Gale Brewer News

City of Water Day, the region's largest and most popular harbor festival, organized by the Waterfront Alliance to get people to, on, and in the water, is taking place this Today, July 14, 2018. The festival hub-presented by The Howard Hughes Corporation-is at Piers 16 and 17 in the historic Seaport District in Lower Manhattan, while dozens of community groups and organizations will host their own City of Water Day In Your Neighborhood events in all five boroughs, Yonkers, and New Jersey. View an interactive map of In Your Neighborhood sites and descriptions of City of Water Day activities around the region.

City of Water Day, the region's largest and most popular harbor festival, organized by the Waterfront Alliance to get people to, on, and in the water, is taking place this Saturday, July 14, 2018. The festival hub-presented by The Howard Hughes Corporation-is at Piers 16 and 17 in the historic Seaport District in Lower Manhattan, while dozens of community groups and organizations will host their own City of Water Day In Your Neighborhood events in all five boroughs, Yonkers, and New Jersey. View an interactive map of In Your Neighborhood sites and descriptions of City of Water Day activities around the region.

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2018 Lincoln Center engagement continued last night with the star-studded Ailey Spirit Gala. The one-night-only benefit performance and party featured Honorary Chair Jussie Smollett, who stars on Fox's Empire and recently released his debut album, Sum of My Music. The evening honored Vikas Kapoor and Ailey Trustee Jaishri Kapoor for their remarkable support of the Ailey organization and their dedication to Ailey's educational initiatives. Gala Co-Chairs were Stephen Meringoff & Kim Charlton, Almaz & Marc S. Strachan, and Daria L. & Eric. J. Wallach; and Vice Chairs were Michele & Timothy Barakett, Robyn & N. Anthony Coles, Leslie & Tom Maheras, and Pamela D. Zilly & John H. Schaefer. Over $1 million was raised to support Ailey's extensive educational and training programs for young people, including AileyCamp and scholarships to The Ailey School.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem (Ty Jones, Producing Artistic Director) presents "Antigone," inspired by Paul Roche's adaptation from the classic Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Back for its sixth season of free theater performances and affectionately known as the Uptown Shakespeare in the Park, the Classical Theatre of Harlem (CTH) is thrilled to return to Marcus Garvey Park this summer, presenting a work that showcases the strength and voices of audacious women responding to rigid societal inequities.

On June 4, the OBIE-winner HERE will honor Tony Award-winner Eve Ensler and HERE's board chair and star attorney Bethany Haynes at Out of the Box for 25 Years, HERE's 25th Anniversary Gala. The evening celebrates HERE's quarter of a century history as a leader in thinking creatively, reimagining performance practice and taking audiences to new frontiers. HERE has been a champion for unconventional theater artists, puppeteers, musicians, and dancers for 25 years including Ensler, whose groundbreaking The Vagina Monologues was developed and premiered at HERE in 1996.

Dances for a Variable Population (DVP) will present three performances of Revival 2 - an outdoor public dance project that re-imagines the works of celebrated 20th century choreographers, taking place at iconic public spaces in New York City and featuring 50 non-professional senior dancers and seven legendary female dance artists.  

On Monday, May 14th, six time Tony Award winning producer, Stewart F. Lane was inducted in to the Manhattan Jewish Hall of Fame. The Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative (MJHI) honors the important and varied contributions of distinguished individuals who have lived and thrived in Manhattan. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer hosted the event, which was held in the historic venue, the Library of The General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen of the City of New York.

Theater for the New City is presenting its 23rd annual Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, a massive annual performance marathon in and around the theater, May 25-27.

On Thursday, April 19th, the clouds cleared and the festive sounds of jazz filled the beautifully lit Broadway Presbyterian Church setting the tone for the nonprofit Bloomingdale School of Music's (BSM) annual scholarship benefit, Notes From 108th Street hosted by Ken Fischer, President Emeritus University Musical Society. The event honored Alexander Bernstein and the nonprofit Artful Learning, founded by Leonard Bernstein. Notes From 108th Street coincided with the worldwide celebration of Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday, and this year's event featured the music of this legendary composer, conductor, educator, cultural ambassador, and humanitarian performed by BSM students and faculty.

The Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, the not-for-profit foundation of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), honored acclaimed Director Julie Taymor with the distinguished 2018 'Mr. Abbott' Award for outstanding artistry and creativity over the course of her career. The Award was presented at the Foundation's annual gala event on April 2, 2018 in New York City, at the Bohemian National Hall.

The Classical Theatre of Harlem (Ty Jones, Producing Artistic Director), Pemberley Productions and Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre are proud to present Sancho: An Act of Remembrance. This timely theater production celebrates the extraordinary life of Charles Ignatius Sancho, an African man who was born on a slave ship and rose to prominence as a noted abolitionist, composer, social satirist and man of refinement in 18th century English society. Sancho makes his mark in history by becoming the first British-African to cast a vote in England in 1774.

This morning, Monday, February 5, 2018 at 10:00am, Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) hosted the official lighting ceremony for its new Broadway home, The Hayes Theater (240 West 44th street). Designed by David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, this landmarked, newly renovated venue has become, under Second Stage's ownership, the first Broadway theater dedicated exclusively to living American Playwrights.

This morning, Monday, February 5, 2018 at 10:00am, Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) hosted the official lighting ceremony for its new Broadway home, The Hayes Theater (240 West 44th street). Designed by David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, this landmarked, newly renovated venue has become, under Second Stage's ownership, the first Broadway theater dedicated exclusively to living American playwrights.

Members of the MET Orchestra were joined by Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer at The New York Public Library's Harry Belafonte Branch at 203 West 115th Street in Harlem to perform a FREE 'Musical Read-Aloud' for children and families.

Lighthouse Guild's Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School vocal ensemble celebrated the holidays as they went caroling uptown, downtown and all-around Manhattan on Wednesday, December 13. The Music School's vocal ensemble includes student vocalists who are blind or visually impaired as well as faculty and volunteers.

Tonight, the audience attending the opening night of the New Victory holiday show Jason Bishop: Believe in Magic will experience the theater's reinvented public spaces designed for the 21st century family. Two new lobbies - Jack and Lew Rudin Lobby and LuEsther's Lobby - integrate bold design, digital technology and improved accessibility to underpin the theater's commitment to arts engagement for all.

The 2nd Annual FEAST Gala benefiting Teens for Food Justice, hosted by Mario Batali and honoring Tara Smith, was held last night, November 27th, at La Sirena by Mario Batali at The Maritime Hotel, 88 Ninth Avenue, NYC. Among the guests were Gloria & Emilio Estefan, Karolina Kurkova, Kristine Nielsen, Richard Kind, Gideon Glick and many more. BroadwayWorld has photos from the festivities below!

At a festive ribbon-cutting, celebrated on the evening of October 18, leaders of the Ailey organization joined with dancers, students, donors, and friends from New York City's dance community to open The Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing, a 10,000-square-foot expansion of Ailey's permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) has announced the inaugural season of Next Door at NYTW in the Fourth Street Theatre, NYTW's newly renovated 65-seat black box space.

At a plenary session today, participants in the first Immigration Arts Summit, conceived and hosted by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on Monday and Tuesday, agreed to formally organize as an Immigrant Arts Coalition, a network of arts organizations and individual artists that produce ethnic-based art from other cultures for New York audiences. Scroll down for photos and footage of the announcement and the summit, featuring keynote speaker John Leguizamo!