Sarah Stiles, The Hot Sardines and More Announced in Upcoming JOE'S PUB LIVE! Programming
By: Chloe Rabinowitz Apr. 29, 2020
Joe's Pub, a program of The Public Theater, continues Joe's Pub LIVE!, its free series of live-streamed and archived performances from their iconic stage in New York City. Designed to facilitate social connection during this time of physical distancing, Joe's Pub will share events with audiences worldwide each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8PM Eastern.
This week's schedule of performances will feature storyteller and provocateur for hire Alan Cumming's Legal Immigrant on Thursday, April 30 at 8PM; the 2020 Vanguard Gala Honoring Laurie Anderson on Friday, May 1 at 8PM; and a concert from international ukulele virtuoso and songwriter Taimane on Saturday, May 2 at 8PM.
Beyond this week, other confirmed shows include a joyfully eclectic set from Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer & Shazad Ismaily Trio on Thursday, May 7 at 8PM; a night of song celebrating a myriad of love's forms with Martha Redbone on Friday, May 8 at 8PM; Cheeyang & Khiyon: EASTBOUND, a new bilingual musical, on Saturday, May 9 at 8PM; an evening of intimate and personal compositions by Samora Pinderhughes on Thursday, May 14 at 8PM; The Hot Sardines performing lively updates of jazz standards on Friday, May 15 at 8PM; an exploration on themes of human trafficking with Stephanie Chou's Comfort Girls on Saturday, May 16 at 8PM; a powerful, original, and groundbreaking fusion of musical genres in Gian-Carla Tisera & Richard Padrón's Dueto on Thursday, May 21 at 8PM; a marathon of musical genres and caffeinated emotions with Sarah Stiles' SQUIRREL HEART on Friday, May 22 at 8PM; an intriguing fusion of Eastern and Western musical styles with Gary Lucas, Feifei Yang & Jason Candler's The Edge of Heaven on Saturday, May 23 at 8PM; the deeply soulful sounds and life-giving vocal performance of Kiah Victoria on Thursday, May 28 at 8PM; orthodox expressions of cante in fresh coherence with the modern sounds of flamenco from María Terremoto's La Huella de mi Sentío on Friday, May 29 at 8PM; a total celebration of individuality with ZviDance's On The Road, inspired by Jack Kerouac's novel of the same title, on Saturday, May 30 at 8PM; an evening of his signature sit-down comedy with Isaac Oliver on Thursday, June 4 at 8PM; a celebration of tattooed ladies, Korean popstars, '70s queer culture, the apocalypse, and more with Max Vernon's Existential Life Crisis Lullaby on Friday, June 5 at 8PM; and a salute to a perennial pop goddess by way of Kim David Smith Sings Kylie Minogue on Saturday, June 6 at 8PM.
Alan Cumming: LEGAL IMMIGRANT
Thursday, April 30 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Alan Cumming has been described by Time Magazine as one of the most fun people in show business, by The New York Times as a "bawdy, countercultural sprite," and by The Guardian as "European, weird, and sexually ambiguous."
He has won over 30 awards for his humanitarianism and social activism, received both the Great Scot and Icon of Scotland awards from his homeland, and was made an OBE (Officer of the British Empire) for his contributions to the arts and LBGT equality by the Queen, whose portrait was taken down when his was unveiled at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 2014!
Alan Cumming is many things to many people - renaissance man, style icon, social activist, bon viveur - but to himself he is a storyteller and provocateur for hire.
He lives in New York City and Edinburgh with his husband, illustrator Grant Shaffer, and their dogs, Jerry and Lala.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on June 30, 2018.
2020 VANGUARD GALA HONORING Laurie Anderson
Friday, May 1 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
The Vanguard Award & Residency is an award and yearlong residency that celebrates the career of a singular artist who has contributed to American Life and pop culture and is part of the Joe's Pub family of artists. This artist also sustains and leads their own artistic community while creating a body of work that stands apart from their peers. Additionally, the award helps to close the music industry's widening gaps in funding.
Join us for a special performance in Joe's Pub celebrating Laurie Anderson with a slate of artists and friends, with music direction by Shara Nova (of My Brightest Diamond) and Chris Bruce leading an all-star band featuring Meshell Ndegeocello, Daniel Mintseris, Jack DeBoe, and performances from (in order of appearance):
Lafcadio Cass
Ryuichi Sakamoto
Starr Busby with Stuart Bogie, Alex Koi & Colin Stetson - "From the Air"
Carl Hancock Rux - "The Puppet Motel"
Shara Nova with Stuart Bogie & Colin Stetson - "Beautiful Red Dress"
Theo Bleckmann - "Falling"
Alex Koi - "Gravity's Angel"
Theo Bleckmann & Helga Davis - "Walking and Falling"
Colin Stetson & DM Stith - "Fear of the Unknown and the Blazing Sun"
Nona Hendryx with Kiki Hawkins, Asa Lovechild & Alex Sopp - "This is the Picture (Excellent Birds)"
Christina Courtin - "Flow"
Meg Harper directed by Derrick Belcham (film) with My Brightest Diamond - "The Beginning of Memory"
Joan as Police Woman - "Blue Lagoon"
Morley Shanti Kamen - "Only An Expert"
Justin Hicks - "Nothing Left but Their Names"
mmeadows (Kristin Slipp & Cole Kamen-Green) - "Walk the Dog"
Meshell Ndegeocello - "O Superman"
Theo Bleckmann & Nona Hendryx - "In Our Sleep"
Gala Co-Chairs: Eric Ellenbogen & Dominic Ramos-Ruiz, Alicia Hall Moran, Megan Mullally, and Nick Offerman
Benefit Committee: David Bither, Jolean & David Breger, Linda Brumbach, Dr. Nadine Chang, Jeff Gates & Mike Moran, Bob Hurwitz, Joe Hall & Martin Dagata, Gary Lippman & Vera Szombathelyi, and Eileen O'Kane Kornreich
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on February 3, 2020.
TAIMANE
Saturday, May 2 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
International ukulele virtuoso and songwriter Taimane returned in January of 2019 following her Joe's Pub debut the previous fall. Since that time, Taimane has continued to build momentum by filling venues from coast to coast, performing to a crowd of over 20,000 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles, and releasing a new album, Elemental, which illuminates her maturation into a complete artist - songwriter, virtuoso, singer, and producer. On the recording, which features a song for each element ("Water," "Fire," "Air," "Earth," and "Ether"), Taimane continues her exploration of natural and metaphysical worlds and successfully weaves several distinct threads (classical, Latin, and ethereal) into a cohesive cloth, one that looks and feels like its unique creator - contemplative, as well as playful and fun.
From Bach to rock, flamenco infernos to tribal hymns, Taimane creates an enthralling experience that uplifts all. Come see the passion, talent, and grace that have garnered Taimane over 8 million video views and a legion of fans worldwide.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on January 5, 2019.
AROOJ AFTAB, VIJAY IYER & SHAZAD ISMAILY TRIO
Thursday, May 7 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Arooj Aftab is a neo-sufi and minimalist composer/singer who gracefully experiments and bends the lines between ancient mystic poetry, South Asian classical, jazz, soul, and electronic dreamscape music. In 2018, Aftab was named among NPR's 200 Greatest Songs by 21st Century Women, and The New York Time's 25 Best Classical Songs of 2018. Aftab has opened for Mitski at the Brooklyn Steel, and has performed at MoMa's Summer Series and the Brooklyn Museum's First Saturday Series.
Vijay Iyer is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, producer, electronic musician, and writer based in New York City. He is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. He became the Franklin D. and Florence Rosenblatt Professor of the Arts at Harvard University in early 2014.
Shahzad Ismaily is a multi-instrumentalist composer, studio owner, and film scorer. Ismaily has recorded and performed with an incredibly diverse assemblage of musicians, including Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, Tom Waits, and Jolie Holland, to name a few.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on April 28, 2019.
Martha Redbone
Friday, May 8 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
In a time when the world is filled with hatred, fear, and division, we want to remind ourselves of love, respect, peace and positivity, and healing. For Martha Redbone's concert during Valentine's week 2019, she offered a night of song celebrating love - self-love, fun love, funky love, love of humankind, love of the land, honoring the earth, ancestors, and our children's children. There's lots to celebrate! Congregate, and sing, with us!
Band line-up:
Aaron Whitby - keys, Musical Director
Fred Cash - bass
Marvin Sewell - guitar
Rocky Bryant - drums
Keith Anthony Fluitt - vocals and more
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on February 12, 2019.
CHEEYANG & KHIYON: EASTBOUND
Saturday, May 9 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
"I don't want to just survive. I want to live." Told through the soundscape of a contemporary score amalgamated with traditional Chinese folk music and Mandopop, EASTBOUND is a new bilingual musical about the unexpected meeting of two brothers from opposite sides of the world, their quests for survival, and the power of choice.
Performed by Zachary Noah Piser (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked), Jessica Tyler Wright (Broadway: War Horse, Sweeney Todd, Company), Ya Han Chang, Xiaoqing Zhang, Zachary Infante (Off-Broadway: Alice by Heart; Regional: Kiss My Aztec) and Cheeyang Ng (Tour: Vocalosity).Book & Music by Cheeyang Ng
Book & Lyrics by Khiyon Hursey
Directed by Desdemona Chiang
Khiyon Hursey is a writer and composer based in Los Angeles and New York. A 2014 graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Songwriting, he recently finished a stint as a staff writer for Netflix's romantic musical drama, "Soundtrack". He is the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation's Irving Burgie Scholarship, Bart Howard Songwriting Scholarship, a 2016 NAMT Writers Grant, a 2016 - 2017 Dramatists Guild Musical Theater Fellow, 2017 Space on Ryder Farm Residency, 2018 Johnny Mercer Songwriter's Project residency, 2019 ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz, and the 2019 Rhinebeck Writer's Retreat.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on January 18, 2020.
SAMORA PINDERHUGHES
Thursday, May 14 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Samora Pinderhughes is a singer/pianist/activist/composer known for raw, honest, layered multidisciplinary projects. He wrote, produced, and performed on Common's 2019 album, Let Love, and has collaborated with Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Daveed Diggs, MeLo-X, Sara Bareilles, Lalah Hathaway, and Christian Scott, among others. Pinderhughes is the first-ever Art for Justice/Soros Justice Fellow.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on July 12, 2018.
THE HOT SARDINES
Friday, May 15 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Over the last few years, The Hot Sardines have emerged from the Brooklyn neo-speakeasies where they got their start to make a global name for themselves playing hot jazz as it was in the era when live music was king, bridging generations and captivating 21st-century audiences. The group, led by frontwoman Elizabeth Bougerol and piano player Evan Palazzo, has been described as "potent and assured" (The New York Times) and "simply phenomenal" (The Times of London), notching more than a year on the Billboard Jazz chart and 25 million streams on Spotify (over 90 countries). They've guested on "Later... With Jools Holland," NPR's Weekend Edition, "CBS Saturday Morning," NPR's Soundcheck, Live at WFUV, and appeared at major jazz festivals including Newport, Montreal, Toronto, London, and Blue Note in Japan, in addition to sold-out shows at more than 400 venues worldwide. They've performed their Boston Pops-debuted symphony show with orchestras throughout North America. Their three major albums have landed on best-of lists in the jazz press (Downbeat, JazzTimes) but also crossed over to the mainstream, with Rolling Stone noting that "100-year-old jazz standards get reborn" in the hands of the Hot Sardines.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on April 26, 2019.
STEPHANIE CHOU: COMFORT GIRL
Saturday, May 16 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Comfort Girl is an exploration - in song and story - of the lives of Chinese "comfort women," a cruel euphemism for the women who were abducted and forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army during WWII. There were over 200,000 of these young women, most of whom were from China or Korea. Lured by false promises of work or kidnapped - shipped far away from their families - they were kept in terrible conditions. Many died or were killed during the war. The few who survived stayed silent about their horrifying ordeal, because it was seen as shameful, and even considered treason. Comfort Girl is a tribute to these young women and their courage, not only during the War but also afterward - when they returned home to families who didn't always welcome them back with open arms. Their story is still relevant, as survivors continue to fight for justice, and human trafficking remains a major global issue. The music is inspired by true stories survivors have told.
Stephanie Chou - voice, alto saxophone
Orville Mendoza - voice
Andy Lin - erhu, viola, violin
Kelly Lin - piano
Kenny Wollesen - drums, percussion
Peregrine Heard - narration
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on March 29, 2019.
GIAN-CARLA TISER & RICHARD PADRÓN: DUETO
Thursday, May 21 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
As a Bolivian-American artist trained in the opera and theater worlds, Gian-Carla Tisera's subversive musical prowess is the result of two worlds colliding to create a powerful, original, and groundbreaking fusion of musical genres. She was raised in Cochabamba, Bolivia and later moved to the United States, where she completed her Master's Degree at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since 2008, she has lived in the city of New York, where she found herself re-united with the folk music of her homeland, and where she discovered the liberating force of jazz. She had toured with the Bolivian Baroque Project, which showcased her voice on the world's greatest concert halls - including London's Wigmore Hall, Berlin's Konzerthaus, Vienna's Mozarteum, Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Switzerland's KKL, Singapore's Esplanade Concert Hall, and many others. But when she moved to New York, she began to collaborate with visual artists and to submerge herself in the city's famous jam sessions to explore improvisation and to expand her ideas on musical fusion. In this way, she discovered her own musical and vocal artistry in the realms of jazz and world music.
Richard Padrón is an accomplished composer and guitarist known for his versatility, virtuosity, and ability to blend in with almost any ensemble across a wide variety of genres. He has strong Cuban roots that color his compositions while still retaining his own identity as a composer. His music has been described as deceptively simple and easy on the ear, yet pulls you in with its complex harmonies.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on August 8, 2019.
Sarah Stiles: SQUIRREL HEART
Friday, May 22 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Sarah Stiles' cabaret extravaganza SQUIRREL HEART, a marathon of musical genres and caffeinated emotions, wrapped up in 20 or so costume changes and big hair, is back at Joe's Pub.
Last seen in New York in her Tony Award-nominated performance in Broadway's hit comedy, Hand to God, Stiles has been keeping busy on the West Coast playing Gladys in the new hit series for Epix, "Get Shorty."
On Broadway, Stiles was Muriel in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever with Harry Connick Jr., took turns playing multiple eccentric children in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and had Jessie Mueller pop her puppet sex cherry as Kate/Lucy in Avenue Q. Stiles was critically acclaimed as Little Red Riding Hood in Shakespeare in the Park's Into the Woods. She voices Lacey on Nick Jr.'s "Sunny Day" and Spider on Pasek and Paul's James and the Giant Peach album. Sarah made a splash as Toni Luddy on Showtime's "I'm Dying Up Here" and is in Steven Soderbergh's feature Unsane.
SQUIRREL HEART is written by Sarah Stiles and Holly Gewandter, directed by Darren Katz, musical direction by Brian Nash, and videography by David N. Stiles
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on January 3 & 8, 2019.
Gary Lucas, Feifei Yang & JASON CANDLER: THE EDGE OF HEAVEN
Saturday, May 23 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Join Joe's Pub for an evening of dreamy '30s Shanghai pop-jazz inspired by Gary Lucas' celebrated album, The Edge of Heaven, which rose to #1 on the World Music Charts. An intriguing fusion of Eastern and Western musical styles mingles with new Mandarin versions of classics by Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Jeff Buckley. Grammy-nominated guitar legend Gary Lucas (Captain Beefheart, Jeff Buckley) has been called "one of the best and most original guitarists in America" by Rolling Stone.
Vocalist and erhu virtuoso Feifei Yang is a dual 2017 Global Music Award winner and was recently praised by Indie Nation as "an extremely talented pop star in the making." Multi-instrumentalist Jason Candler has worked closely with Gary Lucas for years and is also music director of the Hungry March Band. This formidable trio will perform alongside amazing images of Old Shanghai, "the Paris of the East," courtesy of lighting designer Kris Anton. Their new album is coming soon on Knitting Factory Records.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on February 20, 2019.
KIAH VICTORIA
Thursday, May 28 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Kiah Victoria has traveled the globe gracing audiences with her deeply soulful sounds and life-giving vocal performances. Her music and timeless lyricism speak to the spirit, body, and mind. Last January, the young songbird had just released a 7-track EP entitled Memo, now available on all music platforms, and made her return to the Joe's Pub stage for an intimate evening of togetherness and storytelling.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on January 30, 2019.
MARÍA TERREMOTO: HUELLA DE MI SENTÍO
Friday, May 29 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
María Terremoto comes from the Terremoto legacy, from Jerez de la Frontera: granddaughter of the genius Fernando Fernández Monje, "Terremoto of Jerez" and daughter of singer Fernando Fernández Pantoja "Fernando Terremoto." She was the youngest ever artist to receive the Giraldillo Award for new artist at the Seville Flamenco Biennial. Following a career replete with glowing reviews, Maria has been labeled as "The flag bearer for young flamenco singers." She has just released her first album, La Huella de mi Sentío, in which she presents the cantes (songs) that have been with her since childhood. Her orthodox expression of cante maintains a fresh coherence with the modern sounds of flamenco. María was accompanied by Nono Jero (guitar) and singer José "El Pechuguita".
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on March 9, 2019.
ZVIDANCE: ON THE ROAD
Saturday, May 30 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
On the Road, inspired by Jack Kerouac's novel of the same title, is a multimedia dance piece that contemplates the upheaval of the 1960s and that generation's startling notions of social rebellion. The road trip is a metaphor of an improvised life and having no ties to anything. Author Kerouac was trying to hold onto his youth and fight the passage of time. Virtuosic in form and versatile in style, Kerouac's On the Road entwines the thrills of freedom, the sounds of jazz, and the perplexity of youthful American voices discovering their closeted and social selves. Zvi Gotheiner's On the Road is a total celebration of individuality. Performed against the backdrop of Joshua Higgason's hypnotic video designs, On the Road is set to Jukka Rintamki's distinctive score. The video by Higgason was shot during a two-week road trip through the rust belt of America, in the spring of 2016, with four of ZviDance's dancers improvising movement along the way.
Choreography by Zvi Gotheiner, in collaboration with the dancers
Music by Jukka Rintamki
Video by Josh Higgason
Performed by ZviDance
DANCE NOW was created as a pilot program of the Downtown Multi-Arts Festival in 1995. In 1997, they launched independently and, for two and a half decades, have offered unconventional performance events, presenting in traditional and non-traditional venues. In 2003, Dance Now created Dance-mopolitan for the intimacy of Joe's Pub. The closeness of artists to their audience at the Pub provides a vital stimulus to spark creativity. This, along with the challenge initiative, encouraging work marked by brevity and clarity, inspired the commissioning of more than 27 full and shared evening works for Joe's Pub. With this success, Dance Now merged all programs to Joe's Pub in 2011, where audiences have come to expect risk-taking, surprise, extraordinary dancing, and magical experiences.
Today, Dance Now is a network of interacting performance, creative development, and educational opportunities, serving a diverse roster of multi-generational artists. Partnerships with like-minded arts organizations, including Joe's Pub, the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, PA, and The Bang Group in Boston, allow Dance Now to offer multiple performance opportunities through the Dance Now Joe's Pub, Raw, SteelStacks, and Boston programs.Recorded live at Joe's Pub on April 27, 2019.
Isaac Oliver
Thursday, June 4 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Writer/performer Isaac Oliver (Intimacy Idiot, The New York Times, HBO's "High Maintenance," Netflix's "GLOW") returns to Joe's Pub for an evening of his signature sit-down comedy.
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on June 5, 2018.
Max Vernon: EXISTENTIAL LIFE CRISIS LULLABY
Friday, June 5 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Max Vernon has emerged as a singular and eccentric voice in the world of musical theatre. He received the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical, three Drama Desk Nominations, a Jonathan Larson Grant, and the Richard Rodgers Award for his musicals The View UpStairs and KPOP, both of which had critically acclaimed extended Off-Broadway runs. Following a sold-out debut at the Kennedy Center in 2018, he returned to Joe's Pub for a three concert-stint of high spectacle, high fashion, and high belted F sharps. Featuring a cast of Broadway stars and Downtown divas, Existential Life Crisis Lullaby will be a celebration of tattooed ladies, Korean popstars, '70s queer culture, the apocalypse, sentient robots, aging club kids, homicidal hipster cults, and...love?*
*Warning: costume changes will occur
Directed by Ellie Heyman
Costume design: Max Vernon
Video: Matt Marlinski
guests:
Michael Longoria
Jo Lampert
Gianna Masi
Andy Mientus
Fancy Feast
Sophia Ramos
Helen Park
Leah Lane
band:
James Dobinson - piano/music direction
Paul Heaney - guitar
Tristan Marzeski - drums
Alan Hewitt - bass
Avery Leight Draut, Michelle Geo, Gianna Masi - backup vocals
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on April 23, 2019.
Kim David Smith SINGS Kylie Minogue
Saturday, June 6 at 8:00PM
Access to this stream will be FREE and available to all on YouTube
Kim David Smith salutes perennial pop goddess, Kylie Minogue, with an intimately fabulous cabaret-fantasia celebrating Kylie's catalogue of gargantuan hits and glittering deep cuts, from 1987's The Loco-Motion all the way through to 2018's Golden. Labeled the "male Marlene Dietrich" by The New York Times, Smith deconstructs three decades of Minogue dance anthems with music direction by the multi-MAC Award winning Tracy Stark, and with costumes by Miodrag Guberinic (Katy Perry, Madonna, Nicki Minaj).
Recorded live at Joe's Pub on November 19, 2018.
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