the the largest survey of Richard Avedon’s fashion work since the Metropolitan Museum show in 1978. The New York Times review says:

Avedon’s photography has always amounted to a plea for beauty — to see it mysterious, to see it raw but ultimately to see it whole. To view his portraits in the ’50s and ’60s is to see the flip side of the decades’ stylish obsessions. And whether the faces were beautiful or ravaged, famous or not, the portraits relentlessly informed the fashion images, and vice versa… The I.C.P. exhibition, picking up where the 1978 Metropolitan show left off and allowing the first complete view of Avedon’s fashion photography, strips away the last shadows on his art.

Richard Avedon ' Evening Dress' 1957

On Sunday I simply must mention yet another awesome event at The Bell House. I know, I tell you about them all the time, but this one is just irresistible. They’re screening four films by Jean Painleve; there will be mollusks making love and an octopus falling in love amongst other absurdities- enjoy!

Have an excellent weekend and stay tuned for additions!

The Big Red Apple

Out and About in NYC