Saturday Special - Announced 2019/2020 Seasons

1) American Symphony
2) Baruch Performing Arts Center
3) The Flea
4) Kaufman Music Center
5) New York City Center
6) Soho Playhouse
7) The Theater at 14th St.
8) Works & Process at the Guggenheim

1) AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA ANNOUNCES EXPANDED 2019–20 SEASON  WITH CONCERTS AT CARNEGIE HALL, ALICE TULLY HALL, AND SYMPHONY SPACE OCTOBER 31, 2019 – MARCH 12, 2020

Music Director Leon Botstein to Conduct Four Concerts Including Tributes to Duke Ellington, Beethoven’s 250th Birthday, and J.S. Bach’s Four Sons ASO Renews Successful Series at Symphony Space Soloists Include Pianist Lucas Debargue; Sopranos Janai Brugger and Amanda Woodbury; Mezzo-Sopranos Maya Lahyani and Taylor Raven; Tenors Cooper Nolan and Jack Swanson; and Baritones Alexander Birch Elliott and Chris Kenney; Plus Jazz Pianist Marcus Roberts and the Marcus Roberts Trio, and American Vocalist Catherine Russell American Symphony Orchestra announced the 58th season of its three-concert Vanguard series at Carnegie Hall, now expanded to include an additional performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. The season also marks the return of the Orchestra’s popular series to New York City’s Symphony Space—which originally took place between 1998 and 2015—with a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in conjunction with the ASO’s celebration of the great composer’s 250th birthday. This series combines complete concerts of well-known, major orchestral works with interactive educational demonstrations. The full 2019–20 season runs from October 31, 2019 through March 12, 2020. Following the success of the Orchestra’s 2017 performance of The Apostles, the ASO season opens on October 31 with Edward Elgar’s massive choral work The Kingdom, the second of Elgar’s incomplete trilogy of oratorios. The concert series continues with Sons of Bach, which will present rarely-performed works by four fellows who followed in the footsteps of their famous father, J.S. Bach (December 19, 2019). In honor of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, Beyond Beethoven will examine how the composer’s music inspired others with a program of works by Liszt, Spohr, and Reger. The performance will also celebrate the 100th anniversary of an often-overlooked 20th-century master, Galina Ustvolskaya (January 31, 2020). The Carnegie Hall season culminates with Duke Ellington, a tribute to the genre-defying genius of Ellington, with an evening including two world premiere arrangements by Marcus Roberts of New World A-Comin’ and Three Black Kings for Jazz Trio and Large Orchestra (March 12, 2020). Music director Leon Botstein will provide the musical context for each of the concert programs in lively, 30-minute Conductor’s Notes Q&A sessions. These discussions, animated learning opportunities for both concert-goers and music connoisseurs alike, begin one hour before each concert and are free for all ticket holders. The Kingdom Thursday, October 31, 2019 at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage) Conductor’s Notes Q&A 7 PM Concert 8 PM Leon Botstein, conductor Janai Brugger soprano Maya Lahyani, mezzo–soprano Cooper Nolan, tenor Alexander Birch Elliott, baritone Bard Festival Chorale James Bagwell, choral director Edward Elgar: The Kingdom The opening program presents the second work in Elgar’s incomplete trilogy of oratorios, which begins with the calling of twelve young men (The Apostles).The Kingdom explores the start of the apostles’ mission on earth, ultimately unfolding at the end of time (The Last Judgement). This immense choral work—set to scriptural references from the New Testament—focuses on the apostle Peter and the beginnings of the Christian Church in Jerusalem. Soloists feature soprano Janai Brugger, one of Opera News’ top 25 “brilliant young artists”; mezzo-soprano Maya Lahyani, who has sung more than 70 performances at the Metropolitan Opera; tenor Cooper Nolan, praised byMusical America for his “bright, shining, tenor”; and baritone Alexander Birch Elliot, who debuted this season at both the Houston Grand Opera and the Metropolitan Opera as Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Tickets, priced at $25–$65, go on sale September 3 at carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or the box office at 57th St & 7th Ave. Sons of Bach Thursday, December 19, 2019 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center Conductor’s Notes Q&A 7 PM Concert 8 PM Leon Botstein, conductor Amanda Woodbury, soprano Taylor Raven, mezzo-soprano Jack Swanson, tenor Chris Kenney, baritone Bard Festival Chorale James Bagwell, choral director W.F. Bach: Erzittert und Fallet (Oh, Tremble and Falter) J.C.F. Bach: Die Amerikanerin (The American) J.C. Bach: Symphony in G minor, Op. 6, No. 6   C.P.E. Bach: Magnificat These rarely-performed works by four of J.S. Bach’s sons showcase the compositional mastery the young men learned from their father, while also revealing how each was able to develop his own unique style. Wilhelm Friedemann’s music is closest to his father’s, while Carl Philipp Emanuel’s is more imaginative and expressive. Johann Christian’s music, on the other hand, is closer to the classical style of Mozart, although his earliest works are remarkably similar to Emanuel’s. Johann Christoph Friedrich’s compositional style resembles those of both Emanuel and Christian. The soloists are soprano Amanda Woodbury, now in her fifth season at the Metropolitan Opera; mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven, who recently made her solo debut with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl; 2018 Richard Tucker Career Grant Winner, tenor Jack Swanson; and baritone Chris Kenney, a three-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions. Tickets, priced at $25–$50, go on sale September 3 at lincolncenter.org, by calling CenterCharge at 212.721.6500, or visiting the Alice Tully Hall box office at Broadway and 65th St. Beyond Beethoven Friday, January 31, 2020 at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage) Conductor’s Notes Q&A 7 PM Concert 8 PM Leon Botstein, conductor Lucas Debargue, piano Louis Spohr: Symphony No. 6, “Historical Symphony” Galina Ustvolskaya: Piano Concerto Franz Liszt: Fantasy on Motifs from Beethoven’s Ruins of Athens Max Reger: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven In honor of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth, the ASO investigates how his music inspired others, from Liszt’s fantasia on the “Turkish March” to Spohr’s Beethovenesque scherzo and Reger’s variations on a bagatelle theme, where he displays his mastery of complex compositional techniques and pays homage to his distinguished predecessors. The program also celebrates the 100th anniversary of an often-overlooked 20th-century master, Galina Ustvolskaya. Her Piano Concerto is considered her first composition and demands the listener’s ear with a passionate, rhythmic motive that is repeated by the piano until the closing chord. French pianist Lucas Debargueis the soloist. He was the only musician at the 2015 International Tchaikovsky Competition awarded with the Moscow Music Critic’s Prize as a pianist whose “incredible gift, artistic vision, and creative freedom have impressed the critics as well as the audience.” Tickets, priced at $25–$65, go on sale September 3 at carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or the box office at 57th St & 7th Ave. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 Sunday, February 2, 2020 at 4 PM at Peter Norton Symphony Space   Leon Botstein, conductor Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 After a four-year hiatus, the ASO brings back its Symphony Space series, which integrates complete performances of familiar orchestral works with interactive educational demonstrations. The program will present Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5, in conjunction with the Orchestra’s celebration of the composer’s 250th birthday. Music director Leon Botstein will open the afternoon with a lecture-demonstration that explains the cultural context and key themes of the work through a series of musical demonstrations played by the Orchestra. After intermission, the piece will be performed in its entirety, followed by a Q&A session with the audience. Tickets, priced at $25-$40, go on sale September 3 at symphonyspace.org, 212.864.5400 or the box office on Broadway & 95th St. Duke Ellington Thursday, March 12, 2020 at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage) Conductor’s Notes Q&A 7 PM Concert 8 PM Leon Botstein, conductor Marcus Roberts Trio Marcus Roberts, piano Rodney Jordan, bass Jason Marsalis, drums Catherine Russell, singer (special guest appearance) Three Black Kings (Arr. Marcus Roberts) New World A-Comin’ (Arr. Marcus Roberts) Satin Doll Harlem Sophisticated Lady Night Creature for Jazz Band and Orchestra Black, Brown and Beige Suite The ASO culminates its 2019-20 season with a tribute to Duke Ellington on the stage of Carnegie Hall, where Ellington played a series of annual concerts and premiered many of his greatest works, including Black, Brown, and Beige andNew World A-Comin’. Ellington’s musical style employed a unique combination of classical and jazz compositional techniques that utilized improvisation over written composition, making him one of the most influential jazz composers of all time. Although he considered his compositions “beyond category” and he never defined himself as a jazz composer, his instrumental combinations, improvisation, and jazz arranging brought the world a notable American sound that can be heard in works like Sophisticated Lady and Harlem. His symphonic suite Three Black Kings displays his focus on musical form and jazz composition. He said his aim in writing Night Creature—which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1955—was “to try to make the symphony swing.”   Marcus Roberts revolutionizes the Jazz trio format by making all three instruments equal partners in an ongoing conversation. His method of writing for trio and orchestra is to blend the two ensembles, the often disparate worlds of Jazz and Classical they each represent, and their contrasting approaches of improvisational vs. written music-making, into a collage that is uniquely and unmistakably American. Grammy-Award winning American vocalist Catherine Russell will join the evening in a special guest appearance. Tickets, priced at $25–$65, go on sale September 3 at carnegiehall.org, CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800 or the box office at 57th St & 7th Ave. American Symphony Orchestra The American Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with a mission of making orchestral music accessible and affordable for everyone. Music Director Leon Botstein expanded that mission when he joined the ASO in 1992, creating thematic concerts that explore music from the perspective of the visual arts, literature, religion, and history, and reviving rarely-performed works audiences would otherwise seldom hear performed live. The Orchestra has made several tours of Asia and Europe and performed in countless benefits for organizations including the Jerusalem Foundation and PBS. Many of the world’s most accomplished soloists have performed with the ASO, including Yo-Yo Ma, Deborah Voigt, and Sarah Chang. The Orchestra has released several recordings on the Telarc, New World, Bridge, Koch, and Vanguard labels, and numerous live performances are also available for digital download. In many cases, these are the only recordings of some of the rare works that have been rediscovered in ASO performances. Leon Botstein Leon Botstein has been music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He is also music director of The Orchestra Now, an innovative training orchestra composed of top musicians from around the world. He is co-artistic director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival, which take place at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where he has been president since 1975. He is also conductor laureate of the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, where he served as music director from 2003–11. In 2018, he assumed artistic directorship of Campus Grafenegg and Grafenegg Academy in Austria. Mr. Botstein also has an active career as a guest conductor with orchestras around the globe, and has made numerous recordings, as well as being a prolific author and music historian. He is the recipient of numerous honors for his contributions to the music industry. In 2019, The New York Times named Leon Botstein a “champion of overlooked works…who has tirelessly worked to bring to light worthy scores by neglected composers.” For more information, please visit americansymphony.org.

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2) Baruch Performing Arts Center 
at Baruch College

Announces 2019/2020 Season

Baruch Performing Arts Center at Baruch College announces its 2019-20 Season of music, theatre, dance, opera and more, a season spanning genres and cultural influences, rich in imagination and ideas.

Season Highlights:

• World Premieres by choreographers Abdul Latif and Amanda Selwyn, 
• A collaboration by jazz greats Vijay Iyer (pianist) and Wadada Leo Smith (trumpeter),
• The World Premiere of Barbara Hammond's play Terra Firma, directed by Shana Cooper (TFANA) with Andrus Nichols, 
• The World Premiere of Blood Moon, an opera-theatre work by Garrett Fisher (composer) and Ellen McLaughlin (librettist) and Rachel Dickstein (director), co-presented with PROTOTYPE and the Japan Society. 

2019/2020 Season:

Terra Firma *World Premiere*

September 27 - November 10, 2019

Co-presented with The COOP

In a not-so-distant Beckettian future, years after The Big War, a tiny kingdom wrestles with the problems of running a nation, sparring with the concepts of what makes a citizen, a country and a civilization. The play is inspired by real life events: In the 1960's a retired army major in the United Kingdom claimed an abandoned aircraft platform in international waters off the coast of Essex as a sovereign nation, planted his flag, declared his wife Princess and their motto E Mare Libertas! 'From the Sea, Freedom!" Written by award winning New Dramatist resident Barbara Hammond, and directed by Shana Cooper (Princess Grace Award), Terra Firma was originally commissioned by The Royal Court, Britain's premier company for cultivating new plays. The COOP is a new company founded by established New York artists Andrus Nichols (Bedlam's Saint Joan, Sense & Sensibility; "I'm beginning to think she can do anything." - Ben Brantley, The New York Times) and Kate Hamill (Playwright of the Year -2017 - The Wall Street Journal, author of Sense & Sensibility, Vanity Fair, Little Women).

Der Freischutz

By Carl Maria von Weber

Directed by Louisa Proske

Original musical arrangement by Daniel Schlosberg 

Co-presented with Heartbeat Opera

December 4-15, 2019

Heartbeat Opera the "pioneering company" (The New York Times) behind ground-breaking productions of  Fidelio and Carmen, brings its trademark vision to a classic opera, making it a radical, immersive re-imagining of the twisted fairy tale about a deal with the devil and seven magic bullets that cannot miss their target. The production features a stellar cast of singers and Heartbeat's distinctive "ingenious rearrangement" (The Wall Street Journal) of Weber's Romantic score arranged by Daniel Schlosberg.

Blood Moon -World Premiere opera-theater collaboration, presented by BPAC, PROTOTYPE Festival and Japan Society

January 9 - 18, 2020

Music: Garrett Fisher

Libretto: Ellen McLaughlin

Director: Rachel Dickstein

Amanda Selwyn

Hindsight: 20th Anniversary Program

March 5 - 7, 2019 at 7:30pm

Supported by CUNY Dance Initiative

Featuring an interactive lobby installation and a composite evening of performances.  With a focus on reflection and memory, the work will reference motifs and signature structures from two decades of richly layered repertory, by a choreographer known for "Distinctive, off-kilter elegance" - The New Yorker, as well as featuring a World Premiere exploring the growth possible from looking back at history.  Hindsight will feature eight Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre dancers, and long-time collaborators Anna-Alisa Belous (Costume/Scenery), Dan Ozminkowski (Lighting), Joel Wilhelmi (Sound), Zachary Ludescher (Projection).

dwb (driving while black) 

Chamber Opera by Susan Kander (music) and Roberta Gumbel (soprano/libretto) with New Morse Code (Hannah Collins, cello & Michael Compitello, percussion)

March 19-21, 2020

"Singers are storytellers," says soprano/librettist Roberta Gumbel ("silver voiced..." - The New York Times), "but rarely do we get the opportunity to help create the stories we are telling." Collaborating with Susan Kander ("A composer of vivid imagination and skill." - Fanfare) and the cutting-edge cello/percussion duo New Morse Code ("Clarity of artistic vision and near-perfect synchronicity.." - icareifyoulisten.com), this brief, powerful music-drama documents the all-too-familiar story of an African-American parent whose "beautiful brown boy" approaches driving age as, what should be a celebration of independence and maturity is fraught with the anxiety of "driving while black."

Abdul Latif

Foray

March 26 -28, 2020

Supported by CUNY Dance Initiative

Foray is an evening-length concert of dance performance choreographed by Rockefeller Brothers Fund Fellow and Inaugural Lincoln Center Institute Artist-in-Residence Abdul Latif to an eclectic array of arranged instrumental music and self-composed rhythm percussion remixes. The program marks the premiere of D2D/T, Mr. Latif's artist collective and will showcase the virtuosic range of his technical vocabulary and work by extraordinary collaborators including dancers Indiana Woodward (NYCB), Calvin Royal III (ABT), Glenn Allen and Línda Celeste Sims (Alvin Ailey), composer/conductor Ron Wasserman, fashion designer Peter Hidalgo.  It presents four original works: Eyespot (World Premiere), Feelin' of a Flava (World Premiere), Sounds of Sense (2016) and NEither/NeIther (2017).  

Vijay Iyer (piano) & Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet)

Milt Hinton Jazz Perspectives Concert

April 17, 2020 at 8pm

Named a MacArthur Fellow in 2013, and called "Extravagantly gifted ... brilliantly eclectic" - The New Yorker, Vijay Iyer joins forces with an equally heralded musician and composer whom he calls his hero, friend and teacher, Doris Duke Artist Wadada Leo Smith "a magisterial instrumental voice..." - Downbeat.  Their collaborations have been hailed as "both cultivated and passionate" by The New Yorker. 

Siachen

Play by Aditya Rawal

Directed by Gwynn MacDonald

April 30 - May 2, 2020 at 7:30pm

Stranded at a post between India and Pakistan, the Siachen Glacier, three Indian soldiers wait for a chopper extraction to rescue them that shows no sign of arriving.  This play by 27-year-old Aditya Rawal from Mumbai (winner New York Innovative Theatre Award for The Queen) is set on the highest battleground on earth.  The Siachen glacier, located in a disputed territory of Kashmir, has been the subject of a 35-year military conflict.  While setting out to write an anti-war play criticizing the governments for their inability to broker a truce, after spending two weeks at the base camp, Rawal found the truth more complicated. The resulting play-in-development, directed by Gwynn MacDonald ("Intelligent, absorbing... a quiet but forceful call for art to alert itself to the impact of politics." - The New York Times) explores the mistrust that lies at the root of human conflict.  

In addition, Baruch Performing Arts Center offers a series of classical and contemporary chamber music in the intimate and acoustically superb Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall, called "a perfect hall for chamber music" by Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times. The 2019-20 series will include the New York Premiere of a song cycle by Pulitzer Prize-winner William Bolcom performed by soprano Rayanne Dupuis (NYC debut) and pianist Guy Livingston, the Met Museum ensemble-in-residence Sonnambula playings Baroque Austrian treasures, Israeli Chamber Project celebrating American immigrant composers from Korngold to Shulamit Ran, Daedalus and Clarion Quartets celebrating composer Miecyszlaw Weinberg's centenary, and much more.

Program details will be available at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/bpac/ in mid-summer. Tickets on sale beginning in August.

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3)THE FLEA ANNNOUNCES 
2019-2020 SEASON

Following on the success of the 2017/18 SEASON OF WOMXN and 2018/19 COLOR BRAVE SEASON, The Flea announced today that its 2019/20 Season will be the SEASON OF ANARCHY: THE RETURN OF THE MACS as they welcome back playwrights, poets and activists Mac Wellman and Taylor Mac.

Niegel Smith, The Flea’s Artistic Director says of the two Macs that will grace the stages of The Flea, “In both Mac Wellman and Taylor Mac, we have poet playwrights with an absurdist’s sense of the world around us and a showman’s love of the power of theater. They are surrealists and dreamers and they choose the stage to let us know that while we might be close to the edge – all is not lost!”

Adds Carol Ostrow, The Flea’s Producing Director, “It is high time that we honor Flea Founder Mac Wellman. His plays have influenced a generation of writers and his voice needs to be heard. As for Taylor Mac, aren’t we all waiting with bated breath to see what he does next? Well The Flea knows!”

In Fall 2019, MAC WELMAN: PERFECT CATASTROPHES, A FESTIVAL OF PLAYS will feature a rotating repertory of five new incarnations – including two world premieres – of works by Wellman.  Meghan Finn, a frequent Mac Wellman interpreter, will direct the world premiere of The Invention of Tragedy in The Sam Theater. Resident Director Dina Vovsi will tackle Sincerity Forever, Resident Directors Kate Moore Heaney and Tyler Thomas will direct The Sandalwood Boxand Associate Artist Michael Raine will direct The Fez(world premiere) all in The Siggy Theater. Associate Artist Kristan Seemel will direct Bad Penny in The Pete Theater.

• SINCERITY FOREVER
Directed by Resident Director Dina Vovsi
August 24 through October 7 in The Siggy
Sincerity Forever is a comedy about a group of young residents from the fictional southern town of Hillsbottom, a place with a prominent community of Ku Klux Klan members, many of them in their teens. They hang out in their cars on serene nights with friends and crushes, and question, as teens do, absolutely everything.
 
• BAD PENNY
Directed by Associate Artist Kristan Seemel
August 24 through October 7 in The Pete
A man and a woman sit in a park. They appear to be a couple, but aren’t. The man is clutching a car tire. The woman has a penny in her pocket. The mythical Boatman of Bow Bridge is coming. He is coming to take away the person who is in possession of the penny. How do we make choices in the face of the end of the world as we know it?

• THE INVENTION OF TRAGEDY
World Premiere
Directed by Guest Artist Meghan Finn
September 7 through October 14in The Sam
A chorus of students, all alike and all unalike, are trying like the devil to tell a simple story—perhaps the story about the tragedy of the Sandwich Man, with sandwich boards upon which nothing is written, and hence, say nothing. The Invention of Tragedy is Wellman’s examination of the post-9/11 world and America’s general and genial acceptance of the Iraq war.

• THE SANDALWOOD BOX
 Directed by Resident Directors Kate Moore Heaney and Tyler Thomas
September 26 through November 1 in The Siggy
In a surreal landscape on the border between dream and reality we follow the journey of Marsha Gates, a young college student who has lost her voice. On her way to speech therapy, Marsha meets Professor Claudia Mitchell, who captures the most captivating catastrophes of the world and preserves them in a sandalwood box.

• THE FEZ
World Premiere
Directed by Associate Artist Michael Raine
September 26 through November 1 in The Siggy
The charmed spell of the theater has somehow absented itself, and something strange
happens. A play that was originally printed on a tee shirt is finally produced!

In October, The Flea will hold a symposium examining Mac Wellman's profound impact on the American theater. Mac's foremost collaborators, protégés, and scholars will explore the unique demands of interpreting his plays; the breadth of his career across mediums, including dance, music theater, and opera; and the legacy of his writing and teaching on multiple generations of theater makers.

MAC WELMAN: PERFECT CATASTROPHES, A FESTIVAL OF PLAYS runs August 24 - November 1, Thursdays - Mondays at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $37 with a limited number of $17 tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis.Tickets are now on-sale for members. Memberships start at $25. Public tickets are on-sale starting July 1 with ticket packages available.

Also playing this fall in The Pete will be the next installment of CEREALS, The Flea’s foray into family programming. In October, we welcome Sara Farrington’s commission of Cosmicomics, a children’s theater piece based on the short stories by Italo Calvino. In Cosmicomics, the play’s non-gendered protagonist, Qfwfq, a young dinosaur who miraculously survived the ice age, makes their way in a magical brave new world, searching for their mother and pondering how to not only evolve but thrive in a world without anyone else who looks the same. Conceived and directed by Resident Director Marina McClure, Cosmicomics will play Saturdays October 19 through November 10.

The Flea’s spring 2020 centerpiece will be the world premiere production of THE FRE by Tony Award nominee and Bat Theater Company alum, Taylor Mac, and directed by The Flea’s Artistic Director and frequent Taylor Mac collaborator, Niegel Smith. THE FRE tells the story of an intellectual aesthete who is trapped inside a mud pit in the middle of a swamp by the swamp’s fatuous inhabitants who call themselves the “Fre.” Using a combination of potty-mouthed prose versus heightened verse and loosely based on The Frogs by Aristophanes, THE FRE will take audiences literally and figuratively into a mud pit to hash out the current political divide. It is a play for all ages; children and their families are encouraged to come. THE FRE will run March 9 through April 13 in The Sam.

SERIALS, The Flea’s late-night episodic series produced entirely by The Bats, is now entering its ninth year.Monthly cycles of this raucous play competition where five plays enter and only three plays survive kick off on June 20. SERIALSfeatures the work of the SERIALSWriters Room, including Niccolo Aeed, Oscar A. L. Cabrera, Chloé Hayat, Lily Houghton, Brian Kettler, Yilong Liu, Liz Morgan, Jessica Moss and Marina Tempelsman. SERIALSis now at 10 p.m. in The Siggy.

In addition, The Flea welcomes the following Anchor Partners, music, dance and theater companies in residence that will perform at The Flea this fall and winter in all of our spaces. Music companies include new music groups Experiments in Opera, Mango Baroque and MATA; modern dance companies include Tiffany Mills Company, The Bang Group and Elisa Monte Dance; and theater companies include New York City Children’s Theater, EPIC Players, Page 73 and Notch Theater Company.

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4) Announcing the Kaufman Music Center

 2019-20 Season!

2019-20 Artists-in-Residence

Kaufman Music Center’s new Artist-in-Residence program embeds acclaimed, multi-faceted artists who are transforming the music world within a broad range of KMC programs spanning the concert stage 2019-20 Artists-in-Residenceand the classroom: JACK Quartet, Nathalie Joachim and Rob Kapilow. Read more.

Face the Music

Kaufman's celebrated teen new music program teams up with groundbreaking artists like JACK Quartet, Nathalie Joachim, Brooklyn Raga Massive, Tri-Centric Foundation, Luna Composition Lab and more for a new season of cutting-edge, post-genre performances! Get details.

Tickets are on sale for 201-20 Kaufman Music Center Presentations in Merkin Hall!

Broadway Close Up

This fall, hear Rebecca Luker and Sally Wilfert sing about women and friendship, survey the history of gay and lesbian musical theater writers, explore the depiction of children on Broadway, and find out how books and movies get transformed into musicals – and be the first to see some of the best new musicals at Bound for Broadway with Liz Callaway! Details & Tickets

Only at Merkin with Terrance McKnight

Intimate evenings of conversation and performance hosted by WQXR’s Terrance McKnight feature three legends: jazz bassist Ron Carter, pianist Leon Fleisher and "Queen of the Flute" Carol Wincenc. Details & Tickets

What Make It Great

Explore great musical masterpieces with NPR & PBS music commentator, conductor, composer, author and pianist Rob Kapilow! This season, he takes on Beethoven’s “Archduke Trio,” Richard Rodgers, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 (including the "Funeral March") and a celebration of popular Christmas songs by Jewish composers. Details & Tickets

Ecstatic Music - 10th Season

Get Ecstatic all season long at audacious musical collaborations by artists who are transforming the way we hear music, including Alarm Will Sound, JACK Quartet, Missy Mazzoli & Kelly Moran, Nathalie Joachim & Spektral Quartet, Amir ElSaffar, the Bang on a Can People's Commissioning Fund Concert and more. Details & Tickets

Tuesday Matinees

Experience the new stars of classical music at seven afternoon concerts! The new season features theOmer Quartet, pianists Lucas Krupinski and Ziang Xu, violinist Chloe Kiffer, cellist Gabriel Cabezas, clarinetist Yoonah Kim and Musicians from Ravinia. Details & Tickets

Sirota@70

Oct 13, 2 pm: On his 70^th birthday, composer Robert Sirota is celebrated by an all-star lineup performing a selection of his works spanning 20 years, including the New York premiere of Luminous Bodies. Details & Tickets

Music & the Brain

Co-Presented with One Day UniversityMar 22, 10:30 am: Professor Aniruddh Patelof Tufts University will discuss the evolution and biological power of music, followed by a performance by an ensemble from Special Music School High School. Details & Tickets

Broadway Playhouse

Introduce kids to the great writers of musical theater! The new season features musicals by Charles Strouse (Annie), Jeanine Tesori (Shrek The Musical) and Stephen Schwartz (Wicked). And also check out our Hanukkah musical, Judy & the Maccabees! Details & Tickets

Orli Shaham's Bach Yard

NEW SERIES! This interactive concert series for children hosted by acclaimed pianist Orli Shaham combines live ensemble performances with storytelling, costumed musicians and hands-on activities. Details & Tickets

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5) Announcing New York City Center's 

2019 – 2020 Season!

From visionary dance works to classic Broadway musicals, this season offers vibrant and eclectic programming—all in limited engagements.

Annual Gala Presentation

Evita

Nov 13 – 24, 2019

Fame, power, and illusion collide in a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s rock opera Evita, directed by Sammi Cannold. This acclaimed musical examines the rapid and controversial ascent of Eva Perón, the first lady of Argentina, from poor illegitimate child to the most powerful woman in Latin America to her untimely death at age 33. A mosaic portrait of an extraordinary life, Evita tells the story of a woman endlessly determined to make an irrevocable mark on a world she would leave behind too soon.

New York City Center Presents

A New Adventures production

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake

Jan 30 – Feb 9, 2019

After a sold-out season in London, Matthew Bourne’s legendary Swan Lake again takes New York City Center by storm. Having last thrilled our audiences with his boldly theatrical storytelling in 2017’s The Red Shoes, Bourne has reimagined his award-winning 1995 classic in a not-to-be-missed new production. Perhaps still best known for replacing the female corps-de-ballet with a menacing male ensemble, this production shattered convention and turned tradition upside down. Collecting over thirty international accolades including an Olivier Award and three Tony Awards, Matthew Bourne’s powerful interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece is a passionate and contemporary Swan Lake for our times.  

Houston Ballet

Oct 24 – 26, 2019

The artistry and precision of the Houston Ballet are among the most exquisite in the world. Seldom seen on the East Coast, their return to City Center is a celebration of their 50th Anniversary Season and features three contemporary works by Aszure Barton, Mark Morris (NY Premiere), and Justin Peck (NY Premiere).

For more information, visit www.nycitycenter.org/

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6) SOHO PLAYHOUSE

Announces 2019 -20 Season

American Premiere of GAMES

Written by Henry Naylor, directed by Darren Lee Cole

October 10 - November 24

FRINGE ENCORE SERIES

November 29 – December 31

THE LATINA CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Written and performed  by Maria Russell, Sandra Valls, Diana Yanez

December 13 – January 5

NEW ZEALAND FESTIVAL OF PLAYS

January 3 – 30

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOUG

By Drew Droege

February 6 -March 1

DANIEL SLOSS: A WORK IN PROGRESS

February, Dates TBA

New York: SoHo Playhouse’s Producing Director, Darren Lee Cole, is thrilled to announce the highlights of the upcoming 2019-20 season featuring some of the best plays from around the globe.  The season will kick-off with the American Premiere of Henry Naylor’s Games, directed by Mr. Cole (October 10  - November 24), followed by the much anticipated Fringe Encore Series (November 29 – December 31), SoHo Playhouse will celebrate the holidays with Diana Yenez’s The Latina Christmas Special (December 13 – January 5) and will inaugurate the first of its kind, New Zealand Festival of Plays,  featuring three North American Premieres (January 3 - 30), followed by a pair of comedies in February Happy Birthday Doug by Drew Droege  (February 6 – March 1, 2020) & Daniel Sloss: A Work In Progress  (Dates TBD). All of these productions will take place at SoHo Playhouse (15 Van Dam Street).

Games, written by Henry Naylor, directed by Darren Lee Cole

Begins performances October 10; opens on October 20 and will run through November 24, 2019.

1936, Berlin. When Jewish athlete Helene Mayer is selected for the Nazis' Olympic Squad, she realizes she is fighting for much more than gold. Based on a true story, 'Games' is a cautionary tale for our times. A multi-award-winning, sell-out success, the show received won the Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award and received  astonishing 14, five and four-star reviews in Edinburgh where it was called: ★★★★★ "Breathtaking and powerful, Henry Naylor's Games is sharp, funny and poignant- a must-see." EdFest Magazine;  ★★★★★ "A truly genius piece of writing" Voice Mag.

Games will play Wednesday - Friday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 3 pm & 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets will be $50 and can be purchased by visiting www.sohoplayhouse.com

Featuring 15 productions, SoHo Playhouse’s 2019 Fringe Encore Series will take place from November 29 through December 31, 2019, and will feature the best plays from International Fringe festivals around the country including Adelaide, Auckland, Orlando, Brighton, Hollywood, Edinburgh, Vancouver and newcomer, Scranton.   For more information on the series, please visit www.fringeencores.org.

The Latina Christmas Special, written and performed by Maria Russell, Sandra Valls, and Diana Yanez

Will perform December 13  - January 5 (cast TBA)

An American comedy of Latina proportions! Bursting with laughs, more laughs, music and escándalo (scandal), Latina Christmas Special makes its NYC debut at the SoHo Playhouse. You thought your holidays with the family were dramatic? Try these three hilarious, touching and surprisingly personal Christmas stories of holidays past told by three acclaimed Latina comedians. “CRITIC’S CHOICE… hilarious and heartwrenching… [a] very special ‘Special’” — Los Angeles Times

New Zealand Festival of Plays, will feature three North American Premieres by New Zealand playwrights.

Begins performances January 3, cast TBA

Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, written by Tusiata Avia, directed by Anapela Polata'ivao

The Modern Māori Quartet: Two Worlds:  written by James Tito, Matariki Whatarau, Maaka Pohatu, and Francis Kora.

Contours of Heaven, writers/creators: Ana Chaya Scotney, Puti Lancaster, Marama Beamish and Owen McCarthy, directed by Puti Lancaster

Happy Birthday Doug by Drew Droege

(February 6 – March 1, 2020) 
A new comedy by Drew Droege (Bright Colors And Bold Patterns), directed by Tom DeTrinis

Drew Droege returns to SoHo Playhouse following his triumphant run of Bright Colors And Bold Patterns (New York Times and Time Out Critics' Pick, now available on BroadwayHD). In Happy Birthday Doug, Doug is turning 41 today. He’s visited by friends, nightmares, a few exes, and even a ghost. Imagine a gay Christmas Carol/modern-day exorcism set in a wine bar in Silverlake. Welcome to the party! 

Daniel Sloss: A Work In Progress

(February, Dates TBA)

For more information about the SoHo Playhouse visit www.sohoplayhouse.com

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7) The Theater at the 14^th Street Y

Announces 2019-2020 Season

The Theater at the 14^th Street Y continues to honor the edgy, diverse, and rich history of innovative culture-making in the East Village with the 2019-20 Season from September 6, 2019 through June 2020. All productions are chosen through a submission process and the curated season is co-presented by the Theater at the 14^th Street Y. From a wide range of artists the season is a deliberate program of artistic discourse around the theme of Life and Death.

Highlights of the season include:

• Playwrights for a Cause writer José Rivera presents a new piece, The Imperfect Love Song of Delilah and Venizio.
• From The Horse's Mouth celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center.
• Jewish Plays Project presents the National Winner of the 2019 Jewish Playwriting Contest.
• Anna Lublina creates a meta conversation on the act of translation and historization in Russian in her piece Бабушка | BAb(oo)shka.
• LABA Second Stage production Scenes from Childhood, Ari Brand's semi-autobiographical play about a family of performers.
• Chad Williams's WonderSpark Puppets February Puppet Takeover! There's a different puppet show every weekend at the Theater at the 14th Street Y in February, about dragons, pigs, and dinosaurs.
• The Olive Tree: A Comedy for the Hopeless Optimist. From award winning playwright Iris Bahr (DAI, "Curb Your Enthusiasm").
• In Desi Moreno-Penson's Ominous Men, the 1977 NYC Blackout hits the Bronx.
• The Israel Arts Fest, presented by Israeli Artists Project. 

"As we see in the 2019-2020 Season, different cultures honor and celebrate the life cycle in many ways. Our diverse artists wrestle with how we can learn from the traditions of previous generations and pay tribute through living life to its fullest. While reviewing the submissions, our panel had the refreshing discovery that many artists were drawn to tales of survival and remembrance to explore the theme of Life & Death. There is humor in the life cycle as well as joy and courage. We have productions about surviving cancer, recovering from drug addiction, a son learning about his father's battle with AIDS, a darkly humored ghost story from the Bronx and a rich and lyrical play about love and loss from acclaimed playwright/director José Rivera. Join us as we explore these themes with innovative new works of theater, dance and opera. We'll see you in the Theater at the 14^th Street Y", said David Stallings, Director of Arts + Culture.

2019-20 Season of Life + Death:

National Winner of the 2019 Jewish Playwriting Contest, Jewish Plays Project

September 6 - 8, 2019

Theater
7 cities, 1000 people, 1 Winner. Crowd-sourced and audience vetted, the Winner of the 2019 Jewish Playwriting Contest will be announced in June of 2019 and comes home to the 14^th Street Y in September for the JPP's featured workshop production. Come be a part of the movement for contemporary Jewish theater!

Recovery        

Choreography by Johari Mayfield, Composed by Milica Paranosic

September 9 - 15, 2019

Dance

Blending movement and technology "Recovery" unpacks the container of addiction through the lens of a woman struggling with substance abuse. Where does she belong in a world where legalized drugs and alcohol are so readily accessible? Is she good or evil? The urge to explain and define the addict, society and recovery is cracked open and explored in this hybrid work of theater and dance.

...it's time... Freemove Dance

September 19-22, 2019

Dance

Choreographed by Jenn Freeman, Original composition by Dani Markham

Following a sold-out run in 2018, Freemove Dance returns to present this gutsy and percussive dance piece. It is a call-to-arms for re-defining how and why the clock has a titan grip on our life experience.

Бабушка | BAb(oo)shka

By Anna Lublina

September 26 - October 6, 2019

Theater

Бабушка tells a true story about Jewish life in the USSR onstage- in Russian. Her story is live translated into klezmer music, gibberish, poetic text, and puppetry, creating a meta conversation on the act of translation and historization.

The Stray

Book, Music & Lyrics by Arif Silverman     

Rebel Playhouse

September 28 - October 6, 2019

Theater

The conflict between wolves and humans has existed for years, but can an unlikely friendship mend the rift between them? A new folk musical about love, loss, and the power of understanding, The Stray shows us growing pains lead to remarkable change.                        

The Pink Hulk: One Woman's Journey to Find the Superhero Within

Written and Performed by Valerie David     

October 8 - 13, 2019

Theater

A cancer diagnosis means only one thing: time to get laid! This award-winning solo show follows Valerie's triumphant journey to become a three-time survivor & redefining what it means to reactivate her superhero within. An inspiring story that's been touring the globe!  

Ominous Men

By Desi Moreno-Penson

MultiStages New Works Winner

October 19 - November 3, 2019

Theater

It's the wrong night and the wrong place for these OMINOUS MEN to be playing a game of "Bones," when the 1977 NYC Blackout hits the Bronx! Overtaken by their demons, they descend into a supernatural night of the soul.

Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center

From The Horse's Mouth       

November 6 - 10, 2019

Dance

The next edition of From The Horse's Mouth is proud to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the country's most prestigious repository of dance materials at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the Library of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. This production will be in collaboration with the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, Linda Murray, Curator.

Riyaaz/Practice

Courtyard Dancers, Dakshina Dance Company, Sakshi Productions, and Sattriya Dance Company

November 15 - 16, 2019

Dance

With bharatanatyam, kathak, odissi, and sattriya as foundational training, four east coast, contemporary dance companies collaborate to explore the rigor and sanctuary of a daily, physical and intentional practice.

#NastyWomen+ - A Night of She and They Resistance Comedy   

Laura Beatrix Newmark

November 18 and January 27, 2019; June 1, 2020

Comedy

#NastyWomen+ A Night of Resistance Comedy that will feature line-ups of women and underrepresented genders and empower those marginalized within the spectrum of she and they identity. Comedy Is the Resistance.

LABA 2nd Stage: State of the Jews

Composed by Alex Weiser, Libretto by Ben Kaplan

December 5 - 8, 2019

Opera

A semi-staged preview performance of "State of the Jews", an opera by composer Alex Weiser and librettist Ben Kaplan which follows Theodor Herzl in the last year of his life, as his efforts to secure a Jewish homeland become increasingly desperate.         

Straight Faced Lies  

By Mark Jason Williams, Directed by Andrew Block

M-Squared Productions

December 9 - 22, 2019

Theater

Grab a plate for an unforgettable holiday with the Ryans, where family battles and deep secrets are more delicious things on the menu. "Passionate, biting and deeply funny, this play is equal parts fresh and familiar..." - The Villager

A Golem from Buenos Aires

Written, Directed and Choreographed by Carina Toker

December 9 - 29, 2019

Dance, Family, Theater

A Golem in Buenos Aires is a multidisciplinary theater play for the whole family, inspired by the Jewish legend of the Golem of Prague. In this original performance, an unexpected event unfolds a new hilarious, poetic, moving story.

LABA 2nd Stage: Scenes from Childhood 

By Ari Brand, Directed by Eugenia Manwelyan

January 10 - 26, 2020

Theater

Set amidst the AIDS crisis in NYC, this semi-autobiographical play reveals a family of performers wrestling with ambition, tragedy, and the stories we tell about who we are. Ari Brand plays two roles, based on himself and his late father, Natan Brand.              

WonderSpark Puppets February Puppet Takeover!

By Chad Williams

February 1 - February 23, 2020

-February 1 and 2 - The Three Little Pigs

-February 8 and 9 - Princess Petunia & The Dragon (Tu B'Shevat)

-February 15 and 16 - Mystery Max & The Missing Dinosaur

-February 22 and 23 - Esther Saves the Day! (Purim)

Family Theater          

There's a different puppet show every weekend at the 14th Street Y Theater in February! Come see 4 family-friendly puppet shows about dinosaurs, big bad wolves, dragons, and princesses (and queens) saving the day. WonderSpark Puppets presents shows about Purim, Tu B'Shevat, a missing dinosaur, and the three little pigs. Each puppet show is 35-40 minutes long, highly interactive and best for ages 3+.

Planet Connections  

The Imperfect Love Song of Delilah and Venizio

Written and Directed by Jose Rivera

Planet Connections Short Form Series, Planet Connections Festivity         

February 7 - 23, 2020

Theater

Playwrights for a Cause writer Jose Rivera presents a new piece, The Imperfect Love Song of Delilah and Venizio.  Death has been declared illegal by the U.S. government.  Trees grow lights instead of leaves.  Ghosts love the living.  And in heaven you can taste the wind.  Two impetuous lovers look for a love that lasts forever in this fantastical comedy about imperfect relationships, by the author of The Motorcycle Diaries and Marisol.  This play will be running in rep with Planet Connections Short Form Series, curated by Glory Kadigan,at which Award Nominated Planet Connections writers present new short form playlets.

Women's History Solo Series includes Places, Cheer from Chawton: A Jane Austen Family Theatrical, and First By Faith: The Life of Mary McLeod Bethune
Places

Written and Performed by Romy Nordlinger

Cabbages and Kings Theater 

February 25 - March 15, 2020

Theater

Places, a multimedia solo show, tells the story of the most famous star you've never heard of: trailblazing lesbian iconoclast, Alla Nazimova, a silver screen legend, Broadway sensation, and the first woman director and producer in Hollywood.

Cheer from Chawton: A Jane Austen Family Theatrical

By Karen Eterovich-Love

Arm'd Productions Theater    

February 25 - March 15, 2020

Theater

Join Jane Austen at her brother's house in this easily accessible hour-long comedy by and about the famous author.

First By Faith: The Life Of Mary McLeod Bethune

By Richarda Abrams 

February 25 - March 15, 2020

Theater           

2018 Winner of United Solo Theatre Festival's Best Educational Show Award. Abrams uses storytelling/song, bends time/gender, explores Bethune's journey from an uneducated child to a world renown educator; returning to earth to share one last lesson.

           

Jewish Plays Project: Abrahamic Americans        

April 2 - 5, 2020        

Theater

From the Travel Ban to Tree of Life, American Jews and American Muslims have been showing up for each other. At the same time, complex tensions - Linda Sarsour and the Women's March, Rep. Ilan Omar and civic discourse - have risen. Four brand-new short plays from our hottest Jewish and Muslim playwrights and directors examine what's changing, how it is positive and how to make it last.        

The Olive Tree

By Iris Bahr

April 12 - May 3, 2020

Theater

The olive tree: a comedy for the hopeless optimist. A wild, insightful and hilarious "play within a play" from award winning playwright Iris Bahr (DAI, "Curb Your Enthusiasm") it's Noises Off meets Fauda, with a touch of Oslo for good measure.                                        

Israel Arts Fest

Anat Gov

May 4 - May 31, 2020          

Family, Music, Theater

Israeli Artists Project will present the New York premiere of Sof Tov (Happy Ending) by Anat Gov, along with an art exhibit of New York-based Israeli artists, various cultural nights, jazz, comedy, film, dance, children's theater, and more.

WonderSpark Puppets: The Three Little Pigs      

By Chad Williams

June 6 and 7, 2020

Family, Theater

WonderSpark Puppets returns with the classic fable told with fun puppets and humor that will delight our youngest Theater goers! This show is highly interactive and best for ages 3 & up.

14 Street Y PRIDE Fest      

June 11 - 28, 2020

Dance, Drag, Music, Theater

The Theater at the 14th Street Y is proud to present the 14 Street Y Pride Fest 2020. Theater, dance, film, music, drag, and more will be celebrated in honor of the diversity of the LGBTQ community in the Lower East Side.

Full Season Tickets and detailed information on shows available at www.14streety.org/tickets.

$14@14Y Flex Pass

Subscribe to the 14^th Street Y and save with Flex Pass. For $42, choose any three shows from the upcoming season at https://14streety.secure.force.com/ticket#details_a0S36000007O40PEAS.

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8) Works & Process, the Performing Arts Series at the Guggenheim, 

Announces Fall 2019 Season

Highlights

• New commissions by Machine Dazzle and Caroline Shaw
• Rotunda performances by Dance Theatre of Harlem, Roomful of Teeth, and Caleb Teicher and Ben Folds
• Theatrical first looks at Joe Iconis, Theresa Rebeck, and Erica Schmidt featuring Peter Dinklage
• Dance previews featuring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet West, National Ballet of Canada, and Washington Ballet
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of the Metropolitan Opera's Akhnaten andPorgy and Bess 

Works & Process at the Guggenheim is pleased to announce its fall 2019 season. Since 1984 the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators. The intimate Frank Lloyd Wright­-designed Peter B. Lewis Theater is the venue for seventy-minute programs that explore the creative process through stimulating discussions and riveting performance highlights. One-of-a-kind productions created for the Guggenheim's rotunda offer a unique experience of the landmark space celebrating 60 years as an architectural icon.Additional information is available at worksandprocess.org.

Audience members are invited to cocktail hour, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, at the The Wright restaurant and artist receptions in the rotunda following most evening programs.

Fall 2019 Season Schedule

WORKS & PROCESS COMMISSION

Treasure by Machine Dazzle

Thursday-Saturday, September 5-7, 7:30 pm

Distant dreams come full circle in this Works & Process commission ofmultidisciplinary artist and maximalist Machine Dazzle. Undressing layers of his past to make sense of the present, Machine will introduce12 new looks alongside stories stitched together through song. Treasure is accompanied by music director Viva DeConcini and her band, and will premiere made-to-measure on the occasion of New York Fashion Week.

Treasure by Machine Dazzle is commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim with support from Pomegranate Arts and a creative residency at LUMBERYARD.

THEATER

MCC Theater: Seared by Theresa Rebeck

Monday, September 9, 7:30 pm

Harry, a brilliant and hot-headed chef, scores a mention in a food magazine, and his business partner sees profits finally within reach.The only problem is Harry refuses to serve his masterpiece for the masses. Mix in a shrewd restaurant consultant and a waiter with dreams of his own and it all goes to hell in this hilarious and insightful new play that asks us to consider where art ends and commerce begins. Prior to its New York premiere at the MCC Theater, playwright Theresa Rebeck and director Moritz von Stuelpnagel take audiences into the kitchen of their fit-for-foodies comedy as cast members perform highlights.

DANCE* MUSIC

The National Ballet of Canada: Orpheus Alive by Robert Binet and Missy Mazzoli

Sunday, September 15, 3 pm

Orpheus Alive retells the tragic myth of Orpheus, casting the titular characteras a woman; Eurydice, Orpheus' fallen lover, as a man; and audiencemembers as gods of the underworld who hold Orpheus's fate in their hands. Choreographed by Robert Binet, Choreographic Associate of the National Ballet of Canada, and featuring a commissioned score by acclaimed composer Missy Mazzoli, Orpheus Alive is a story of love, loss, and an extraordinary artist facing the limits of his mortality. Company dancers and the Mivos Quartetperform excerpts, and dramaturg Rosamund Small moderates a discussion with Binet and Mazzoli about the creative process before the ballet's world premiere in Toronto.

OPERA

The Metropolitan Opera: The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess with Angel Blue, Camille A. Brown, Eric Owens, James Robinson, and Golda Schultz

Monday, September 16, 7:30 pm

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess returns to the Met for the first time since 1990in a production directed by James Robinson with choreography by Camille A. Brown in their company debuts. America's "folk opera," asdescribed in 1935 by its creators, tells the story of Porgy, sung by Eric Owens, and his love for the drug-addicted Bess, portrayed by Angel Blue, with an all-star ensemble that includes Golda Schultz. General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with the creative team while cast members presenthighlights from the upcoming production.

MUSICAL

The New Group: Cyrano by Erica Schmidt, with Peter Dinklage and Aaron Dessner

Saturday, September 28, 7:30 pm

Prior tothe New Group's world premiere of Cyrano, director Erica Schmidt,actor Peter Dinklage, and composer Aaron Dessner illuminate the creative process behind the new adaptation of the classic tale Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. Schmidt's Cyrano is a proud man who, believing himself unlovable, agrees to woo the woman he loves on behalf of someone else. With a charged contemporary immediacy to the dialogue, Cyrano is an enduring story about heartbroken yearning, and features haunting music by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of the National, lyrics by Matt Berninger of the National and Carin Besser, and choreography by Jeff and Rick Kuperman.

DANCE

Ballet West: Balanchine's Ballets Russes "The Song of the Nightingale" and "Apollo"

Sunday, September 29, 3 and 7:30 pm

With sets and costumes designed by Henri Matisse, The Song of the Nightingale (Le chant du rossignol) is a tale about a mysterious songbird who cures an ailing Chinese emperor. Created by George Balanchine in 1925 when he was only 21 years old, The Song of the Nightingale was his firstpartnership with composer Igor Stravinsky, leading to a 46-year friendship thatresulted in some of the greatest ballets of the twentieth century. This production marks its US premiere and designates Ballet West as the second company in the world to present this important reconstruction by Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer. Prior to the work's October premiere in Salt Lake City, Ballets Russes expert Lynn Garafola, Professor Emerita of Dance,Barnard College, Columbia University, moderates a discussion with Hodson,Archer, Ballet West Artistic DirectorAdam Sklute, and Balanchine Trust repetiteur Victoria Simon on Balanchine's development as a choreographer, the influence of Asian art on Matisse, and ethnic representation in the twenty-first century. The discussion will be accompanied by excerpts performed by Ballet West dancers. Simon will restage the 1928 Balanchine-Stravinsky collaboration Apollo, including the original birthing scene and final ascent to Mount Olympus. 

WORKS & PROCESS ROTUNDA PROJECT

Dance Theatre of Harlem at 50

Monday, September 30, 6:30 and 8:30 pm

Founded in 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem made its 1971 official New York debut in the rotunda with a performance that included founder Arthur Mitchell's Tones.To celebrate the Guggenheim building's 60th and Dance Theatre of Harlem's 50th anniversaries, Works & Process will present a Rotunda Project with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The company will pay tribute to its history in a restaging of Tones, with music by Tania León, and other works from their repertoire.

Floor Seating: $100/$95

Ramp Standing: $60/$55

Lead funding provided by the Ford Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

DANCE

The Washington Ballet: NEXTsteps

John Heginbotham, Jessica Lang, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa

Sunday, October 6, 3 and 7:30 pm

Artistic director Julie Kent, a champion of new choreography, discusses upcoming world premiere works by choreographers John Heginbotham, Jessica Lang, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.Witness exclusive performance excerpts and a live rehearsal prior to the October 23 premiere in Washington, DC.

Lead sponsor Monica B. Voldstad.

OPERA

The Metropolitan Opera: Akhnaten by Philip Glass, with Anthony Roth Costanzo, Karen Kamensek, Phelim McDermott, and J'Nai Bridges

Wednesday, October 16, 7:30 pm

On May 6, 1984, the very first Works & Process program featured Philip Glass's Akhnaten before its debut at New York City Opera. This fall, prior to itsMetropolitan Opera premiere, General Manager Peter Gelb moderates a discussion with the creative team and countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, who plays the title role of the revolutionary ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Highlights are performed by members of the cast. Originally presented in collaboration with Improbable by the LA Opera and English National Opera, this production received the 2017 Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.

MUSICAL

Two River Theater: Love in Hate Nation by Joe Iconis, with John Simpkins

Sunday, October 20, 7:30 pm

Writer Joe Iconis and director John Simpkins discuss the turbulent rock romance, Love in Hate Nation, set in a 1960s juvenile hall, and cast membersperform highlights prior to its world premiere at the Two River Theater with moderator Laura Heywood. Classic girl group, Wall of Sound-style vocal harmonies meet punk rock spirit in this rebellious and romantic new musical that uses classic "bad girl" movies as the inspiration for the story of young people caught between eras of a changing America. Sixteen-year old Susannah Son is carted off to the National Reformatory for Girls to get her head put on straight. There she meets the aggressively incorrigible Sheila Nail, and a relationship forms which leads to an all-out "revolution in the institution" as they attempt to break out of the boxes society has created around them.

DANCE

Dance Lab New York and Joyce Theater Foundation Lab Cycle: Female Choreographers of Color in Ballet

Sunday, November 10, 7:30 pm

For one night only, see the culmination of Dance Lab New York and Joyce Theater Foundation's partnership promoting and advancing female choreographers of color in ballet. Provided with a stipend, studio time at theJoyce's Artist Residency Center, professional dancers, a studio supervisor, and administrative support, choreographers Margarita Armas, Amy Hall Garner, Micaela Taylor, and Preeti Vasudevan explored the classical, neoclassical, and contemporary ballet idioms. Lourdes Lopez, Artistic Director, Miami City Ballet, moderates the discussion with Dance Lab New York founder, Josh Prince, and the four choreographers.

Lead sponsor Stephen Kroll Reidy

DANCE * MUSIC

Brian Brooks Moving Company: Immersive Technology

Sunday, November 17, 7:30 pm

Brian Brooks, choreographer and Mellon Creative Research Fellow at the University of Washington's Meany Center for the Performing Arts, and Michelle Witt, Executive and Artistic Director of the Meany Center, participate in a discussion moderated by Jacob's Pillow Director Pamela Tatge. Prior to the performances' premieres in 2020, see highlights from Brooks's fellowship, where he explored dance in intimate physical and digital spaces and collaborated with Seattle-based physicists and virtual reality programmers.

DANCE

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: New Work

Monday, November 18, 7:30 pm

Preview a world premiere from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's December season at New York City Center. Artistic Director Robert Battle and the choreographer participate in a moderated discussion and Ailey's acclaimed dancers perform highlights.

DANCE

Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration

Sunday and Monday, November 24 and 25, 7:30 pm

Dylan Crossman, a former member of Merce Cunningham Dance Company, curates a program celebrating the 100th birthday of modern dance legend Merce Cunningham. Fellow former company dancers, including Jamie Scott, perform duets examining Cunningham's evolution over decades. A unique MinEvent (an uninterrupted sequence of excerpts of works by Cunningham) made for the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed theater at the Guggenheim including movements from Night of 100 Solos will be performed by dancers from A.I.M, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Limón Dance Company, New York City Ballet, and more. Costumes by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung and music by John King complement the program. Andrea Weber moderates a discussion with former Cunningham dancers Kimberly Bartosik and Gus Solomons.

This program is presented courtesy of the Merce Cunningham Trust as part of the Cunningham Centennial celebrations. Choreography by Merce Cunningham © Merce Cunningham Trust. All rights reserved.

DANCE * MUSIC

Peter & the Wolf with Isaac Mizrahi

Saturday, December 7, 1, 2:30, and 4 pm

Sunday, December 8, 1:30* and 4 pm

Friday, December 13, 6:30 pm

Saturday, December 14, 1, 2:30 and 4 pm

Sunday, December 15, 2:30 and 4 pm

Isaac Mizrahi narrates and directs Sergei Prokofiev's charming children's classic. Ensemble Signal performs the music, and the cast, wearing costumes by Mizrahi, performs choreography by John Heginbotham, bringing the 30-minute story to life for the young and young at heart.

Premium front row seating for all performances $100/$95 members

General tickets $45/$40 members

*In partnership with the Guggenheim's education department and Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, for the December 8, 1:30 pm program, two-time CaldecottMedal winning illustrator Chris Raschka, will read from his illustrated telling of Peter & The Wolf at 1:30 pm, followed by the performance starting at 2:30pm. Tickets for this special event are $100/$95 member and include a signed copy of Chris Raschka's Peter & the Wolf.

No matter how tall or small, everyone needs a ticket. Please enter via the ramp at the corner of 5th Ave & 88th St.

WORKS & PROCESS ROTUNDA PARTY
Swing Dancing with Caleb Teicher, Ben Folds, and Eyal Vilner Big Band

Monday, December 9, 6:30-11 pmChoreographer and dancer Caleb Teicher, musician Ben Folds, and friends come together for a special performance set in the Guggenheim rotunda. Accompanied by Eyal Vilner Big Band, Teicher will teach an introduction to swing dancing, followed by a party to put the moves in motion.

Lead sponsor First Republic Bank

6:30-11 pm:

VIP Cocktail Reception, Performance, and Dancing

VIP table for six: $5,000

Table for six: $3,000

VIP seated ticket: $500

Rotunda floor general seated ticket: $250

7:30-11 pm:    

Performance, Drinks and Dancing

Ramp standing ticket: $75

MUSIC

Rotunda Holiday Concert with Roomful of Teeth and Caroline Shaw

Sunday and Monday, December 15 and 16, 7 pm

Celebrate the season with the joyous sounds of holiday music and a new Works & Process commission of composer Caroline Shaw. Roomful of Teeth perform as part of this beloved annual tradition in the museum's iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed rotunda.

Floor seating: $60, $55 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members

Ramp standing: $25, $20 Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members

Location:         

Peter B. Lewis Theater

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street

Subway: 4, 5, 6, or Q train to 86th Street

Bus: M1, M2, M3, or M4 bus on Madison or Fifth Avenue

Tickets:            

$45, $40 members (unless otherwise noted)

$10 student rush tickets one hour before performance, based on availability

(for students under 30 with valid ID) 

Priority ticket access and preferred seat selection starts July 22 for $500+ Friends of Works & Process and Guggenheim members at the Associate level and above.

General ticketing starts July 29.

For more information, call 212 758 0024 or 212 423 3587, Mon-Fri, 1-5 pm, or visit worksandprocess.org.

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Tune in tomorrow for this week's Sunday Scoop.