FILM
Screening: Transcending Fear
Courthouse Theater, Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave & 2nd Street
Aug.14, 9:30 p.m.
“Transcending Fear: The Story of Gao Zhisheng” is a documentary about the life of the famous Chinese lawyer Gao Zhisheng and his endeavor to speak out for incarcerated practitioners of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice that the Chinese Communist Party has sought to eradicate for over a decade. Because of his work, Gao has been disbarred and detained by the Chinese government several times, and severely tortured. He last disappeared in February 2009 and was unofficially detained until December 2011,
www.transcendingfearfilm.com; $6
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FESTIVAL
Arts at Summer Streets
Lafayette St. from Brooklyn Bridge to Park Ave. and 72nd St.
Saturdays Aug 10 & 17
Summer Streets features a variety of activities from rock climbing to water works and sound installations. on the artistic front, there are Art Within One Mile, Culture Now: Architectural Walking Tour, and the Theatrical Walking Tour. Art Within One Mile uses 80 signs invite audiences to explore 46 pieces of public artwork. To discover architectural gems along the Summer Streets route, pick up a map or download the app. Theatrical Walking Tour: The Great Struggle for Cheap Meat is a musical in the streets based on the 1903 Kosher Meat Boycott lead by Lower East Side housewives.
www.nyc.gov/summerstreets; free
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LITERARY
The Story of Ain’t
Mid-Manhattan Library
Aug. 12, 6:30–8:30 p.m.
“The Story of Ain’t: America, Its Language, and the Most Controversial Dictionary Ever Published,” is a lecture with David Skinner, editor of humanities magazine. Learn about the controversy of Webster’s Third, the so-called permissive dictionary that was denounced by everyone from the New York Times to Dwight Macdonald to the American Bar Association. He discusses what to make of the controversy, the historical value of dictionaries and whether it is okay to boldly split an infinitive.
www.nypl.org; free
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VISUAL ARTS
Maurice Sendak
Society of Illustrators
Through Aug. 17
This exhibit includes more than two hundred never-before-seen originals by beloved late children’s book author Maurice Sendak. Featuring rare studies, sketches, photographs, and ephemera, including previously unpublished artwork from “Where the Wild Things Are,” this exhibit will capture an audience spanning all generations. In this one-of-a-kind collection, the broad range of Sendak’s work—from his picture book and poster illustrations to his commercial and theater designs—is explored.
www.societyillustrators.org; free
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MUSIC
Bachata at SummerStage
Highbridge Park, Manhattan
Aug. 13–15 at 7 p.m.
This year, SummerStage pays homage to the rich Dominican culture present in Washington Heights’ Highbridge Park by presenting three nights of Bachata music. Toby Love of the band Aventura, Andy Andy, and Washington Heights’ Bachata Heightz will perform on Aug. 13, 14, and 15, respectively.
www.cityparksfoundation.org; free
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THEATER
Under the Greenwood Tree
The Flea Theater at 41 White Street
Aug. 8–18
Under the Greenwood Tree is a musical re-imagining of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” using original Shakespearean text, an indie-Americana score and a multi-talented cast of actor/singer/musicians to create a melodic journey through the Forest of Arden. The story follows Rosalind, Orlando, and the rest of the cast as they wander throughout the Forest of Arden with instruments in tow.
www.theflea.org; $15
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MUSIC
New York Choral Society Summer Sings
Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space
Aug. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Keep your passion for singing alive by joining the New York Choral Society for its 53rd annual celebration of summer. Just bring your voice; scores, musical accompaniment, and soloists are provided. On Aug. 13, Mark Shapiro conducts Vivaldi’s Gloria, deservedly one of the most popular pieces in the choral literature.
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MUSIC
Mostly Mozart
Lincoln Center
Until Aug. 24
Coming up at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart festival: a film, “In Search of Beethoven” by ward-winning filmmaker Phil Grabsky, brings together the world’s leading performers and experts on Beethoven for this cinematic portrait of the great composer; David Lang’s hotly anticipated “whisper opera” for soprano and four instrumentalists has its premiere in New York; Isabelle Faust plays a little night music in an all-Bach program.
www.mostlymozart.org; various pricing
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FILM
Fatherhood FIlm Festival
Bronx Documentary Center
Aug. 8–11
“Man-Up: The Exploration of a Fatherless Nation” by filmmaker Tonia Grady heads up the Fatherhood FIlm Festival. Organized by the Harlem Professionals, it will showcase movies by local filmmakers and screenwriters on the topic of fatherhood in several venues. “Man-Up” takes an uncompromising look at the lives that hang in the balance. Audiences will hear personal testimonies of triumph and devastation as we navigate our way through the experiences of growing up without a father and the effects thereof.
www.fiffestival.org; various pricing
Events Ending Soon
August 11 Performing Arts Lincoln Center Out of Doors http://www.lcoutofdoors.org/ Free
August 11 Visual Arts Old Masters, Newly Acquired www.themorgan.org/ $12–$18
August 14 Film Summerscreen: Films in Williamsburg www.summerscreen.org/ Free
August 17 Visual Arts Golden Age of American Illustration www.societyillustrators.org Free
August 18 Theater Shakespeare in the Park www.shakespeareinthepark.org/ Free
August 18 Visual Arts Search for the Unicorn at the Cloisters www.metmuseum.org/ $12–$25 suggested
August 21 Film River Flicks at Hudson River Park www.riverflicksnyc.org Free
August 24 Music Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Centerwww.mostlymozart.org Various pricing
August 25 Visual Arts New Acquisition: The Saint John’s Bible www.themorgan.org/ $12–$18
August 29 Music Summerstagewww.cityparksfoundation.org/ Free
September 1 Music Bargemusic: Concerts on the Riverwww.bargemusic.org / $15–$45
September 2 Visual Arts The Civil War and American Artwww.metmuseum.org/ $12–$25 suggested
September 2 Visual Arts Photography and the American Civil Warwww.metmuseum.org/ $12–$25 suggested
September 2 Visual Arts The Eucharist in Medieval Life and Artwww.themorgan.org / $12–$18
September 8 Visual Arts From Colony to Nation: 200 Years of American Painting www.nyhistory.org/ $5–$15
September 12 Performing Arts National Theatre Live Screening: The Audience www.symphonyspace.org/ $18–$22
September 15 Visual Arts Hidden Labor and Historical Quilts www.brooklynmuseum.org/ $8–$12
September 15 Visual Arts Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design www.madmuseum.org $12–$16
September 16 Visual Arts The Naga Tribe between India and Burma www.rmanyc.org/ $5–$10
