Fall Arts Preview: Fall Events

Fall Arts Preview: Fall Events

I wrote the massive guide to fall arts and culture, which was broken into Fall Events, Fall Books, Fall Movies, and Fall TV. For fall events, I covered upcoming art, film, music, theater, family happenings, readings, lectures, comedy, art and craft fairs, and special events taking place in Westchester September, October, and November.

"Talk Cinema

Film writer Harlan Jacobson screened The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo—the original Swedish version, of course—before almost anyone else here had a glimpse of Noomi Rapace’s nose-ringed face, thank you very much. And he doesn’t plan on getting scooped this season, either. For his Talk Cinema series, Jacobson shows an indie or foreign film before its release, then hosts a discussion afterward with a filmmaker or critic. You don’t get to know what film you see beforehand, but speculating is half the fun.

 

The Zombies

This will be their year: to celebrate the band’s 50th anniversary, the Zombies have planned a worldwide tour, with stops from Edinburgh to Tel Aviv. And, when they finally come stateside, they’re playing the Tarrytown Music Hall. In addition to ’60s hits like 'Time of the Season' and 'She’s Not There,' the band will perform songs from last year’s new album, Breathe Out, Breathe In."


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September Issue: In Every Issue

Upcoming
Cultural highlights including Joe Lovano, Gordon Lightfoot, Kelli O'Hara, and more.

"Pole Vault

When we think of the North Pole, we think of polar bears and Santa Claus. But to Anthony Fiala, the North Pole represented the limit of human achievement. The Stamford Museum & Nature Center explores Fiala’s ultimately unsuccessful attempts to be the first to reach the top of the world, including the expedition’s natural hurdles (his ship was crushed by ice) and the man-made ones (his crew rejected his leadership and quit). The expedition lasted from 1903 to 1905, but the museum’s exhibition will only last from September 10 to October 30."

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Time Out New York: 101 Things to Do for $10 or Less

 

101 Things to Do for $10 or Less

 

My contributions to Time Out New York's list of cheap things to do in New York City are sprinkled throughout their package, which is broken up into weekday, weeknight, and weekend activities. I covered items for all three lists, including: cruising the East River Ferry (No. 3), touring Grand Central Terminal (No. 6), bowling at the Gutter (No. 10) or Brooklyn Bowl (No. 30), catching a comedy show at the PIT (No. 61) or UCB (No. 70), seeing a rock show at the Mercury Lounge (No. 88), hitting up the matinees at the AMC theaters (No. 91), and walking the gardens at Wave Hill (No. 92).

 

"People’s Improv Theater

In January, the PIT moved away from New York’s informal improv-comedy district near the Magnet Theater and UCBT and into a new space with a full bar and approximately 100 seats—nearly double its previous capacity. It’s a great place to catch a comedian on the rise: Kristen Schaal and The Office and Bridesmaids’s Ellie Kemper were both on PIT house teams. Most weekday shows are rarely more than $10, but for the best value, stop by on Wednesdays from 6 to 11pm, when troupes flex their comedic muscles in six free shows. 123 E 24th St between Park and Lexington Aves (212-563-7488 thepit-nyc.com)."

 

Click through to read the rest of the article at Time Out New York.

August Issue: Things to Do

It's All Free
A round-up of free, outdoor concerts for every night of the week.

"Big-band, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, and even gospel music find their way to the bandshell in the grassy Hudson Park. After all, there’s no other place in the county where you can groove to a band with a name as funky as the Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra (August 24)."

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Only in August
How to enjoy the Dog Days

"People think of August as the doldrums of summer,  marked by the twin plagues of heat and boredom. But it’s still summer, darn it, and there are many warm-weather pleasures to be had. In fact, there are some things you can only do in August. Here, a few:

1. Request tickets to Saturday Night Live.
You see those smiling, laughing audience members week-in, week-out, but few realize that you can only request free SNL tickets during the month of August. Email your contact info to snltickets@nbcuni.com, and spend the rest of the summer running to the mailbox to see if you got lucky in the ticket lottery." 

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August Issue: In Every Issue

Culture, Etc.
Guster, Steve Earle, Trollhunter, and more.

"It’s August, and, to paraphrase Gershwin, the livin’ should be easy—and the music should be, too. Guster understands, and the band’s most recent album, the aptly named Easy Wonderful, provides just the kind of poppy, no-fuss music that’s best for those days when it’s too hot to think. It inspired Entertainment Weekly to write, 'There’s something happily uncomplicated—and at times proudly uncool—about this band’s sixth album.' Hear for yourself when Guster plays an outdoor concert at the Ives Concert Park in Danbury, Connecticut, on August 3."

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Home Theater & Broadway Box Office
Paul, Jane Eyre, Your Highness, and Cul-De-Sac, plus an interview with Altar Boyz director Carlos Encinias.

"Who is your favorite boy band?

I’d have to say it’s a tie between *NSYNC and the New Kids on the Block. The New Kids on the Block was my first concert, but I say that I was just taking my sister and it wasn’t really for me. That’s my line."

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Guster photo by Floto+Warner Studio

June Issue: Summer Fun Cover Story

Summer Fun

For the June cover, I produced a feature package on the best ways to enjoy summer in Westchester County, from driving race cars to seeing Shakespeare outdoors to heading to one of a million local beaches. You can read an excerpt below and follow the link to read the rest of the article, or you can download the PDF.

"Wear Your Favorite Eye Patch

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for…you. Forget the Pirates of the Caribbean—the Pirates of the Hudson have arrived and have laid siege to Philipsburg Manor. If you dare, you can put on your finest bandana, hook hand, peg leg, or shoulder parrot, and mingle among them. There, you’ll see belly dancers gyrating to the sounds of pirate musicians, shop for fenced booty from the Thieves Market, marvel at the Museum of Oddities, feast on foods prepared by Tastefully Yours, and imbibe grog from the Captain Lawrence Brewery. (Just keep an eye on your own wallet—these scalawags have sticky fingers.) Pirates-in-training can take part in a treasure hunt and climb on a shipwreck—or be forced to walk its plank. Pirates of the Hudson: The Siege of Sleepy Hollow comes to us from the same people who brought us the Horseman’s Hollow event on Halloween. The event takes place from July 2 to July 4 and, as with the Horseman’s Hollow, you must have a timed ticket to enter. For more information, call (914) 631-8200 or visit hudsonvalley.org."

Click here to read the full article online.


Two Man Gentleman Band photo by Putnam Bean; Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival ten photo by William Marsh; Pirates photo by Bryan Haeffele.

June Issue: A Q&A with the Head of the Caramoor International Music Festival

Classic Caramoor

"You’re conducting the 'Pops, Patriots, and Fireworks' performance on July 3. Why did you choose to lead that one?
I don’t consider myself a Pops guy, but what I like is to make what looks like a Pops program, but actually has much more meat on its bones. Like last year, we did the 1812 Overture, which is done all the time on the Fourth of July. To mix it up, I added a Theremin. At these things, you can expect to hear Sousa and maybe Gershwin—but you don’t expect to hear a Theremin. This year, Charles Yang is going to play the "Yankee Doodle" variations on the electric violin. It doesn’t even look like a violin, it looks like a stick with strings on it. He is amazing. So I like Pops concerts when I can add something unexpected."

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Photo by Gabe Palacio

June Issue: In Every Issue

June Highlights
Ani DiFranco, Brian Wilson, Peter Frampton, surrealist art, and more.

Home Theater
True Grit, The Adjustment Bureau, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Extended Edition Blu-Ray

"The work of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick has been adapted into some of the greatest science fiction movies of all time, including Blade Runner and Minority Report. (Okay, there are some not-so-great ones in there, too, like Next and Paycheck.) His short story, “Adjustment Team,” became The Adjustment Bureau, in which a politician, played by Matt Damon, rails against a fedora-wearing cabal that secretly controls the paths of everyone on Earth. Fans of Mad Men’s Roger Sterling can spot John Slattery under one of those fedoras."

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