I love to sit on my couch and watch a “Cook’s Country” marathon or Joan Crawford double feature as much as the next guy. But why live in New York City if not to take a biscuit-making class taught by a drag queen dressed as a “Queen Bee”-era Crawford?
That thirst for singular culture — fancy and lowbrow, free and premium, family friendly and adults only — will guide this new column, which every month will keep you on top of what’s happening in the city.
What kinds of events will I cover? The big stuff: If Beyoncé or the Vienna Philharmonic are in town, or there’s a buzzy exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I’ll let you know. If the clock is ticking on a Broadway show or a dance company’s season, you’ll get a heads-up. A grindhouse film festival? Check.
I’ll choose lots of events across the five boroughs (and sometimes beyond), and I’ll make sure at least a few are free. Here’s what’s in store this month.
Pop Music
On Sept. 17, Dua Lipa — pop diva, book club curator, media mogul — starts a four-night run of her “Radical Optimism Tour” at Madison Square Garden, where other fierce women are also playing multiple nights this month: Tate McRae (Sept. 3-4), Lady Gaga (Sept. 6-7) and Kali Uchis (Sept. 11-12).
And for every generation, there’s a concert. Boomers: Eric Clapton at the Garden (Sept. 19). Gen X: Indigo Girls and Melissa Etheridge at Radio City Music Hall (Sept. 10). Millennials: Blink-182 at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel, N.Y. (Sept. 6). Gen Z: Benson Boone at the Garden (Sept. 5).
Film
It’s still warm enough to catch free movies al fresco. Slip on your chicest “Poor Things” frock and enter the Emma Stone Look-Alike Contest before a screening of “Birdman” — with free refreshments! — in Tompkins Square Park courtesy of the Lower East Side Film Festival (Sept. 17).
The 63rd New York Film Festival opens on Sept. 26 with Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts as a philosophy professor caught between a student (Ayo Edebiri) and a colleague accused of sexual assault (Andrew Garfield). The festival, presented by Film at Lincoln Center, runs through Oct. 13.
Comedy
For laughs, big names are taking over big venues: At Madison Square Garden, there’s Adam Sandler (Sept. 15) and Nate Bargatze (Sept. 26-27), and at the Nederlander Theater, Jeff Ross’s Broadway debut, “Take a Banana for the Ride,” continues through Sept. 28.
Theater
In 2018, panic ensued when an emergency alert erroneously warned Hawaii of an incoming missile attack. (“Someone clicked the wrong thing on the computer,” an official said at the time.) That incident inspired “This Is Not a Drill,” a new musical from Holly Doubet that kicks off the York Theater Company’s season on Sept. 9 at the Theater at St. Jean’s on the Upper East Side.
In 1977, Gena Rowlands gave a knockout performance as an aging actress battling personal demons in “Opening Night,” directed by her husband, John Cassavetes. On Sept. 15, Town Hall hosts a one-night-only performance of Rufus Wainwright’s musical stage adaptation of the film, with a heavy-hitter cast that includes Sara Bareilles, Darren Criss, Patti LuPone and Wainwright himself.
Books
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Brooklyn Book Festival (Sept. 14-22) offers talks with writers from around the world, a day of children’s events, and workshops and discussions throughout the city. Joyce Carol Oates, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Alison Bechdel are among the participating authors. Most events are free, but the books are not, so come with cash and tote bags.
Since the early 1990s, Sally Mann’s black-and-white portraits of her children have drawn praise but also outrage for their perceived indecency. On Sept. 10, the New School hosts Mann for a talk about her new book, “Art Work: On the Creative Life,” a collection of photographs, journal entries and letters.
For the Kids
On Sept. 20, the Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens, and the Buena Onda Collective, a group of artist-activists engaged with “eco-centricity,” offer a free family-friendly workshop that explores the park’s ecosystem. You’ll learn hands-on recording techniques, assemble interactive sound sculptures, and finish with a “community tuning session.”
Classical Music
New York City Opera mounts a free, fully staged production of Bizet’s opera “Carmen” in Bryant Park (Sept. 4-5). Enrico Castiglione directs Lisa Chavez as Carmen, Jeremy Brauner as Don Jose and Eva Dorofeeva in the role of Micaela, with Constantine Orbelian conducting.
Dance
The Native American dance collective Indigenous Enterprise returns to the Joyce Theater (Sept. 16-21) with its newest production, “Still Here,” a blend of live powwow drumming and singing that tells a tender story about the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson.
Outdoorsy
When it comes to New York lotteries, there are the scratch-off kind, the “Hamilton” kind and the Hart Island kind. A lottery is the only way to take the Urban Park Rangers’ free two-hour tour (Sept. 23) of the Bronx island, home to the largest publicly funded cemetery in the country and, founded in 1869, an important historical site. (F.Y.I.: Hart Island is accessible only by ferry. And come prepared to tread uneven terrain.)
Don’t know the difference between a canary and a cockatoo? No problem. Find out the seasonal status of the more than 400 bird species that call our region home with the newly updated guidebook “Birdwatching in New York City and on Long Island.” On Sept. 9, the Hudson Park Library hosts its authors, Deborah Rivel and Kellye Rosenheim, for a free talk.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nytimes.com ’
