The Fall 2015 Culture Guide
Now that staring at the ocean no longer qualifies as the perfect weekend activity, museums, lecture halls, and performance spaces are packing out their Fall calendars with pretty incredible events. What’s even better, is that many are celebrating big anniversaries, so they’re stepping up their game for the season.
Coney Island at The Brooklyn Museum
200 Eastern Pkwy., Prospect Heights | 718.638.5000In recent years there's been a lot of conversation about the future of Coney Island, so it's only fitting that The Brooklyn Museum would put a spotlight on its storied past. Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 opens November 20 and promises to put the iconic neighborhood's history on display via an extensive collection of photographs and paintings. And while you can, catch The Rise of Sneaker Culture; it closes October 4.
Old Times at the Roundabout Theater
227 W. 42nd St., Times Square | 212.719.1300Okay, we'll admit that what first drew us to this play was the cast: It stars Clive Owen, Eve Best (you know her as Dr. O'Hara on Nurse Jackie), and Kelly Reilly, who played a major role in this most recent season of True Detective. But the play itself is supposed to be stellar. Written by Harold Pinter, it dives into that juicy space between reality and the subconscious that live performances manage to access particularly well. Previews begin September 17.
José Limón International Dance Festival at the Joyce
175 Eighth Ave., Chelsea | 212.691.9740Dancers know José Limón as one of the founders of modern dance as we know it today, and his eponymous company continues to carry out his legacy with energetic shows around the globe. This festival, which celebrates the 70th anniversary season, will feature all of Limón's classic works, like The Moor's Pavane and The Unsung. Several different dance companies are participating, meaning there will be a few different takes on these iconic works. Performances start October 13.
New York City Ballet, Swan Lake
20 Lincoln Center Plaza, Upper West Side | 212.496.0600Tschaikovsky's Swan Lake is far and away the most famous ballet of all time, with an even more famous leading role (see: Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan), but interestingly enough, many have never actually experienced it live. Choreographed by Peter Martins and featuring the New York City Ballet company dancers, this beautiful production demands to be seen.
Ingrid Bergman at BAM
30 Lafayette Ave., Fort Greene | 718.636.4100In celebration of Ingrid Bergamn's mind-blowingly impressive body of work, Isabella Rossellini, with help from Jeremy Irons and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is staging a one-night-only theatrical tribute to her mother. Expect interviews, unpublished letters, and videos, and if you can't score tickets for the main event, know that it's followed by a month's worth of screening of Bergman's most iconic films (Casablanca, Murder on the Orient Express, Notorious...).
Irving Sandler interviewd by Phong Bui at the 92nd Street YMCA
1395 Lexington Ave., Upper East Side | 212.415.5500The 92nd Street Y always has an awesome line-up, and this year is no exception. We're circling Brooklyn Rail editor Phong Bui's interview with Irving Sandler on October 8. One of the seminal American art critics of our time, Sandler has been writing important works on every American genre since abstract expressionism; meanwhile Bui is an expert in the younger, Brooklyn-based art scene.
Iris Screening at The New Museum
235 Bowery St., LES | 212.219.1222With some of our favorite views anywhere in the city, the sky room at the New Museum is undeniably one of the best places to see a screening in New York. It's the kind of venue that justifies waiting to rent this much-anticipated documentary about Iris Apfel, who happens to be one of our favorite fashion icons of all time.
Frank Stella at the Whitney
99 Gansevoort St., Meatpacking District | 212.570.3600The Whitney's Frank Stella retrospective (which opens October 30 and takes up the entire 5th floor) is the most comprehensive exhibition of Stella's work to date. It's not often that a living artist, and one who lives in New York at that, gets a big retrospective like this. His bright, minimalist paintings are the perfect way to brighten up an otherwise dreary November Saturday.
Rachel Khedoori and Mike Kelley at Hauser & Wirth
511 W. 18th St., Chelsea, 212.790.3900 | 32 E. 69th St., Upper East Side, 212.794.4970Hauser & Wirth has not one, but two shows on their roster this fall that are worth adding to your calendar. At the 69th Street location, they're hosting a large exhibition by Rachel Khedoori, featuring two new major sculptures that play on her interest in space and architecture. Meanwhile, in the 18th Street space, check out the gallery's first exhibition of Mike Kelley's work since becoming representatives of the estate. Opening September 10 and September 15.
Ana Bolena at the Met
30 Lincoln Center Park Plaza, Upper West Side | 212.362.6000The Met is actually staging all three of Donizetti's Tudor queen operas this season, but Ana Bolena is the classic favorite. The tragic—but oh-so-dramatic story follows Anne Boleyn, whose husband, Henry VIII, sentenced her to death when she failed to provide him with a male heir (incidentally he had also fallen in love with Jane Seymour). The dark, lavish costumes and somber Tudor aesthetic are admittedly a big part of the appeal. Opens September 26.
