Winter in New York City is never blue, bleak or boring. If fall is when serious Oscar contenders appear and the best literary fiction books come out, winter is a time for indoor festivals, taking shelter at enormous food halls, seeing the best exhibitions at museums, taking in talks at Symphony Space, taking courses at 92nd Y, and patiently waiting for Broadway musicals to open that are based on some of our most beloved books. Staying in because of the cold and snow is not an option in New York, and our winter arts guide for 2018 showcases the best the city has to offer that will definitely help you stave off cabin fever.
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2017/michelangelo/exhibition-galleries1. Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer
When: Through February 12, 2018
Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Ticket Counter Admission: Pay as you please. Suggested admission is $25
Online tickets: $25 adults, $17 seniors, $12 students
The Michelangelo we know painted the Sistine Chapel between 1508 and 1512, and today it is the symbol of High Renaissance art. But this once-in-the-lifetime exhibition showcases the artist’s rich legacy as an iconic draftsman and his mastery of drawing and design. Included here are 133 of his drawings and three of his marble sculptures, as well as his wood architectural model for a chapel vault. The Met is also displaying innumerable pieces of drawings and work by contemporary artists who are inspired by the Renaissance Man for comparison, contrast, and context. For his technical virtuosity, his stunning works of drawing and technique that are now universally accepted as being the foundation for all the arts, this exhibit celebrates Michelangelo in ways you’ve probably not seen. But get to the Met soon, because the exhibition’s last day is February 12, 2018.
http://kellidesjarlais.com/?portfolio=jerry-springer-the-opera2. Jerry Springer—The Opera
When: January 23-March 11, 2018
Where: Pershing Square Signature Center
How Much: $40-$125
We know. This sounds like a joke, but it’s the real thing. After a successful run in the UK for fifteen years, the show gets an Off-Broadway run starting this month. A musical based on the trashiest TV show in history, the opera somehow manages to entertain by culling together Jerry Springer’s trademark tropes– lots of fighting, bickering and expletive language— and pairing them with soaring arias and ballads and incredible production numbers. Terrance Man plays Springer, so you know the show is in good company. NB: If you don’t like excessive cursing, this opera is not for you.
https://www.audiencerewards.com/city/new-york-ny/shows/angels-in-america/3. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
When: February 23-June 30, 2018
Where: The Neil Simon Theatre
How Much: $198–$498
The groundbreaking and poignant Angels in America explores homosexuality and AIDS in American during the 1980s. Just in time for its 25th-anniversary, the Tony Kushner play is back for its revival on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theater. The fastest-selling show in National Theatre (according to the producers) and the winner of numerous awards during its first run, including the Pulitzer Prize, the Tony Award, and the Drama Desk Award, this two-part masterpiece has an impeccable cast and director. Nathan Lane (who appeared in the original) is here, and A-lister Andrew Garfield takes his time off from Hollywood to play a gay man living with AIDS. The visionary Marianne Elliot (War Horse) directs, after a successful adaptation of the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
www.usatoday.com4. Mean Girls
When: March 12-December 31, 2019
Where: August Wilson Theater
How Much: $99-$179
The beloved 2004 comedy that dissects with intense precision the social classes in high school, is now a Broadway Musical. So the Plastics are back, and the cult classic gets to live a second life that you know will be funny and good because Tina Fey (who wrote the original movie) and Jeff Richmond (the composer and hubby of Fey) are behind this musical. Casey Nicholaw (the choreographer of the Book of Mormon) directs, Neil Benjamin (Legally Blonde) supplies the lyrics and the cast includes fresh faces: Erika Henningsen, Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, Kate Rockwell and Barrett Wilbert Weed.
https://www.pottermore.com/cursed-child5. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
When: March 16-December 30, 2018
Where: Musicals Lyric Theatre
How Much: $25-$199
The most anticipated show on Broadway finally hops the pond from London to open the show in New York City. Written by J.K. Rowling (who needs no introduction), the play turns to Harry Potter’s son and his time-traveling misadventures. Divided into two full-length halves, the original West End production cleaned up at the 2017 Olivier Awards and was awarded Best Director, Best New Play, Best Actor, and many more. This is going to sell out fast, so good luck getting tickets.
www.twitter.com/newyorkled6. Erwin Redl, Whiteout
When: November 16, 2017 to March 25, 2018
Where: Madison Square Park, Manhattan
How Much: Free
Tickets: Open to the Public
Erwin Redl is best known for creating spectacular light projects on the facades of buildings. His new work, Whiteout, a newly commissioned public art project, is the thirty-fifth outdoor exhibition organized by the Madison Square Park Conservancy.
According to the MSPC website, Whiteout is “comprised of hundreds of transparent white spheres, each embedded with a discrete, white LED light and suspended from a square grid of steel poles and cabling. The orbs are opportunistic, gently swaying with the wind currents from their positions of one foot above the ground plane. The white LEDs are animated in large-scale patterns superimposing a virtual movement on top of the kinetic movement of the spheres. The sequence of light is an incandescent treatment of urban public space across the dark seasons of the late fall and winter.” The outdoor exhibit makes Madison Square Park look like a winter wonderland, and children—as well as adults—will be excited by, and bask in, all the displays of light. Whiteout at MSP is one of the best parks to showcase the art, as approximately 60,000 daily visitors pass through it every day.
https://worleygig.com/2017/11/10/pink-thing-of-the-day-dale-chihulys-rose-crystal-tower-in-union-square/7. Dale Chihuly’s Rose Crystal Tower
When: December 30, 2017 to October 27, 2018
Where: Union Square
How Much: Free, Open to the Public
Dale Chihuly may not be a household name, but he single-handedly revolutionized the art of glassblowing, elevating it from a craft to a fine art. His glass sculptures and architectural installations are all iconic and hypnotic and are displayed everywhere around the world: from gardens to museums, and from cities to parks. Chihuly’s Rose Crystal Tower was designed to look like punk rock candy, which may cause you to be nostalgic, remembering all the times you ate the sweet treats. The sculpture, a cluster of rose gems, is towering, standing 31-foot-tall. It is composed of Polyvitro, which Chihuly himself invented, and which is a plastic material taken to the extreme because it is made for resilience and looks exactly like glass crystals.
https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/36618. Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait
When: Through January 28, 2018
Where: The Museum of Modern Art
How Much: $14-$25
Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010) is best known as the celebrated sculptor who used art as an outlet to explore and deconstruct issues such as domesticity, sexuality and death, along with the subconscious. But her print work oeuvre is little known. Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait showcases the prints and books that are vast in scope and are made up of more than 1,200 printed compositions. For fans of the sculptor, this exhibit is not to be missed, as it shows a side of her that you may not know, the creation of works that began in the 1930s and continued in the last two decades of her life. The exhibit showcases 300 works, prized materials that belong to the museum’s archive, as well as some loans that have been rarely seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqIPorLVK1U9. 92nd Street Y
When: All Year Long
Where: 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side
How much: $10-$80+
92nd Street Y is a cultural institution and community center known for its workshops, classes and its literary author talks in the fall that often sell out fast. It holds the best events in the city. For example, A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza is an over four-hour guided bus tour that visits two of Brooklyn’s best pizzerias on March 18. Tickets, at $80, are steep, but if you don’t want the hassle of exploring Brooklyn on your own if you live in Manhattan proper, the tour should be a spring highlight. There are also classes for beginners and advanced, as well as classes appropriate to one’s age. These include acting and dance classes, drawing and painting workshops divided by children’s age, fiction writing, as well as a fiction boot camp by esteemed literary writer Myla Goldberg. Check out the site 92y.org for more events.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni-4eYDLvZA10. Grant Wood: American Gothic and Other Fables
When: March 2–June 10, 2018
Where: Whitney Museum of American Art
How Much: $25 adults; $18 seniors and students; free for visitors 18 and under.
Grant Wood is best known for his painting American Gothic, a portrait of a farmer holding a pitchfork and a woman by his side that is presumed to be his wife. This iconic portrait of 20th century American art is not the only piece of indelible art that Wood made. Like the winter exhibition of Louise Bourgeois’ little-known print work oeuvre, this Wood showing brings together his art that many are unfamiliar with, and includes decorative Arts and Crafts objects, impressionist painting, book illustrations and many more. With his images of rural America, the farmer/painter produced works that offered reassurance and identity during the Depression, just as comfort food provided Americans with a sure footing after 9/11. Don’t miss this exhibit, as you will be able to see creations of art that speak to America during a time of great upheaval.
http://www.winterjazzfest.com/11. Winter Jazzfest
When: The festival runs Wednesday, January 10, 2018 to Wednesday, January 17, 2018. The marathon happens on Friday, January 12, 2018 through Saturday, January 13, 2018.
Where: Various venues
How much: $20-$25. Festival Pass: Varies
The annual Winter Jazzfest is a week-long festival of all things jazz. Musicians will perform at more than a dozen of the best jazz clubs in Manhattan. While music is at the heart of the event, there is also the celebrated talk series, which explores jazz through the lenses of identity, gender, inequality, race, social justice and so much more. The talks also serve as a platform for international musicians and explore jazz as inherently a music of social commentary and protest.
The famous two-night Jazzfest Marathon—from Friday, January 12 to Saturday, January 13—will showcase over 100 groups, from vets to up-and-comers, who will perform on intimate downtown venues in Greenwich Village (Schedule TBA). The days after New Year are often bleak, but the Jazzfest is a burst of excitement and a way to shake off the January blues.
12. Dekalb Market Hall
Where: City Point, 445 Albee Square W, Brooklyn
Number of vendors: 40
Square footage: 60,000
Website: dekalbmarkethall.com
Dekalb Market Hall in downtown Brooklyn is one of the city’s largest food halls and entertainment centers with an emphasis on eclectic food and authentic Brooklyn fare. It opened in June 2017 but has been more than 5 years in the making. It’s on our list because it’s the hippest restaurant and eatery venue that covers every style of cooking that you need to visit this winter. It shares a spot with Trader Joe’s, so you can shop for groceries while taking a break from grazing. Dekalb has a cocktail bar to keep the hall festive in the evening and daily live programming, which includes music. Some stalls are open in the morning for coffee and donuts and other goods. But come in the day to get the chance to visit all 40 of the vendors. The large draw here is the iconic Katz’s Deli, which is being celebrated because it is the first outpost outside of the Lower East Side. Other vendors include a new outpost for Guss’ Pickles and Bushwick’s new- school Bunker that serves the best Vietnamese food around. There’s also Carroll Gardens’ popular fried chicken spot, Wilma Jean, Dumbo’s Foragers Market, Cuzin’s Duzin, a legendary doughnut shop, as well as newcomers Fulton Landing Seafood and Pierogi Boys.
In addition to what’s on our guide, there’s also celebrating Martin Luther King Day and the year of the dog during February’s Chinese New Year, letting yourself go for a fun night out at Club Cumming, a relatively new bar in the East Village owned by the actor Alan Cumming, and checking out ‘David Bowie Is” at the Brooklyn Museum, which curates the musician’s original costumes, his handwritten lyric sheets from famous songs, as well as his original album art, photographs, and videos.
The post NYC Winter Arts Guide appeared first on UpOut Blog.