92nd Street Y News

Recognized as one of her generation's great pianists, Olga Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff. In 2001, she became the first woman in over 30 years to receive the Gold Medal at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and subsequently her career has brought her to many of the world's most important venues. With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship, and extraordinary technique, the young Russian pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike.

In advance of the inaugural Eudora Welty Biennial, which opens in Jackson, Mississippi, 92Y's Unterberg Poetry Center presents a dramatic reading of Asphodel, a story of three women visiting a country estate in memory of an eccentric friend who recently passed away. The production features actresses Olympia Dukakis, Estelle Parsons and Brenda Currin; David Kaplan is the director. The reading will take place tonight, March 11 at 8 PM.

This season's mainstage production, John Ford's 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, directed by Red Bull Artistic Director Jesse Berger, will begin a limited Off-Broadway engagement April 14th at The Duke on 42nd Street. Opening Night is set for Sunday April 26th. Performances continue through May 16th.

According to The New York Times, WOLF HALL and BRING UP THE BODIES novelist Hilary Mantel revealed at the 92nd Street Y last night, March 8, that she wants to try her hand at playwriting.

The sixth season of CONTACT!, the New York Philharmonic's new-music series, continues with 'New Music from Nordic Countries,' tonight, March 7, 2015, at 7:30 p.m. at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with Met Museum Presents, led by Music Director Alan Gilbert and Assistant Conductor Courtney Lewis.

'When Black Boys Die,' written and directed by William Electric Black, is a new drama about a teenage girl's journey as she tries to understand the madness of gun violence that has killed her brother and consumed her mother (and so many other mothers who have also lost their sons to inner city violence). It is the second in a series of five plays by William Electric Black, to be collectively called 'GUNPLAYS,' that address inner city violence and guns. Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave (East Village), will present the work tonight, March 5 to 22, directed by the author.

The Shakespeare Theatre Company announces a second extension of its current production of The Metromaniacs, by David Ives, directed by Michael Kahn. The Metromaniacs, previously extended to Sunday, March 15, will play five additional performances, Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22, at the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th Street NW).

In advance of the inaugural Eudora Welty Biennial, which opens in Jackson, Mississippi, 92Y's Unterberg Poetry Center presents a dramatic reading of Asphodel, a story of three women visiting a country estate in memory of an eccentric friend who recently passed away. The production features actresses Olympia Dukakis, Estelle Parsons and Brenda Currin; David Kaplan is the director.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies, will share its inspiring artistry with Tri-state audiences at the Aronoff Center's Procter & Gamble Hall for two nights only, tonight and tomorrow, March 3-4, 2015 at 7:30pm. The much-anticipated dance event is part of the Cincinnati Arts Association's 2014-15 Season.

New York, NY – The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) continues its 10th anniversary celebratory season with three concerts in April, reflecting BAC's expanded series of music programming for 2015. The weeklong celebration begins Monday, April 6 at 7:30pm, with one of BAC's signature events – a BAC Salon – in the Howard Gilman Performance Space, featuring the chamber music of Berio, Cage, and Mozart in an intimate salon setting. On Wednesday, April 8 at 7:30pm, composer and jazz pianist Stephen Prutsman will perform the entirety of his album Passengers for the first time ever, in another BAC Salon in the Howard Gilman Performance Space. The final performance of the week, on Saturday, April 11 at 8pm in the Jerome Robbins Theater, features the Latvian National Choir, hailing from BAC Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov's birthplace of Riga and bringing to New York a program that includes music by Arvo Pärt, Grammy nominee Ugis Praulins, and the U.S. premieres of works by acclaimed Latvian composers Jekabs Janchevskis, Gundega Smite, and Raimonds Tiguls. The Latvian National Choir last appeared in New York as part of the 2010 White Light Festival at Lincoln Center, in performances The New York Times described as “ravishing.”

The recipients of the 2015 Martin E. Segal Awards, this year, expanded to encompass nominees from all of Lincoln Center's resident organizations, were announced today by Lincoln Center President Jed Bernstein. The awards will be presented at a special gala evening on the Adrienne Arsht Stage of Alice Tully Hall tonight, March 2. The Martin E. Segal Awards were established in 1986 when the late philanthropist and arts leader retired as Lincoln Center Chairman.

There was a seismic event and emotional roller coaster onstage Thursday night at the 92nd Street Y, in the Kaufmann Concert Hall theatre. Her name is DEBBIE ..... DEBORAH VOIT. It was the first performance in New York City of a piece called VOIGT LESSONS. The piece was co-created by Voight, Terrence McNally and Francesca Zambello, years ago, at Glimmerglass and the diva told us that it has been performed 'very few times, let alone in New York City.' The crowd proceeded to go crazy. The piece- so simple, yet brilliantly calibrated.

'Kafka's Quest, a.k.a. Kafka/Samsa' is a quasi-realistic play by the late playwright Lu Hauser that imagines the family life of Gregor Samsa, the tragic victim of Kafka's 'Metamorphosis,' and his friendship with an historic Yiddish Theater actor and actress in Prague, prior to the events of the famed novella. Set in Prague in 1912, it portrays Gregor Samsa (the name Kafka personified himself with in the book) as torn between his father, who wants to keep him on the straight and narrow with a full time job, and his friendship with artists of the Yiddish Theater, who want him to join and write for them. His father's bankruptcy forces Gregor to become the breadwinner of the family, which has been forced to take in two mysterious lodgers to make ends meet. The back and forth between the two poles of Gregor's life will culminate in 'The Metamorphosis.' Theater for the New City will present the play's world premiere February 26 to March 15, directed by Manfred Bormann.

Tonight, February 26, 2015 at 7:30pm, violinist and artistic director Gil Morgenstern's acclaimed Reflections Series International will present its third concert of the 2014-2015 season, 'Coupled Perceptions,' at Avenues: The World School (259 Tenth Ave.).

92Y presents the New York City premiere of Voigt Lessons, starring internationally beloved opera starDeborah Voigt, tonight, February 26. In this one-woman show – co-created with Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally and acclaimed opera and theater director Francesca Zambello – Voigt performs arias, pop songs, standards and spirituals of deep personal significance, along with anecdotes and backstage stories describing her astonishing rise to operatic heights, despite her private challenges. Voigt Lessons, an evening imbued with Voigt's trademark warmth, candor and sense of humor, premiered at Glimmerglass in 2011 to rave reviews. The New York Times hailed it as “chatty, witty, and sometimes painfully poignant,” andToronto's Globe and Mail called it “an absolute gem.”

Welcome to BWW's exclusive talk show, BACKSTAGE WITH Richard Ridge. Follow Richard as he visits the theater's best and brightest in their dressing rooms, on their stages and favorite hang outs to talk about their lives, careers and all of the things you don't know, but want to know. In the special interview below, Richard welcomes Broadway favorite Rob McClure, who is currently starring in Honeymoon in Vegas at the Nederlander Theatre. Watch as they discuss the show, how he got his start at Paper Mill Playhouse, his obsession with video games, and so much more. Check out the full interview below!

The distinguished Cuban-American playwright Eduardo Machado has created a touchstone piece by taking a one-act play with music, written in 1982, and turning it into a full-length, two-act musical. His 'Rosario and the Gypsies,' with songs by composer Rick Vartorella and lyrics by Mr. Machado and Mr. Vartorella, was a short, wild rock 'n roll play with music about the backstage romances and melodramas of a hippie performance troupe in southern California who were devoted to the art of change. Its songs were a combination of street pop and 60's-70's rock. It was produced in NYC by Ensemble Studio Theater in 1982 and it got Machado recognized as a writer to be reckoned with. Machado and Vartorella have now revised the piece and completed its story, adding a second act, in which we learn the future for its characters. Theater for the New City will present this revised and expanded version of 'Rosario and the Gypsies' from tonight, February 18 to March 8, directed by Machado.

In celebration and anticipation of the final seven episodes of the series hailed by Rolling Stone as “the greatest TV drama of all time,” AMC, in conjunction with Lionsgate and cultural institutions from coast to coast, will honor Mad Men through exhibitions, screenings, events and discussions. A complete list of Mad Men activities, which will be updated regularly with additional details, is available on www.amctv.com/madmenevents.

Galerie Lelong will present Alfredo Jaar's Shadows from today, February 13 through March 28, 2015.

New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) is proud to present its annual Mother's Day engagement of America's premier modern dance company, Alvin Ailey on Friday, May 8th, 2015 at 8PM, Saturday, May 9th, 2015 at 8PM and Sunday, May 10th, 2015 at 3PM.