Critical 5 things to do in NYC: mostly mind, and a little body, August 17-19
Sometimes the best relaxation therapy can be a little stimulating. So, here's some food for thought this weekend.
When David Cronenberg signed on to interpret Don DeLillo's tale about technology, power and revolution, ears pricked up. Its the sort of freewheeling urban morality tale that doesn't always translate to film. Take Eyes Wide Shut for example, or Bonfire of the Vanities. But no one knows alienation quite like Cronenberg, and that is exactly how we feel about the 1% at the moment. He might just nail it.
If you were bummed you'd miss Sondheim's weird 1987 goth experiment at the Delacorte, Into The Woods, its being held over. By some accounts this production overreaches, and the show has always been odd. Still, it's a twisted tale about complicated endings, from a complicated hometown boy. Sounds like a perfect combination for a summer evening under the stars.
Uncovering history: Queer History in the National Archives
History hounds, make time for Finding Queer Stories in the National Archives, a special program of The Pop-Up Museum of Queer History. Historian Rachel Mattson talks to Siobhan Somerville about the little-known 1967 Supreme Court decision Boutilier v. the INS -- where the Supreme Court agreed to deport a legal immigrant for being gay-- and its contemporary meanings for queer America.
Steampunk and cop are not two words you'd expect to hear in an elevator pitch, but some version of that is responsible for bringing Barry Levinson's Copper to BBC America Sunday night. Set in 19th century New York, the series promises immigrants, tenements, whores, boxing, murder, poverty and Civil War refugees. The kinds of things that make every New Yorker walk a little taller.
But if brain food is not for you, and rock and roll feels like a better way to go, the granddaddies of alt rock, Jane's Addiction, are at Williamsburg Park on Friday. And you might want to line up some freelance work next week so you can also swing My Morning Jacket on Sunday.
Oh, what the hell. Summer's almost gone and there's always Ramen.
