On Broooaaadwaaay

As campus groups are still rolling into the new season and you still don’t have a shit-ton of work, why not go further?  Break out of the bubble while you still have the chance and catch some of Bwog staff’s cultural picks for the week.

Columbia:

• The Institute for Comparative Literature and Society is hosting Remembering Edward W. Said: A Conversation and Performance and Miller Theatre on Friday at 7 pm, $12 for students.  The conversation will be between Daniel Barenboim and Ara Guzelimian (Dean and Provost of Juilliard); the performance will be by Barenboim and members of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.

Theatre:

• From January 22nd to February 7th it’s Broadway Week!  This means that 2 for 1 tickets are available for some of Broadway’s hottest shows, including Annie, the Lion King, Newsies, and Spiderman.  Go and bring a friend for a great night out.
• Similarly, from January 28th to February 10th it’s Off-Broadway Week.  Check out the Blue Man Group or STOMP for rollicking good fun.
• Once is still on Broadway and still completely dazzling.  If you haven’t seen the wonderful adaptation from the charming and heartfelt film, try for rush tickets this week.  Fall in love, have your heart broken, laugh, cry, and get into heated arguments about whether it’s better than the movie or not.

Dance:

• The All Tschaikovsky program is continuing at the New York City Ballet.  Many pieces feature Balanchine choreography, and the performances culminate in a full-length staging of The Sleeping Beauty from February 19-24.

Opera:

• The Met’s new production of Rigoletto set in 1960s Las Vegas by Michael Mayer, known for directing Spring Awakening, premiered this Monday to positive response.  It’s selling out fast but you can listen live online this Monday at 7:25 pm.
• Next Wednesday night you can see an encore screening of Maria Stuarda as part of the Met’s Live in HD program at the AMC Times Square.  If you’ve ever wondered what a real “rave review” looks like, read the New York Times’ on this production.  This is the first time the opera was performed at the Met—it was banned in Naples for use of the phrase “vile bastard” in the libretto.  If you thought Regina vs. Cady was bad, you should see Elizabeth I vs. Mary Stuart.
• Student tickets are available for Le Comte Ory with Juan Diego Florez and rising star Pretty Yende, Saturday matinee and Tuesday night.  Spoiler alert: it ends in a threesome.

Visual Art:

• SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery is featuring a “Women Redrawing the World Stage” exhibit with women breaking out of their cultures and finding identity.  Now till February 23.
• Express Your Inner Snake: Celebrate Lunar New Year at Museum Of Chinese in America – Sat, Feb 2 from 11am – 6pm – General Admission 10$, which includes tours of the gallery, walking tours of Chinatown, dance performances, and arts and crafts.
• In NYC train news, the New York Transit Museum is having their 11th annual Train Show now through February 10th and it’s Grand Central’s Grand Centennial (Feb 1 – March 15)!
• Get your olfactory experience on at the Museum of Arts and Design with the Art of Scent, running until March 3rd.  Admission is free with CUID.
• The New York Historical Society is hosting a fabulous gallery of Nature and American Vision: The Hudson River School.  Bask in America’s glory till February 21.

Music:

• School of Seven Bells will be playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on Thursday at 8 pm
• Meanwhile, in the sold out section of concerts (good luck!):
  • You’ve got two chances to catch the newly popular Lumineers at Terminal 5 this Friday and Saturday.  Bwog says “hey” you say…
  • Meanwhile you’ve got three chances to catch Local Natives.  They’ll be at the Williamsburg Music Hall on Friday and Bowery Ballroom on Saturday and Sunday.
  • fun. will be at Radio City with Andrew McMahon (yes, that one) on Saturday.

Film:

• Lincoln Plaza Cinema has a great set of films to choose from this week, including Oscar-nominated (and major life ruiners due to surge of emotion) Amour and Beasts of the Southern Wild, the French language Rust & Bone with Marion Cotillard, and The Sessions, for which Helen Hunt got an Oscar nomination.

Top hat and tails via Shutterstock