Broadway Baby
From her star-making turn in Jekyll & Hyde, Linda Eder’s been a favorite of those who want to hear the songs of the Great White Way. If you don’t go down to Broadway as much as you’d like to, you can hear her show off her award-winning pipes at the Paramount Center for the Arts on November 20. She’ll give a performance titled “All of Me,” in which she’ll bring out show-stopping show tunes as well as some pop and country standards. Backed by a seven-piece band, she’ll even perform some brand-new original songs.
Case File
Neko Case may be best known for being a member of Canada’s New Pornographers, but her solo songs couldn’t be more different from that band’s sparkling pop tunes. In fact, her sound is so big, deep, and mournful, it’s been described as “country noir.” Case will fill the Tarrytown Music Hall with her booming vocals and songs from her sixth album, Middle Cyclone. “Putting her big, torchy voice behind larger-than-life imagery, she’s fearless through every transformation,” the New York Times writes of her newest release. “The production often harks back to 1960s and ’70s rock, backing her concise melody lines with finger-picked acoustic guitars or twang and reverb.” Ready for some of that twang? Case performs on November 11.
Photo by Andrew Schwartz |
Liar, Liar
George Washington famously said that he could not tell a lie—but how good was he at spotting a lie? And do you think you’d be better? Put yourself to the test with Insights and Revelations’s The Liar Show. There, New York storytellers James Braly, Martin Dockery, Ophira Eisenberg, Steve Osborne, and host Andy Christie each will get up and perform a tale. Most will be based in fact, but one will be a total whopper. Spot the “liar” and win a T-shirt. The performance takes place at the Emelin Theatre on November 19.
Play Time
When it comes to plays and playwrights, it’s better to buy in bulk. In this case, Axial Theatre’s Fourth Annual Short Plays Festival, titled Angels and Visions, is the best deal, offering works from five playwrights at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Pleasantville. The writers featured in the festival include Adam Rapp (Train Story), who won two Obies for his Red Light Winter; Gina Gionfriddo (Squalor), whose Becky Shaw was a Pulitzer Prize finalist; Jessica Dickey (Union), whose The Amish Project was a favorite of the 2008 Fringe Festival; Matt Hoverman (Indian Guides), the recipient of the 2006 Fringe NYC Overall Excellence Award in Outstanding Playwriting; and Ryan Mallon (Woes of the Unwittingly), an absurdist playwright. Performances run from November 5 to November 15, and there are “talkback” sessions with the directors and cast after Sunday matinees.
Gold Sunset Malibu Pier by Kathleen Keifer |
Two-for-One
If you haven’t yet had a chance to check out Jean-Claude Canfin’s sunny gallery in Tarrytown, now’s a great time to do so. Not only is the Canfin Gallery opening a new exhibition, Poetic Land, to feature new works by French artist Jean Duquoc, it’s also
started showcasing paintings by West Coast artist Kathleen Keifer. Both are known for their colorful landscapes, though Duquoc uses rich tones to depict his native Brittany, while Keifer uses lighter, brighter hues to paint the Southern California coastline. You get to enjoy the view from two different continents without leaving the Rivertowns.
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Home Theater
What to add to your Netflix queue this Halloween
Star Trek DVD Release Date: November 17, Paramount Home Entertainment You don’t have to be ashamed of your love for Star Trek anymore: this year’s Star Trek, directed by Lost creator J.J. Abrams and starring a new cast of hot young actors, actually makes the spacey adventure cool again. But, if you just happen to be a nerd, the two-disc set comes with lots of extras—including a deleted scene about Spock’s birth and a behind-the-scenes feature about creating the look of the Romulans and Vulcans—for you to pore over while you wear your pointy ears. |
The Golden Age of Television DVD Release Date: November 24, Criterion Collection Now when you think of made-for-TV-movies, you probably picture schlocky melodramas on Lifetime. In the 1950s, though, “teleplays” were progressive, cutting-edge affairs combining techniques of live theater, radio, and filmmaking. Criterion has collected the best of these teleplays: Marty, Patterns, No Time for Sergeants, A Wind from the South, Requiem for a Heavyweight, Bang the Drum Slowly, The Comedian, and Days of Wine and Roses. A special, three-disc set also includes kinescopes of some of the live broadcasts. |
Up DVD Release Date: November 10, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Those rascals at Pixar have done it again. Their high-flying adventure—about an old man who, after the death of his wife, decides to tie enough balloons to his house to take off to an exotic locale he’d always dreamed of visiting—is both exciting enough to keep kids enthralled and gorgeous enough to please adult animation fans. The DVD comes with an all-new short about the film’s most instantly lovable character, Dug the dog. |
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Broadway Box Office
Bye Bye Birdie
Photo by Joan Marcus |
What’s the tale, nightingale? Forget about Hugo and Kim; have you heard about John (Treacy Egan) and Robert (Hager)? The two Westchester actors and fellow Rye Country Day School alums—Egan graduated in 1980 and Hager in 2006—are performing onstage in the current Broadway reprisal of the beloved bubble gum musical Bye Bye Birdie. Winner of a Tony Award in 1961 for Best Musical, this exuberant rock ’n’ roll comedy features such classic tunes as “The Telephone Hour” and “Put on a Happy Face.” Mamaroneck resident Egan (The Little Mermaid, The Producers) plays Harvey Johnson’s dad and Hager (Spring Awakening) of Port Chester understudies the title role and covers the ensemble’s teens in this new production, which opened two weeks ago at Henry Miller’s Theatre.
By: Laurie Yarnell
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Bringing It Home :: Our Pick
Take a Peak
Rock ‘n’ Roll has never felt so good. By November 23, you’ll be able to log on to 1071thepeak.com and buy an album of the radio station’s live performances. Featured artists include Rob Thomas, the Airborne Toxic Event, Marc Cohn, G. Love and Special Sauce, the Derek Trucks Band, and others. While the music might be enough to make you happy, you’ll feel even better knowing that the proceeds benefit two local causes: the Sidewalk Angels Foundation and the Food Bank for Westchester. (To keep the local theme, the cover for the CD is the result of a contest surveying local artists.) For more information about Peak Performances Volume 2, visit 1071thepeak.com.