Exciting Events Around New York: April 2022
EXCITING EVENTS AROUND NEW YORK: APRIL 2022
By Great Performances
Explore Great Music, Art and More at Our Partner Venues This Month!
LYRICIST LOUNGE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
April 16th at 8:00pm
Ticket Information: Start at $45
What began as a regular gathering of some of New York’s best underground MCs at various locations around New York City has grown into one of hip hop’s most recognized platforms, showcasing newcomers and veterans alike on national concert tours, albums, documentaries, and the popular MTV sketch comedy series, The Lyricist Lounge Show.
Celebrate 30 years of the iconic Lyricist Lounge at this not-to-be-missed event.
Headliner:
KRS-One
DJ:
Kid Capri
Featuring:
Bahamadia
Grand Puba
Mr. Cheeks
With:
Buckshot
CL Smooth
Cru
Large Professor
Rah Digga
Talib Kweli
NEW BLACK FEST: READINGS
1st Reading: April 22 at 7:00 PM ET
2nd Reading: April 23 at 7:00 PM ET
3rd Reading: April 25 at 7:00 PM ET
Ticket Information: $25
How did the artists of the Harlem Renaissance respond to the historic events that shaped their time? And how are contemporary creatives dealing with the issues of the present moment in their own work? These questions lie at the heart of the Apollo commission of the New Black Fest, which has engaged 18 contemporary playwrights to explore these themes in 10-minute plays.
Over the course of three staged readings, each playwright will premiere their new work, dramatically performed by an exciting cast of actors and readers. Participating playwrights include James Ijames, Eric Micha Holmes, Dahlak Brathwaite, Donja Love, Dennis A. Allen II, Christina Anderson, and Mfoniso Udofia. This event will be taking place on the Apollo’s Soundstage.
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
Tuesday, April 5th through Sunday, May 22nd
Location: BAM Strong, Harvey Theater
Ticket Information: Start at $45
US Theater Premiere
Direct from London’s West End, three-time Olivier-nominated stage and screen actor James McAvoy (The Last King of Scotland, Atonement, X-Men) makes his BAM debut in a radical new adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s masterwork by Martin Crimp, with direction by Jamie Lloyd (Betrayal).
McAvoy leads a superb ensemble in this “breathtakingly exciting” (Evening Standard) theatrical tour-de-force that captures timeless passion through spoken word, contemporary poetry, and raw physicality. Cyrano seduces in raps and rhymes, using his linguistic brilliance to help another man win the heart of his one true love—above all—championing his own unbridled love for words.
Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Revival, the Jamie Lloyd Company’s latest production blazes into the Harvey Theater to celebrate Cyrano’s powerful resistance against overwhelming odds.
CANDOCO DANCE COMPANY
Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th
Location: Peter Jay Sharp Building, BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Ticket Information: Start at $25
The first professional company in the UK dedicated to the integration of disabled and non-disabled dancers, Candoco is driven by world-class artists committed to challenging what dance can be. They restage Trisha Brown’s iconic Set and Reset, originally commissioned by BAM for its first Next Wave in 1983. In collaboration with Trisha Brown Dance Company, Candoco takes Brown’s original guidelines and choreographic phrases to include dancers with disabilities for the first time in Set and Reset/Reset. Israeli-American choreographer Yasmeen Godder worked closely with the company to create Face In, an uninhibited piece that’s sensual, disturbing, and ridiculous by turns—but always deeply personal.
IN C
Thursday, April 28th through Saturday, April 30th
Location: Peter Jay Sharp Building, BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Ticket Information: Start at $25
Any kind of instrument. Any number of performers. Terry Riley’s one page score for In C invites interpretation in the extreme.
Choreographer Sasha Waltz takes up the challenge—and the open-ended possibilities—in this playful, expressive new work, accompanied live by the electric Bang on a Can All-Stars. Waltz builds on her interdisciplinary practice to create an adaptable movement system inspired by Riley’s score. Created through an experimental artistic process incorporating digital development and performance, In C explores the potential of flexible creative production in extreme circumstances and of artistic exchange, even across national borders. It comes to the BAM stage for its US premiere, offering a dazzling interplay of structured improvisation and synchronicity that, like Riley’s music, sweeps audiences up on a journey toward the ecstatic.
SIGNATURE COCKTAIL BY ODE TO BABEL
Saturday, April 2nd from 5:00-10:00pm
Location: The Norm Restaurant and Bar, 1st Floor
Toast the return of First Saturday with a specialty cocktail, created by Crown Heights bar Ode to Babel, that pays tribute to the vibes of this signature Brooklyn event. Served throughout the Museum or at The Norm Restaurant.
MUSIC: ISA REYES, BATHE, & THE LAY OUT
Saturday, April 2nd
Location: Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Pavilion and Lobby, 1st Floor
5:00-6:00pm: Isa Reyes
New York–based musician Isa Reyes offers a performance that blends R&B and indie pop to create a unique, atmospheric sound.
7:00-8:00pm: Bathe
Catch a musical set by Bathe, the dreamy surf-rock/R&B melding of Brooklyn-based duo Devin Hobdy and Corey Smith-West.
8:30-10:00pm: The Lay Out
Close out the evening with The Lay Out—a community event built during the time of the pandemic, creating moments for and by Black people to reclaim space, time, energy, and one another in the continued fight for justice—featuring sets by Niara Sterling, Quiana Parks, and friends.
DANISH STRING QUARTET
Friday, April 22nd at 8:00pm
Ticket Information: Start at $30
Time after time, the Grammy Award-nominated Danish String Quartet receives critical acclaim for their powerful performances. As “one of the best quartets before the public today” (The Washington Post), the group brings a unique expressivity to the music, whether it be Haydn, Shostakovich, or a contemporary score. In this performance, they play works by Britten and Schubert as well as a specially curated suite of dances by John Adams, Charpentier, and Felix Blumenfeld.
JAZZMEIA HORN
Presented in Collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center
Saturday, April 30th at 8:00pm
Ticket Information: Start at $30
Sublime vocalist Jazzmeia Horn brings her finely tuned vocal skills to Caramoor, showcasing her songs of daring musicality, emotional power, and social relevance. Having emerged as one of the brightest stars on the rise in the jazz scene, the aptly named singer has earned the adoration of audiences around the world with her unique spin on the jazz tradition, touched by hints of R&B and hip hop. If Ella or Billie were alive today, they might just sound like Jazzmeia!
CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE BIG BAND
Thursday, April 7th through Sunday, April 10th
Location: Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Ticket Information: Start at $40
ABOUT THE SHOW
Grammy Award–winning bassist Christian McBride first composed for big band in 1995 as a commission for the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. The master musician has since appeared on over 300 recordings and is easily one of the most accomplished bassists alive. Now a leader of his own Grammy Award–winning Big Band, featuring a staggering and diverse lineup of top musicians, McBride simultaneously shows off his compositional talent and unmatched ability to drive a band from behind the bass. This hip group combines the classic big band sounds of the Swing Era with more than half a century of post-bop influences. You simply can’t go wrong when McBride is in charge.
CHICK COREA AFRO-CARIBBEAN EXPERIENCE
WITH ELIO VILLAFRANCA AND FRIENDS
Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th
Location: Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center
Ticket Information: $45
ABOUT THE SHOW
Chick Corea was quoted in a 2019 Billboard interview as saying, “That [Latin] flavor, I find, is mostly in everything I do; it’s a part of me.” As we celebrate jazz icon Chick Corea, who tragially passed away in 2020, in Rose Theater for two nights, Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca will delve into the maestro’s music from a distinctly Afro-Caribbean meets Jazz perspective, joined by a cadre of master musicians at Dizzy’s. When Jazz at Lincoln Center hosted a week-long Chick Corea Festival in 2013, Chick hand-picked the musicians he wanted to see and hear at Dizzy’s, with Elio Villafranca being one of them. Chick’s masterful storytelling knew no bounds—from Bach and Bartok to the Blues, from Stravinksy to Samba, Mozart to Montunos, Ravel and Rhumba—all tempered with the language of swing with the Spanish Tinge. Revisiting a riveting performance from January, Villafranca return to Dizzy’s when the House of Swing will be in full Chick Corea celebration!
PERFORMANCE LINEUP
Elio Villafranca, piano
Freddie Hendrix, trumpet
Donny McCaslin, tenor saxophone
Edward Perez, bass
Eric Harland, drums
Mauricio Herrera, percussion
CELEBRATING CHICK COREA
PRESENTED AS PART OF THE ERTEGUN JAZZ CONCERT SERIES
Friday, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th
Location: Rose Theater
Ticket Information: Start at $55
WHAT TO EXPECT
A celebration of the late Chick Corea’s expansive musical career, spanning six decades of genre-bending contributions to straight ahead jazz, jazz fusion, avant-garde, Latin jazz, children’s music and classical progressive rock.
Directed by longtime bandmate John Patitucci with guest performances by an A-list of Corea’s past collaborators and band members.
ABOUT THE CONCERT
The late, legendary pianist and composer Chick Corea found endless delight in creating and uncovering — and discovering — new musical wonders. Corea’s restless spirit guided a career that spanned nearly six decades, earned 24 Grammy Awards and 60 nominations, and blazed new compositional trails across the terrain of jazz music and beyond; contributing hundreds of songs — many of which are considered standards — to jazz, jazz fusion, avant-garde, Latin jazz, children’s music, and classical progressive rock.
This evening—under the musical direction of his longtime bandmate, bassist John Patitucci—we pay tribute to the iconic artist with guest performances by an A-list of Corea’s past collaborators and band members from both his acoustic and electric explorations. Join us for a celebration of Chick’s genre-bending music, which continues to inspire generations of musicians and fans around the world.
The all-star lineup paying tribute to Corea will include Wynton Marsalis on trumpet; singer and activist Rubén Blades; flutist Hubert Laws; pianists Renee Rosnes, Billy Childs, Robert Rodriguez, and Geoffrey Keezer; jazz fusion guitarist Frank Gambale; bassists Christian McBride and Carlos Henriquez; drummers Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Brian Blade, and Antonio Sanchez; percussionist Luisito Quintero; trumpeter Mike Rodriguez; and saxophonists Eric Marienthal, Ted Nash, and Chris Potter. The evening also includes a reunion performance by the members of Corea’s Grammy-nominated Elektric Band, featuring Marienthal, Patitucci, and Weckl.
CHARLES MINGUS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
FEATURING THE JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS
Friday, April 22nd and Saturday, April 23rd Location: Rose Theater Ticket Information: Start at $40WHAT TO EXPECT
- A celebration of jazz luminary Charles Mingus under the direction of the JLCO’s Vincent Gardner.
- Timeless Mingus classics reinterpreted by the JLCO, with swinging hard bop, Afro-Latin grooves, deep blues feeling, classical structures, and more.
ABOUT THE CONCERT
One of the most important figures in jazz, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader, and genius composer. He performed with Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and more, and his singular compositional voice led many to consider him as the heir apparent to Duke Ellington. A fierce advocate for musicians’ rights and creative efforts, Mingus remains, even half a century after his passing, an inspiration for artists seeking to blaze their own trails and take charge of their own destinies.
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis gives a centenary performance in honor of the great Charles Mingus with music direction by Vincent Gardner. With a blend of swinging hard bop, Afro-Latin grooves, and deeply felt blues that characterized Mingus’s pen, this concert celebrates why Mingus’s music remains some of the most beloved of all time.
PH x TEENS: POSTERS IN COUTURE
Friday April 22nd from 4:30pm–6:00pm
Ticket Information: FREE
Drawing inspiration from Poster House’s fashion-forward exhibition Ethel Reed: I Am My Own Property, PH x Teens: Posters in Couture invites young adults ages 13 to 18 to explore their unique passions and interests through the creation of a mirrored poster. Using diverse materials, from glass chips to reflective vinyl, teens will create their own image of the world that both literally and figuratively reflects them, as Ethel Reed did over 100 years ago.
PH x Teens: Posters in Couture is a drop-in program for young adults ages 13 to 18. Advanced registration is required but participants are not expected to stay the entire time; guests should plan to spend about an hour on this interactive, self-guided activity.
POSTER KIDS: FROM PHOTOMONTAGE TO COLLAGE
Sunday, April 24th from 10:30am-12:15pm
Ticket Information: FREE with reservation
This month’s Poster Kids will focus on the many meanings of “cut and paste.” Together, we’ll look at posters that use photomontage and paste-up techniques, and then create our own collaged story cubes inspired by our gallery explorations.
CONFEDERATES
Tuesday, March 8th through Sunday, April 24th
Ticket Information: Start at $35
Sara, an enslaved rebel turned Union spy, and Sandra, a tenured professor in a modern-day private university, are having parallel experiences of institutional racism, though they live over a century apart. This New York premiere by MacArthur Genius Fellow Dominique Morisseau, directed by Stori Ayers, leaps through time to trace the identities of these two Black American women and explore the reins that racial and gender bias still hold on American educational systems today.
A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
Tuesday, April 12th through Sunday, May 15th
Ticket Information: Start at $35
Inside a cubicle in a small office in southern Idaho, two men struggle to meet the confounding terms on a loan. MacArthur Fellow Samuel D. Hunter launches his residency with this thoughtful meditation on human resilience, directed by David Cromer (Tony Award- winner, The Band’s Visit).
PUBLIQUARTET WITH SPECIAL GUEST BOB STEWART
Saturday, April 16th from 2:00-3:00pm
Location: Armor Hall
Ticket Information: $30 Adult/$14 Child (8-18); includes admission to the grounds. Advance tickets $2 off. Wave Hill Members save 10%
This performance features:
Curtis Stewart – Violin
Jannina Norpoth – Violin
Nick Revel – Viola
Hamilton Berry – Cello
Special Guest: Bob Stewart – Tuba
Indoor concerts return to Wave Hill’s Armor Hall with a performance by the Grammy-nominated PUBLIQuartet and special guest Bob Stewart. The quartet performs music by celebrated young composers, including Jessie Montgomery (who was herself a founding member of the group), Vijay Iyer and Rhiannon Giddens, as well as their own creative arrangements of songs by Marvin Gaye and Duke Ellington. Concert begins at 2PM and lasts approximately one hour without intermission. Ages 8 and older welcome with an adult
PUBLIQuartet is known for its electrifying performances and for thoughtfully curated programs that expertly combine composed music with improvisation. The tuba legend Bob Stewart, who also happens to be quartet violinist Curtis Stewart’s father, joins the group for a performance of “In Color” by Jessie Montgomery.
ARBOR WEEKEND
Thursday, April 28th through Saturday, April 30th
Location: See events for details
Ticket Information: Free with admission to the grounds
Join us as we celebrate the trees in our gardens and neighborhoods with walks, art-making, kid-friendly activities and more! By popular demand, arborists from Almstead Tree, Shrub & Lawn Care return to this spring to host a family-favorite activity, the Junior Arborist Station.
ROBOT HEART PRESENTS FARE FORWARD
Saturday, April 30th through Sunday, May 1st
Ticket Information: Start at $190.55
The Robot Heart Foundation is bringing the original Robot Heart Bus to New York City for a weekend filled with world-class performances, artistic experiences, next-level dining, and conscious revelry.
The line-up includes the DJ Dill, musical artists Formerly (preview), International DJ and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, Turkish DJ and producer Carlita, musician Acid Pauli, musical artists The Illustrious Blacks, Canadian folk music band The Weather Station, DJ and producer Behrouz, British musicians Cymande, DJ and live performer Francesca Lombardo and Danish electronic artist Be Svendsen.
Many more notable music artists have played at Wollman Rink Music Festivals, including B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner, Patti Smith, Neil Young, Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, Meatloaf, Debbie Harry, Bruce Springsteen, The Who and the Doors, to name a few.
Fare Forward reignites this historical venue with a range of talent, multisensory production and the sensurround sound that music lovers have come to expect from the Robot Heart art car.
Fare Forward is part memorial for our founder, Geo, part 50th birthday celebration of our 1972 English bus and part celebration of 15 years of the Robot Heart community, Fare Forward is an invitation to appreciate the present moment. Achieve a state of unity. And transcend the material through an elation of the senses.
