Where-To-Go Wednesday - Leonard Bernstein at 100

What: Leonard Bernstein at 100

Where: The New York Public Library of the Performing Arts
             40 Lincoln Center Plaza
             (65th St. and Columbus Ave.)
             New York, NY

When: Through March 24, 2018

Who: All ages
 
 
Me - The Leonard Bernstein exhibit at the Library of the Performing Arts in New York City was fascinating. The exhibit covered his whole life and career. Before we went to the exhibit, I didn't know who Leonard Bernstein was because I had never heard of him. When we went to the exhibit, I realized that I had actually heard of some of the shows he composed the music for including West Side Story and On The Town. Although I have never liked the show West Side Story, I do like the music which Leonard Bernstein composed for it. I hadn't actually seen On The Town when we saw the exhibit, but after we went I watched the movie. I liked the music in that but unfortunately a lot of the music in the movie was different than the music in the show and a lot of Leonard Bernstein's music was not in the movie. One of his songs that they kept in the movie which I really like is New York New York. It was interesting that they had whole case full of Grammys and Emmys that Leonard Bernstein had won, and there were a lot of them! There was a wall filled with posters from shows had worked on. There were a bunch of tablets that were hooked to the wall and there were headphones. You could put the headphones on and listen to music from some of the shows that he composed. On the whole, the Leonard Bernstein exhibit at the Library of the Performing Arts in New York was a very interesting.
  
 
Mom - The current Leonard Bernstein exhibit at the New York Library of the Performing Arts in honor of the composer's 100th birthday is quite comprehensive. It covers his entire life from his childhood on including both his career and his personal life. Artifacts include such items as the permanent wave machine his father sold in his beauty products business as well as many items owned by Leonard Bernstein himself such as pianos, a broken conducting baton, and numerous awards which he won over his lifetime. There are tons of pictures including pictures of Leonard with his family, There are several items of  clothing: both clothing that he wore when he was working like a suit he wore when conducting and clothing that he wore in his home life like a pair of slippers and a shirt. There are numerous stations where you can listen to a variety of different audio recordings of shows that Leonard Bernstein composed, or the music of composers that inspired him or various other recordings. There are also many videos from musicals that he composed or videos of him conducting the symphony or or videos of other famous musicians like Michael Feinstein and Joshua Bell talking about Leonard Bernstein or other videos. Although much of the exhibit might not appeal to children, there are a few interactive exhibits which they might enjoy. The first is booth where you can record yourself singing America from West Side Story. The other is a video where you are taught how to conduct along with Bernstein. All in all, the exhibit is a must see not only for any fan of Bernstein but for any true musical theater fan or classical music fan.
 
 
Leonard Bernstein at 100 will be the New York Public Library of the Performing Arts through March 24 only. For more information about this free exhibit visit www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/leonard-bernstein-100.

Tune in tomorrow for a special Funtivity Friday on Thursday.