A love letter from playwright Arthur Laurents to dancer Robert Pagent in the 1950s.
Aah, to be so enamored that you drop everything, pour your delirious heart out into a flipping type-written love letter, and long for "the peaceful excitement that comes from being with someone you love."
Consider this an invitation to be your full and unrestricted selves. But I also want you to know that the theatre normative will be disrupted in this space for the duration of this show. And that means some thangs.
It means you are allowed to laugh audibly and give all the "um hmmms" and "uhn hnnns" you feel inspired to give
The subject matter might make you think that there is no room for humor. That is a lie. The humanity of both the folk in the present and in the past during times of enslavement mean that they are full and complex. They are not simply downtrodden or in a perpetual state of abuse.
Just like in the present, the enslaved are multi-faceted. We all carry snark and sarcasm. We are all expert navigators of the systemic fuckeries. And sometimes, navigating that shit is painful. And sometimes, navigating that shit is funny.
As always, the theatre can be church for some of us, and testifying is allowed.
Please be an audience member that joins with the village, either silently or vocally, in support of the journey we will take collectively. Exhale together. Laugh together. Say "oh hell no" or "amen" should you need to.
Okay, so I haven’t really seen aurora borealis. There haven’t been any recent trips (unfortunately!) to any of the best destinations to take in the northern lights.
But this experience still rests firmly on my bucket list.
In the meantime, I take what I can get and headed over to The Edge at Hudson Yards this week to gaze at a special sky-high light show taking place only for a few days -- March 3rd through 7th (7 to 10pm each night).
It wasn't the real thing. But New York City on a clear night from the edge of a precipice is always beautiful.
“Ghost Song” is her boldest act yet. Here, Ms. Salvant displays yet more sonic range and nuance—soaring through intervals, moving nimbly through tricky rhythms, and reveling in pithy turns of phrase. Her voice is singularly arresting, yet it is never a single sound. It’s playful, nearly giddy, on “Optimistic Voices” (from “The Wizard of Oz”), and then sultry when that song segues into Gregory Porter’s “No Love Dying.” It’s a blues holler to start the title track, one of seven original compositions, and nearly soft as a whisper to begin Sting’s “Until.”
Ms. Cécile McLorin Salvant plays the Rose Theater in May 2022.
After vacation | Your hair shines | Your eyes glitter | Everything is fine
Sun & Sea is an Lithuanian opera by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (direction and set design), Vaiva Grainytė (libretto) and Lina Lapelytė (music).
For this piece, tons of sand have been hauled in from the shores of Jersey to a Brooklyn theater. Theatergoers stand above the stage and roam around and watch (almost voyeuristically) while a varied cast of about thirty or so relax on a beach, play games, eat lunch and disappear for the occasional dip in the water. A subset croons melodies —melodies about exhaustion from being overworked, melodies about privilege, melodies about love, melodies about complaints about untidy beachgoers, and melodies about mortality — while the theme of climate change flows like an undercurrent through the piece. Together, the evening adds up to a very unique and worthwhile theatrical experience and a wonderful, comfortable return to the New York City stage!
Sun & Seais a perfect return to the theater after eighteen months. I didn't have to jump right back in a packed theater. I could easily move about BAM Fisher and had the option to leave at any time The full opera lasts about an hour but performs on rotation for about five hours. Theatergoers can leave after one rotation or stay for the remaining rotations. I stayed two hours. They first hour I hugged the rail and just observed, taking in all the activity on the beach below me — trying to identify the performers singing, wondering how easy it is for them to sing supine, marveling at the kids playing, and thinking how well-behaved the sole dog in the cast is. For the second hour, I stood back from the rail and allowed newcomers to get a good view of the performance as I simply listened closer to and enjoyed the music and read through the libretto in greater detail, grateful to be able to finally return to the theater once again.
Sun & Sea plays at BAM Fisher through September 26th. Ticket holders are required to show proof of vaccination and must wear a mask during the performance. After BAM, it moves on to Philadelphia. See schedule at https://sunandsea.lt/en
The libretto may be found at http://bambillss2021.tilda.ws/
I am a regular theatergoer, but I could probably go out every day of the year and still not hit up all the nooks and crannies where I can experience the performing arts in some form in this area. My latest discovery? The beautiful Whitby Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Bear right as you enter the hotel, trot down the staircase and discover a quaint, intimate screening room. Recently, I attended a The American Associates of the National Theatre (AANT) screening of Arthur Miller's All My Sons with a FABULOUS performance by Sally Fields. What a treat the screening was - a glass a wine, a little popcorn, and amazing theater.
Shakespeare fans can enjoy a Royal Shakespeare Company’s screening of Romeo & Juliet later this month.