Category Archives: NYC

NYC

F.A.M.E NYC Remembers Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

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When I first heard the announcement of Nelson Mandela’s death I was shocked.  I felt my heart chambers deflate.  Of course I knew he was ill, but what I’ve learned from watching elderly family members battle sickness and slowly fade over to the other side is that you’re never really ready when the news comes.  At first I tried to face this news with a celebratory attitude.  Mandela was 95-years-old.  He had lived several lives in the almost century his soul was here on Earth.  He changed the lives and outlooks of many worldwide. If anyone deserved rest, it was him.  As a former Baptist, I was trained not to mourn death but to celebrate it. We sing. We shout.  “Our beloved is going home to be with our Heavenly Father and those who have gone before him.  He will always be with us –even until the end of time.” That is what my head reasoned.  It told me to clap my hands as I watched South Africans gather in front of Mandela’s home and sing, “Nelson Mandela ha hona ya tshwanang le ena.”  But my heart wouldn’t concur.  Tears fell over tears so fast that I couldn’t contain them.  I cried as if a member of my family had passed, although it really doesn’t matter that we didn’t share chromosomes…one of my family members did pass.

For anyone who craves freedom and justice for everyone, Madiba was our father.  I grew up watching the Black Liberation and African National Congress flags fly in my backyard.  My father told me about the struggles of the ANC and Nelson Mandela, who was still serving his prison sentence.  He told me how apartheid mirrored Jim Crow and how we must show our support, even if all we could do was show up at a rally to put pressure on the U.S. government and corporations to divest from South Africa.  It was Madiba’s imprisonment and incidents like Yusef Hawkins’ murder here in New York that forced me to write manifestos and place them on my high school bulletin board in an effort to create awareness among my classmates.  From prison Madiba’s spirit and the spirits of other freedom fighters led me to attend protests and marches against injustice wherever it showed its smug, intolerant face.

Madiba has brought me to tears before.  My parents and I had tears in our eyes as we watched him walk out of prison in 1990.  He was so vibrant; the feeling resonated through the television screen.  Within months he was in New York and we went to see him.  It didn’t matter that we were just faces and voices in the crowd, we were there.  Madiba brought me to tears when he was elected president of South Africa and he brought me to tears when he took the oath of office.

Today I realized why I had to cry when I heard the news of Mandela’s passing.  It brought me back to the day I realized my family, which at one point was too large to count, was shrinking.  All the individuals who strive to simply make the world a better place for all its citizens were leaving. “Our elders are transitioning…” I thought as I cried.  “Who would take their place?  Has the last few decades prepared anyone to take their place?” These answers will only come in time.

Social Media has provided a platform for anyone with brainwaves and internet access to comment about the life of Nelson Mandela, positive or negative.  But I will remember Madiba as a patriarch and the “troublemaker” that his name proclaimed him to be.  I will remember his unyielding spirit.  I will remember how he ascended above the lower emotions of hate and hostility to work towards a greater South Africa.  To me he was Gandhi, Spartacus and FDR rolled into one towering figure with a smile that beguiled the heart of anyone who saw it.

Madiba, I never met you in life, so I will take this opportunity to say thank you.  Thank you for giving the world you.  Thank you for being the type of troublemaker who wouldn’t hesitate to shake up and change an unjust system. Thank you for showing us what one person can do when they are armed with devotion, discipline and forgiveness.  Thank you showing us that even through our human frailties we can and should always allow our God-given light to shine.   And to the family of Nelson Mandela, thank you for allowing us to share him with all of you.

Nelson Mandela there is no one like you.  There will never be another like you. History and the world could never forget you. Go and take your place among the ancestors.  

Arts, Entertainment, FAME, NYC

Holiday Savings with AAADT

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For those of you that are doing your Black Friday shopping online this evening, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is offering 40% off select performances at New York City Center.  The heat that emanates from the stage of any AAADT performance is surely hot enough to thaw a frigid night and is a cool alternative to the traditional holiday outings.

To order visit, http://www.nycitycenter.org/tickets/productionNew.aspx?performanceNumber=7466 and enter code ALYFRI. 

Need an extra incentive to see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, well I’ve got one.  Your purchase guarantees you a “ticket-to-dance.”  “Ticket to Dance” offers a complimentary Ailey Extension class with a ticket stub from any Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater or Ailey II performance nationwide.  There are myriad techniques to choose from, including Horton, Ballet, Salsa as well as Yoga.   Now that is a gift that keeps giving.

Photo: Andrew Eccles

Arts, Entertainment, FAME, NYC, Theatre

Macbeth Gets Abstract

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Pablo Picasso once stated, “Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.”   By using color, line and form, abstract artists, like Picasso, create works that are considered free from traditional visual references.  The deconstruction of the customary form allows the viewer to interpret the art however they desire.  This fall, the timeless words of Shakespeare are receiving an abstract spin courtesy of director Jack O’Brien.  Macbeth, starring Ethan Hawke, is playing at Lincoln Center Theater until January 12.  Steeped in colors of black, blood red and white, this production explores the adverse realities that plagued Macbeth’s mind thrusting the audience into the eye of a nightmare.  But do not believe me; see the faces of Macbeth for yourself!

To learn more about Macbeth at Lincoln Center Theater please visit the following sites:

Website: http://www.lct.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LincolnCenterTheater

Twitter: @LCTheater

FAME, NYC, Theatre

Four Years Strong….F.A.M.E NYC Anniversary Ticket Giveaway

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It’s F.A.M.E NYC Magazine’s Anniversary!!! And as a thank you to all my FAMERS, I would like to extend the opportunity to win two tickets to see BECOMING DR. RUTH!

To enter, all you have to do is leave this comment:  “I LOVE F.A.M.E NYC!” 

 

Each comment increases your chances of winning, so comment a lot.  This is quickie ticket giveaway and the winner will be announced November 20, 2013.

So what are you waiting for….comment and tell us how much you love F.A.M.E NYC and win some tickets!

Tickets courtesy of Serino Coyne

Arts, NYC, Theatre

Several Incarnations …One Life- Becoming Dr. Ruth

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Holocaust survivor, sniper, sex therapist, author, mother of two, widow, grandmother of four all packed in 5-foot-4-inch frame, can anyone say #WOW?  While some sit and contemplate how to get one life going, Dr. Ruth has had several and at 87 this force of fierceness is still out and about every night.  Listen up Millennials, before there was a Carrie Bradshaw there was Dr. Ruth.  When she launched her radio show, “Sexually Speaking”, in 1980, the idea of a woman speaking so candidly about sex was still taboo. Dr. Ruth is a trailblazer, but what led her to become America’s favorite sex therapist?  That journey is poignantly explored in Becoming Dr. Ruth.

3.192955The one-woman production takes place in 1997 at Dr. Ruth’s apartment in Washington Heights.  Recently widowed, she is preparing to move and talking on the phone when she realizes she has company (the audience).  Dr. Ruth, colorfully played by Debra Jo Rupp, then breaks the fourth wall to lead the audience through a narrative of the events of her life before we came to know her.  Born Karola Ruth Siegel in Wiesenfeld, Germany, Dr. Ruth was forever separated from her family when her mother and grandmother decided to send her to Switzerland as part of the Kindertransport.  She details the harsh reality of living in that environment while still dealing with the issues of childhood.  At 17, she was a member of the Haganah in Jerusalem serving as a scout and sniper.  In 1950, Dr. Ruth moved to France studying and teaching psychology at the University of Paris.  In 1956, she immigrated to New York City, moving into the same apartment she inhabits today.  And if that wasn’t enough, she divorced two husbands, gave birth to a daughter, married her beloved Fred Westheimer, became a mother for the second time, earned a master’s degree in sociology and completed her-post doctoral work in human sexuality before the name Dr. Ruth became synonymous with sex. The play also chronicles what life was like after she became the most famous sex therapist of the 20th century.

Four-stars usually signify that a creative endeavor has achieved an A+ grade.  Well in my opinion, four stars don’t adequately display how wonderful this production is.  Becoming Dr. Ruth is triumphant – a soul-hooking display of the resiliency of the human spirit.  From the time Debra Jo Rupp acknowledges the audience until the lights dim, spectators are swept-up in a tale so epic Homer would be envious that he hadn’t written it.  The narrative is so engrossing that no other characters are necessary.  Dr. Ruth’s story makes for the quintessential one-woman show.

3.192957Playwright Mark St. Germain wrote my favorite play in 2010, Freud’s Last Session, and I believe he has done it again with Becoming Dr. Ruth.  To create a character in your head, infuse him/her with a dose of humanity and make him/her relatable to an audience isn’t an easy commission, but the best writers can make the transformation seem effortless.   What is even more difficult is converting a real person into a character. This is St. Germain’s genius.  He can translate a story, real or fiction, of historical figures that preserves their human quality without making them caricatures.   When St. Germain wrote the play, he knew he wanted Debra Jo Rupp to portray Dr. Ruth and he was so right.  Rupp’s performance is magnificent – she nails the amalgamation of Dr. Ruth’s German, Hebrew, French and English accent with the accuracy of a sharp shooter (pun intended).  To say she is a delight to watch is a gross understatement; her presence is its own spotlight.  She fills the stage warmth.

Becoming Dr. Ruth encompasses everything you want in a play – it tells a powerful story with candor, humor and sophistication.  It’s a brilliant artistic representation that mirrors a life that is equally as brilliant.   Many of us have followed Dr. Ruth’s advice, now take my advice…go to the Westside Theatre and see this play!

Photos: Carol Rosegg, Lanny Nagler

Arts, FAME, NYC

Carlos Scarpa Glasswork on Display at The Met

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On Nov. 5, The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa The Venini Company, 1932–1947.   Born in 1906 in Venice Italy, Carlos Scarpa studied architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice and graduated in 1926 with the qualification of being “professor of architectural drawing.” Between 1926 and 1932, he worked at M.V.M. Cappellin glassworks.  During Scarpa’s next position at Venini Glassworks (1932 and 1947) his talents redefined the art glass-blowing.  The medium of glass-blowing is a tradition that spans centuries on the Venetian island of Murano.  Scarpa and the Venini factory became the leaders of innovation experimenting with surface texture, silhouettes and color.

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The exhibition features close to 300 selected pieces, which are organized chronologically and divided into groups according to technique.  Two of the techniques showcased are bollicine, named for the bubbles of air trapped inside, and mezza filigrana, the art of blowing glass as thinly as possible into objects weighing just a few ounces each. Venetian Glass by Carlo Scarpa The Venini Company, 1932–1947 will run until March 2, 2014 and was made possible in part by the Jane and Robert Carroll Fund.

Photos courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Arts, FAME, NYC, Theatre

Lady Day Illuminates The Little Shubert Theatre

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I always knew that Broadway was haunted. Apparitions of playwrights, producers, actors and famous characters skulk around theaters and are as eternal as the neon lights that electrify the Great White Way.  Each season we are revisited with the ghosts of productions past, but this fall two New York City theaters are being visited by the spirits of iconic vocalists past.  On Broadway, Janis Joplin and her musical influences rock The Lyceum Theatre from floor to roof, and Off-Broadway the music of one of her influences is receiving its day.   Lady Day, the musical about Billie Holiday, provides its audience with a stunning visual and aural lesson in tragedy and triumph.

hc-billie-holiday-20131023Anyone who has seen or read Lady Sings the Blues knows the calamitous story of Billie Holiday’s life.  Overflowing with agonizing memories, abusive men and addiction, the pain Holiday experienced habitually showed in various aspects of her life – most often in her music.  Her sound carried listeners through the valleys of the blues transforming agony into musical ecstasy.  You don’t just hear Billie Holliday…you feel Billie Holiday, and that essence is fabulously represented in this production.

Lady Day is an overwhelming emotional tribute to the legacy of Billie Holiday.  The musical takes place at a theater in London.  Billie Holiday and her band are playing the final leg of her European tour.  The first act consists of the rehearsal and the second act is the show.  Woven between 25 of Holliday’s most famous songs is the recounting of her troubled life.  Through music Billie tries to fight the demons haunting her in rehearsal, but winds up still fighting them during the show – something I suspect that happened repeatedly during her brief life.  As Billie exposes her scars, the audience bears witness to an unflinching portrait of pain, but it is how her hurt is translated into song that makes this production shine – each song helps to build the story.  Like Billie Holiday’s music, this production burrows underneath the skin and lingers in the pit of your gut.

lady_dayThe success of this musical is largely due to the performance of Grammy-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater.  She plays the role of Billie Holiday as if she is possessed and her voice is spot-on.  I have never heard anyone capture the timbre of Lady Day as she has.  Bridgewater is simply amazing; you won’t be able take your eyes off of her.  And you won’t soon forget Lady Day the musical.  All artists are tasked with the frightening aspect of revealing their souls to the scrutiny of the masses, but there is something in the way a jazz musician does it that is undeniably raw and palpable.  Billie Holiday’s voice was an instrument that could rival the bent notes and artistry of any of the jazz greats.  She was the voice of her time.  Her influence can still be heard in singers today.

A good story and good music will always yield promising results.  It is as simple as saying one plus one equals two.  At The Little Shubert Theatre, the life of Billie Holiday (which includes her music) and the brilliant showcasing of Holliday’s work (courtesy of Dee Bridgewater) make for compelling theater and two good reasons to see this show.

Photos: Carol Rosegg

Arts, Entertainment, NYC

William Kentridge’s The Refusal of Time On Display At The Met

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In a joint acquisition with the San Francisco Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art premiered William Kentridge’s The Refusal of Time (2012) on October 22; the exhibit will run through May 11, 2014.  A five-channel installation is billed as “a thirty-minute meditation on time and space, the complex legacies of colonialism and industry, and the artist’s own intellectual life.” Kentridge was born in 1955 in Johannesburg, South Africa where he still lives and works.

The Met will host three Gallery Talk events in conjunction with this exhibit.  The dates are as follows:

Saturday, January 4, 2014, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 5, 2014, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Saturday, February 22, 2014, 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Gallery Talk is free with Museum admission

 

Photo:  Henrik Stromberg

Video: Antonio Limonciello

 

FAME, Music, NYC

F.A.M.E NYC Remembers Lou Reed

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My earliest memory of Lou Reed was hearing his music and saying, “I wanna write like that.” His voice…his poetry – it’s artistic perfection.  When I heard of Lou Reed’s passing, I was devastated.  We want our artistic heroes to be immortal but our flesh doesn’t work that way.  It wrinkles, it ages, it fades and dies.  Thankfully we have his music, brimming with energy and moments accompanied by sound. I would like to share some of my favorite Lou Reed songs.  After all his music tells his story better than I ever could.  RIP Lou Reed!

Photo: Getty

 

NYC

Hurricane Sandy One Year Later

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Last year this time I had no electricity.  I was disconnected from family, friends and the entire world.  I was on the road maneuvering around downed trees and power lines, searching for non-perishable food to feed my parents and myself as well as gas to feed my vehicle. Anxiety was starting to settle in; my gas gauge was at a quarter of a tank and I had no idea when the gas trucks would arrive.  Darkness was descending and my Blackberry’s battery life was dwindling.  It had been a long time since I had been frightened on Halloween.  I felt as if I was starring in my own post-apocalyptic drama.

When Sandy hit the NYC-Metro area I, like many others, was ill-prepared.  I heard the warnings but I didn’t take them seriously.  I didn’t run out and stock up on canned goods, candles and water.  This is NYC and New Jersey I thought, we’ll be fine.  Around 8:30 that evening my home went dark.  From my windows I watched the transformers blow one by one, sparking electric flashes of blue light.  One by one I watched as the surrounding blocks and homes in my neighborhood lost the life source of the 21st century.  As I stared into the candlelight illuminating my bedroom, wondering what time it was, I was suddenly humbled by the tremendous power of Mother Nature.  Two days after Halloween, the lights in my house came back on and I was able to view the full devastation of what Sandy had left in her wake. I was thankful that Sandy only cost me a few days of inconvenience, but horrified and saddened to see and hear the stories of those who had lost everything.

As the anniversary of Hurricane Sandy approached a feeling invaded the air, it was almost palpable.  A year later and many of us have had the opportunity to go back to normal.  For some the ghost of Sandy still lingers, still possessing a stranglehold on their lives.  Recovery is slow going but I stand firm in the belief that those who were severely affected by the storm will receive the resources necessary to rebuild.  One thing I know about this area is we may get knocked down, but we get back up better than before.

Photo: Getty