I started this blog with one daughter, kept it up with the other, to spend time together doing something we enjoyed.
However, things change and people evolve. My daughters are older, busier, and not as interested in writing.
From now on this blog will be mostly mom with occasional contributions from my daughters and maybe even my husband.
Nothing else will change. We'll still focus on sharing fun places to go, fun things to do, and more, and we would  still love to hear your views too

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Sunday Scoop Week of 5/7/23 What's Happening This Week and More

A) Beginning Performances 

1) Hidden

2) The Goodbye Girl

3) Runts

4) Time Biter

B) Extended Runs 

5) Karen Finley: Covid Vortex Anxiety

6) Love Letters

C) What Else is Happening This Week and More

7)  15th Annual Kensington Derby and Arts Festival
5/13

8) 2023 CrossCurrent Dance Festival
at Flushing Town Hall 5/12

9) 2nd Annual Japan Parade
5/13

10) A Bronx Accent From Belgium 
at 54 Below 5/10

11) Adrienne Haan in Tehorah Concert Celebrating Israel's 75th Anniversary
at Carnegie Hall 5/10

12) Alvin Ailey Dance Mother's Day Weekend
at NJPAC

13) BAM Presents Dance Africa
5/12 - 6/1

14) College Fun to Be Presented By the Frog & Peach Theatre Company
5/12

15) Neurodiverse Theatre Company to Present OMG It's Magic School
at Baruch College's Nagelberg Theatre5/13 & 5/14

16) The Orchestra Now Presents The Sorcerer's Apprentice
at Peter Norton Symphony Space 5/14

17) Queens County Farm Museum Sheep Shearing Festival
5/13

18) South Street Seaport Announces Monthly Vinyasa on a Vessel 
Beginning 5/14

19) State Theatre New Jersey Upcoming Shows & Events

A) Beginning Performances 

1) Hidden

After David, a senior at Columbia University, saves Nina from serious injury at an anti-war demonstration in 1968, an unraveling of human and familiar connection is discovered. Through a series of vignettes that travel back in time to 1942, we see their family in the Warsaw ghetto struggling to escape and survive the war. It was a time that people would do anything to protect their true identities-ensuring their lineage remains intact–and that the Jewish people were able to persevere. David and Nina are drawn into their family’s history and discover they are connected beyond a common mission of peace.

36th Street Theatre (312 W. 36th St, 4th Fl.)
5/11 - 5/26
Opening Night 5/13

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.HiddenThePlay.com.  

2) The Goodbye Girl

The Goodbye Girl follows the unlikely romance between Paula, a single mother who has been jilted one too many times, and Eliot, the opinionated actor who shows up – unexpectedly – on her doorstep with a lease to sublet her apartment. The tuneful and snappy score features “A Beat Behind,” “Eliot Garfield Grant,” and “I Think I Can Play This Part.”

Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd St.)
5/11 - 5/21

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit j2spotlightnyc.com

3) Runts

Runts is loosely based on the so-called “Sarah Lawrence cult” which developed after the father of a student moved into his daughter’s college housing unit. Gradually, he charmed her roommates. He shocked them in ways that enticed and excited them until they believed that he alone understood them. Then he led them into Hell.

Teatro Latea (120 Suffolk St.)
5/15, 5/17, 5/20

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit innovationtickets.com/product/runts.


4) Time Biter

This hilarious and moving new play begins in the year 2067, on the 75th birthday of movie star Stella Howard. An unexpected birthday gift from her granddaughter - a new time-travel simulator - throws Stella back to a time in her life she hoped never to revisit: the year 2019. As Stella struggles to adjust to the life of a twenty-something nobody in New York City, she comes to realize that the particular day she’s been forced to revisit may be the day her life changed forever. 

The Player's Theatre (115 MacDougal St.)
5/4 - 5/21

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.timebiter.com

B) Extended Runs 


5) Karen Finley: Covid Vortex Anxiety

In COVID VORTEX ANXIETY OPERA KITTY KALEIDOSCOPE DISCO, Finley reflects on our pandemic era traumas, politics, and world events, as well as our coping strategies to deal with isolation, loss, and a culture overwhelmed by anxiety.  Finley looks back at a time of Zoom discos, bingeing on animal videos, and pandemic hobbies like baking. This look back while trying to look forward to reimagine a new future creates the framework for this passionate, vulnerable, and often comical new work.

The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd St.)
Now closing 6/24

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit  www.SpinCycleNYC.com

6) Love Letters

A Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama, A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters is a two-hander drama comprised of letters exchanged between two friends over a lifetime. Andrew and Melissa, both born into wealth and position, begin their correspondence in childhood with birthday party thank-you notes. Their letters continue through their boarding school and college years while they are romantically attached and later through their individual marriages and careers. As the actors read the letters aloud, an evocative, touching, frequently funny, but always telling pair of character studies is revealed, where what is implied is as revealing and affecting as what is written down.

Starring Laura Benanti and Matthew Broderick

Irish Repertory Theatre (132 W. 32nd St.)
Now closing 5/9 

For more information or to purchase tickets, visit IRISHREP.ORG


7) 15th Annual Fishtown Derby & Arts Festival

The Fishtown District is proud to announce the 15th Annual Kensington Derby and Arts Festival will return on Saturday, May 13, 2023, on Trenton Avenue from Norris Street to Frankford Avenue, from 12 Noon to 6:00pm. Philadelphia's most unique spring festival - and 2023 Best of Philly Winner - is back and ready to let the mud fly! The festival brings Philadelphia locals and visitors together with 200+ artists, musicians, performers, food and drink—and a parade of homemade vehicles.  A new parade route spanning across three miles, takes these homemade vehicles from the festival start through the Fishtown neighborhood and over to American St, navigating multiple obstacles along the way, before doubling back to the festival grounds for a mud pit finish. Winners will be crowned in categories that have ranged over the years like Best Art, Best Costume, Best Engineering, Best Breakdown, Media Choice and, of course, the highly coveted Judge's Choice Award. NextFab is partnering with the Festival this year to host monthly demos, consults and support for those preparing for the grand event. Thanks to generous support from Penn Treaty Special Services District, there is no fee to enter in the Derby parade. Registration is now open! For more information and to sign-up, visit www.kensingtonkineticarts.org.

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8) NAI-NI CHEN DANCE COMPANY
in collaboration with 
Flushing Town Hall
announces
2023 CrossCurrent Dance Festival

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company announces its participation in the 10th CrossCurrent Dance Festival, in collaboration with Flushing Town Hall, on Friday, May 12, 2023 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 and are available online at Flushing Town Hall website: https://flushingtownhall.org/2023-crosscurrent.

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9)2nd Annual Japan Parade

Building on the great success of last year’s inaugural Japan Parade, the 2nd annual Japan Parade in New York City will be held on Saturday, May 13, beginning at 1PM. Starting on Central Park West at West 81st Street and traveling south to West 67th Street, the purpose of the parade is to celebrate, express, and bring awareness to the friendship between NYC and Japan with a thank you from the Japanese community. Olympic Gold Medalist, Founder of Always Dream, and Author Kristi Yamaguchi will be the Parade’s Grand Marshal.

This year’s Japan Parade will feature a live performance by the cast of The 2.5-Dimensional show from Japan, “Live Spectacle ‘NARUTO’”NARUTO is one of the most internationally recognized and popular manga series of all time. The franchise has sold over 250 million copies worldwide to date. Written and illustrated by creator Masashi Kishimoto, NARUTO was first published in Shueisha’s magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, where it was serialized and ran for 15 years. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks. The Japan Parade is affiliated with Japan Day @ Central Park, an annual event that has taken place in Central Park since 2007.

Concurrently with the Japan Parade, the Japan Street Fair will be held on West 72nd Street, between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue. The Japan Street Fair is the spiritual successor of Japan Day @ Central Park.

The Japan Street Fair will feature tents offering fun and educational cultural activities including calligraphy, water balloon yo-yo fishing, origami, photo opportunities, and a giveaway. In collaboration with JAPAN Fes, one of the largest organizers of Japanese food festivals in the world that hosts over 20 Japanese food fair events a year in New York City, the Street Fair will also feature about 20 tents serving authentic Japanese food. The latest information on Japan’s many tourist destinations will be made available at several other tents, and as with last year, there will also be a tent where visitors may donate to a charitable cause. The Japan Street Fair is your chance to experience a Japanese festival, or matsuri, unlike any other.

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10) BELGIUM’S “BEST CROONER IN TOWN” 
TOM MCGUIRE 
MAKES TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES

 TO PERFORM 
A BRONX ACCENT FROM BRUSSELS
A TRIBUTE TO THE FRANK SINATRA SONGBOOK 
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10th at 9:30PM


54 Below, Broadway’s Supper Club (located at 254 west 54th St.), today announced that it will present Bronx born, but Brussels based jazz crooner Tom McGuire in a special one night only performance of his critically acclaimed solo show, A BRONX ACCENT FROM BRUSSELS, Wednesday, May 10that 9:30PM. There is a $35-45 cover charge (plus a 10% order fee, a $1.50 facility fee, and a $25 food and beverage minimum). Tickets purchased after 4:00pm on the day of the performance are only available by calling (646) 476-3551. For more information on pricing and fees visit: www.54below.com 


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11) GAIL & JOSEPH BARRY

PRESENT

INTERNATIONAL CHANTEUSE ADRIENNE HAAN

IN

“T E H O R A H”

A CONCERT CELEBRATING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE FOUNDING OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL

WEILL RECITAL HALL AT CARNEGIE HALL

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2023 @ 8:00PM

Gail and Joseph Barry, under the patronage of the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Ambassador Gilad Erdan and Rabbi Arthur Schneier of Park East Synagogue, will present international chanteuse Adrienne Haan in Tehorah (“pure” in Hebrew), a heartbreaking, promising musical journey about loss, hope and forgiveness on Wednesday, May 10 at 8:00pm at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. The evening, written, directed, and performed by Ms. Haan, will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel and will be comprised of songs composed and written by Jewish composers and librettists sung in German, Yiddish and Hebrew.

Tehorah is an historical, poetic portrait that musically tells the story of the founding of Israel – from 1920’s Weimar Berlin to the ghetto of Łódź all the way to the Promised Land.

Ms. Haan will be supported on stage by a string quartet led by her Musical Director Udi Gershuni on piano, with Leerone Hakami (violin), Maya Lorenzen (violin), Oryann Tsaig (viola) and Tamar Sagiv (cello).

Tickets are priced at $65 and $75 and my obtained online here and in person at the Carnegie Hall box office, located at 57th Street and Seventh Avenue.

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12) NEW JERSEY PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (NJPAC) ANNUAL MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND PRESENTION:
 
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER



Friday, May 12, 2023 @ 8:00PM
Saturday, May 13, 2023 @ 8:00PM
Sunday, May 14, 2023 @ 3:00PM
Tickets: $25.00 - $94.00
 
 
NJPAC
Prudential Hall
Betty Wold Johnson Stage
One Center Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102
www.njpac.org

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, America’s beloved cultural ambassador to the world, completes its 22-city coast-to-coast North American tour at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Friday-Sunday, May 12-14, 2023. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Ailey returns to the NJPAC stage for the 24th time with exciting premieres, a powerful new production, and repertory favorites including Alvin Ailey’s must-see American masterpiece Revelations. Other NJPAC activities include Ailey Day April 29 (a free community day of dance classes), a Schooltime Performance May 12 for young students, and its annual summer AileyCamp June 26-August 4. (Please scroll down for the complete schedule and program.)
 
Audiences will have two opportunities to experience the “New Jersey Premieres” program (Fri., May 12, 8pm and Sun., May 14 at 3pm), featuring acclaimed choreographer Kyle Abraham’s Are You in Your Feelings?, a celebration of Black culture, Black music, and the youthful spirit that perseveres in us all. Scored to a “mixtape” of soul, hip-hop, and R&B from featuring beloved musical artists like Jhené Aiko, Drake, Lauryn Hill, Kendrick Lamar, Jazmine Sullivan, and Summer Walker, the critically applauded work explores the connections among music, communication, and personal memory. The program also welcomes In a Sentimental Mood by Jamar Roberts, an intimate scene from the domestic life of a couple that becomes an exploration of love and desire. The work is set to an original composition by Duke Ellington and four jazz standards given an avant-garde twist by composer Rafiq Bhatia.
 
The “Classic Ailey” program (Sat., May 13, 8pm) highlights the new production of Survivors (1986), Alvin Ailey’s impassioned tribute to the profound courage and terrible anguish of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, which will be seen this season for the first time since 1988. A soundtrack of Max Roach’s richly varied drumming and Abbey Lincoln’s powerful vocals sets the emotional tone for a work that presents a portrait of people transformed by injustice and lifts up those who resist oppression in any form. This program also features two Alvin Ailey classics set to the musical genius of Duke Ellington: Reflections in D, a strong yet serene solo known to highlight the grace, artistry, and power of the male dancer and Night Creature, a bubbly champagne cocktail of a dance that perfectly fuses Ailey’s buoyant choreography and Duke Ellington’s sparkling music.
 
The inspiring finale of all performances is Alvin Ailey’s must-see American masterpiece Revelations, which has uplifted audiences in every city on the tour. Since its creation in 1960, Revelations has been seen by more people around the world than any other modern dance work moving audiences with its powerful storytelling and soul-stirring music, evoking timeless themes of determination, hope, and transcendence. Springing from Ailey’s childhood memories of growing up in the south and attending services at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Texas, Revelations pays homage to the rich cultural heritage of the African American and explores the emotional spectrum of the human condition. 

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13) BAM presents DanceAfrica Festival 2023

Golden Ghana: Adinkra, Ananse, and Abusua 


Celebrating the nation of Ghana's cultural diversity and revolutionary history 

Annual dance program featuring family friendly workshops, the annual DanceAfrica Bazaar visual art, FilmAfrica, and more, May 12–Jun 1

This May BAM's DanceAfrica Festival will celebrate the artistic vitality and revolutionary history of Ghana, through dance, music, and community. The Festival will present several related programs to illuminate a country that became a continental trailblazer, being the first sub-Saharan African country along the path to freedom.

Programs include family-friendly workshops, the annual bazaar, and events centered around community. Select events listed below.

Tickets are on sale now for the DanceAfrica Festival 2023 performances at BAM.org. For a full schedule of free and ticketed events see below and visit BAM.org/danceafrica2023.

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14) FROG & PEACH THEATRE COMPANY TO PRESENT WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMANCE OF 

“COLLEGE FUN” By TED ZURKOWSKI

FRIDAY MAY 12, 2023, 8 PM

AT THE MARJORIE S. DEANE THEATRE

The Frog & Peach Theatre Company announced that New York’s critically acclaimed & revolutionary ensemble will stage a one-night-only benefit premiere of “College Fun” a startling new comedy by Ted Zurkowski. Directed by Lynnea Benson, the “College Fun” performance will take place on Friday, May 12 at 8 PM at the Marjorie S Deane Little Theatre.  The cast includes popular performers from Frog & Peach’s recent smash hit, AS YOU LIKE IT. 

Join the charming but hapless Professor Jones (Ty-Quan Payne) in the slightly mad Office of Diversity & Inclusion at an elite university in Southern California. His Inquisitors include the seductive & deranged Dr. Ram (Alyssa Diamond), the flamboyantly vigilant Dr. Queeg (Jonathan Reed Wexler), and the widely feared Dr. Pane (Anuj Parikh). The Production Stage Manager is Erica Cafarelli.

The May 12th premiere performance will be followed by a Champagne Reception in the Y’s Social Justice Room.

Tickets are $49.95, Two for $75. There is a limited set of tickets for academic students with ID at only $29.95. 

Tickets can be purchased here

The Marjorie S Deane Little Theatre is located at 10 W 64TH ST. Running time 50 minutes, no intermission. Masks are strongly suggested but not required.  

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15) April is National Autism Awareness Month
Neurodiverse Theatre Company ACTIONPLAY Celebrates 10-year Anniversary

 Their new musical OMG It's Magic School 
to be performed
at Baruch College's Rose Nagelberg Theatre 
May 13 and 14

Actionplay, a neurodiverse New York based theatre company, celebrates their 10-year producing anniversary by presenting a new musical comedy OMG It’s Magic School, created by the company's Action Improv Musical Series (AIMS). AIMS features 9 neurodiverse actors ranging in age from 14 to 18 who take on the roles of actors, writers, and creators. The company creates the story and songs through improv and music starting in September. A fully realized production will be staged in May at Baruch College’s Rose Nagelberg Theatre.

It's a new school year at Magic School, a place where young magicians and magical creatures can be themselves – but when Magic School is suddenly in danger of closing, a ragtag bunch of magic students will need to use all their gifts to save their school.

Tickets are available https://linktr.ee/321actionplay. The musical will run for three performances at Baruch College Rose Nagelberg Theatre (55 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010), with performances on Saturday, May 13 at 7:30pm, and Sunday, May 14 at 2:30 and 7pm.

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16) THE ORCHESTRA NOW PERFORMS
AND A FREE CONCERT AT PETER NORTON SYMPHONY SPACE ON MAY 14

On May 14 at Peter Norton Symphony Space, TŌN Resident Conductor Zachary Schwartzman leads audience favorites with Paul Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, a free concert that also offers Messiaen’s Poèmes pour Mi.
 
Sunday, May 14, 2023, 4 PM at Peter Norton Symphony Space
Paul DukasThe Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Olivier MessiaenPoèmes pour Mi
Rimsky-KorsakovScheherazade
TŌN wraps up its eighth season of free concerts with a performance at Symphony Space led by Resident Conductor Zachary Schwartzman. The program includes Dukas’ ever-popular symphonic poem The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Written in 1897, it is based on a ballad by the German author and poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and rose to public recognition for its use in Disney’s film Fantasia. The concert also offers Messiaen’s sentimental and spiritual song cycle Poèmes pour Mi, sung by soprano Katherine Lerner Lee, a winner of the 2021 Bard Conservatory Concerto Competition who made her 2019 Carnegie Hall debut in Stravinsky’s Les Noces; and Rimsky-Korsakov’s celebrated symphonic suite Scheherazade, inspired by a collection of mostly Middle Eastern and Indian tales known as The Thousand and One Nights. The work follows a young sultan’s wife who tells her husband stories to prevent his plan of killing her. 
 
Tickets: This concert is FREE, no tickets necessary, advance RSVP suggestedCheck symphonyspace.org for RSVP information. Concertgoers will need to comply with the venue’s health and safety requirements, which can be found here.

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17) Queens County Farm Museum 
Sheep Shearing Festival
May 13

Sheep Shearing Festival (May 13) – The only event of its kind in NYC, guests will get to watch the farm’s sheep get their much-needed spring haircuts. Enjoy spinning, weaving, and knitting presentations, farmer-led tours, kids crafts, live music, local food and drink, historic cooking demos. Shop for local yarn made from the farm’s wool, and pick up seedlings for your home garden at the Plant Sale. Tickets: $12-$15.

Queens Farm offers free admission 354 days out of the year and, in addition to the annual public events, also offers a wide variety of Public Education Programs with the support of their Health & Wellness Partner, Northwell Health. With Spring around the corner, don’t miss the return of the Farmstand May 10th, featuring fresh produce from Queens County Farm Museum’s fields.

 

For more information about Queens County Farm Museum, including more information about the events summarized here, please visit queensfarm.org.


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18) South Street Seaport Museum
Announces Monthly Vinyasa on a Vessel
on the 1885 tall ship Wavertree
beginning Sunday, May 14, 2023 at 8 and 9am


South Street Seaport Museum announces the return of the popular monthly event Vinyasa on a Vessel on May 14, 2023 at 8 and 9am, on the 1885 tall ship Wavertree, NYC. Join the Seaport Museum for a free 60-minute vinyasa-based yoga practice on the deck of the historic tall ship Wavertree. Anyone ages 12 and up is invited to start their Sunday with a mindful and physical practice that is accessible and challenging for all levels, peppered with information about the vessel itself. Vinyasa on a Vessel will be held every second Sunday of the month through October.

Both classes are free, and advance registration is required. Capacity is limited; claim your space before each class is full! seaportmuseum.org/vinyasa.

More Information
Access to Wavertree requires climbing a small set of ladder-type stairs and an angled gangway. Please bring your own mat as there will be limited mats available for use onsite. All registrants are encouraged to arrive 10 minutes early, as there will be no late admittance.

If a class session is at capacity at the time of registration, you are encouraged to try our in-person cancellation line, starting 10 minutes before class.

Extend Your Visit
A guided tour of Wavertree is offered for those who would like to see more of the ship after the class. Those who would like to stick around to see more of the Museum are invited to take advantage of Pay What You Wish General Admission to the Seaport Museum to access three gallery exhibitions at 12 Fulton Street at whatever price is right for you––the full ticket price, free in-person admission, or any amount in between. 

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19) State Theatre New Jersey
Upcoming Event

Honey Wild

Wednesday, May 10, 2023 7:30 PM

Introducing The Studio Series! Join us for an intimate performance in our new Studio space! This is a general admission ticket in a cabaret style setting, seating is first come first served.

Honey Wild sounds like freedom. This has been the band's guiding ethos since its founding in 2018 by Hana Denson (vocals, keys) and Cristian Fernandez (vocals, guitar). The constraints of genre have clearly never been part of the calculus when it comes to the band's signature sound and so a Honey Wild concert takes you on a sonic journey: jazz, blues, americana, punk, psychedelic rock, funk, and soul only begin to scratch the surface of the ever-changing flow that enraptures the audience with each new tune. Denson is equal parts ferocity and sincerity as she belts brutally honest lyrics while Fernandez has a clear Americana and emotional bent to his singing that provides a distinct and surprising contrast to Denson. The virtuosic playing of Steve Bare (bass, vocals), Christian Lopez (drums, vocals), and Nick Marzullo (bass, vocals) complete the painting, adding deeply thoughtful instrumentation and backing vocals. Honey Wild's sophomore album, Strange and Distant, will be released this year.

For more about this event or other upcoming events at State Theatre New Jersey or to purchase tickets, visit www.stnj.org/events-tickets.

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And that's the scoop. Tune in tomorrow for More Theater Monday.

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