Sights & Sounds Archives
Shakespeare in Central Park - FREE
Shakespeare in Central Park started last night .... at the Delacorte Theatre ... Romeo & Juliet ... it was a beautiful evening to enjoy a comedy in the Park ....
The evening was cool and autumn-like with clear blue skies and a stiff breeze ... the open-air stage was surrounded by lush green trees, which gave a magical feeling to the show ... the stage was very minimal with a revolving wood-plank circle and a shallow moat of water in the centre ... movable iron bridges and shelving provide the changeable scenes ... the actors gave a fine performance with much water trashed about ... it was thrilling to be at the show on opening night and enjoy a free performance.
Next week, the Metropolitan Opera will perform on Tuesday in the Great Lawn ... Patsy's fresh mozzarella & tomato pizza and vino to go ... summer-time and the living is easy, fish are jumping ...
- Romeo and Juliet, June 6 - July 7, 2007, Tuesday - Sunday at 8:00 pm (more info and dates)
A Midsummer Night's Dream, August 7 - September 9, 2007 Tuesday - Sunday at 8:00 pm (more info and dates)
Pick up your free Shakespeare in the Park tickets on the day of the performance beginning at 1pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or from 1 to 3pm at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street.
The Delacorte Theater is located near Turtle Pond, just south of the Great Lawn, in Central Park. The closest Park entrance from the East Side is Fifth Avenue at 79th Street; from the West Side, Central Park West at 81st Street. After entering, follow the footpath to the Delacorte Theater ...
Noon music at Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University hosts a recital series called the Tri-Institutional Noon Recitals. Held on Fridays at noon from September through June, this series brings outstanding musical talent to NYC.
For example, on December 15, 2006, pianist Soyeon Lee gave a great perfomance. She played with much expression and enthusiasm. What a joy!
Tri-Institutional Noon Recitals, Caspary Auditorium, The Rockefeller University, 66th Street and York Avenue (#2 on this campus map - pdf), Recitals Hotline: 212-327-7007, ext. 1
Post by Peter
Macbeth at Delacorte Theatre - FREE
Macbeth is playing at ... through July 9, 2006 ...
Strongly recommended ... I saw the play last Wednesday and Thursday, even thought they posted a "Sold Out" sign ... there are tickets available at the last minute because of many no-shows ... sitting in the open fresh air in Central Park is so magical ... the blowing wind amongst the trees, the movement of the clouds, the airliners, the stars ...
The Delacorte Theater is located near Turtle Pond, just south of the Great Lawn, in Central Park. The closest Park entrance from the East Side is Fifth Avenue at 79th Street; from the West Side, Central Park West at 81st Street. After entering, follow the footpath to the Delacorte Theater ...
all shows at 8:30 pm
Pick up your free Shakespeare in the Park tickets on the day of the performance beginning at 1pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park (212-539-8750) or from 1 to 3pm at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street [NYT | Central Park 2000]
APPLE store for music
Friday night I went to the APPLE store on 58th Street and 5th Avenue and did not leave until 2:15 am on Saturday ...they have a live DJ playing and creating contemporary dance music with lots of energy ... the DJ Friday night was Louis Vega ... I sat behind him on a bar stool and watched his fine performance ... the APPLE store plans to host a live DJ show every week, 12 am to 2 am Friday night/Saturday mornings ...
APPLE store, open 24 hours a day, every day ... 767 Fifth Avenue, 212-336-1440 [Yelp] ... see "Exclusive photos from the Apple Store Fifth Ave," by AppleInsider, May 18, 2006
Post by Peter
Summer on the Hudson - lots of free fun
FREE
Summer on the Hudson is gearing up for its 6th season of free cultural and recreational events in Riverside Park South. This summer we have a great line-up of world class musicians for Acoustic Sundays, river themed movies for Movies Under the Stars, special all-day events, including the 1st Annual Main Squeeze Accordion Festival on July 8th, plenty of activities and events for kids, including Mamapalooza on May 21st, plus, yoga, pilates and kayaking.
- Calendar of upcoming events
- Riverside Park South is located on the Hudson River from 62nd to 72nd Street (enter park at 72nd or 68th Street)
Saturday, June 10, 2006, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm: The Rail Yard History of Riverside Park South, Riverside Park South - Pier I @ 70th Street
Saturday, July 8, 2006, 2:00 pm - 9:00 pm: 1st Annual NYC Main Squeeze Accordion Festival
Sunday, July 9, 2006, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Acoustic Sundays - Metropolitan Klezmer
Wednesday, July 12, 2006, 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm: Movies Under the Stars - On the Waterfront
Wednesday, July 26, 2006, 8:30 pm - 11:00 pm: Movies Under the Stars - The African Queen
AGINY Recommended
Rockefeller roof decks reopen
A Guy In New York is a member of the travel blog network at Blogads, a group of some of the best independent travel blogs on the web. Check out some of the posts from blogs in the network:
- Do-everything travel goo ... "This stuff is amazing." ... you need this along with duct tape and a swiss army knife ... (Treknologies)
- Rockefeller roof decks reopen ... "The 69th-floor indoor/outdoor deck and the 70th- fully exposed top-floor deck offer phenomenal views of the city." ... with a "panoramic view of Central Park." ... see the pics ... (NewYorkology)
- de Young Gala Opening in San Francisco ... "it will integrate organically into the surrounding gardens when the museum's copper surface becomes oxidized. Kind of like an old machine left in the garden..." (Jet Set Lara)
- Gaviota, The Last Cowgirl in Cuba ... "The crack-down on 'free' enterprise is in full swing; 10 year prison sentences are handed down for the simple possession of beef, fish, or lobster, which naturally is reserved for the tourist hotels." ... (Travel Blogs)
- This week in reviews ... "links to New York City restaurant reviews and mentions from the previous seven days in blogs, magazines, and newspapers" ... (A Guy in New York)
"Crazy Russian Cats"
gothamist has a post, "Crazy Russian Cats," about the Moscow Cat Theatre appearing at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center through the end of December ... Loco and Luca can't do any of those tricks ...
Q: You keep saying "she." So which is easier to train—female or male cats?
A: Females are better. They're smarter. The boys . . . are not so smart. They do different things. The females know what I want from them.
"From Russia With Cats: Talking with Yuri Kuklachev, lead clown and creator of the Moscow Cats Theatre," by Rebecca Bengal, The Village Voice, October 13, 2005
Details
- Tribeca Performing Arts Center, 199 Chambers Street, (directions and parking info)
Tickets can be purchased through ticketmaster.com by clicking here: Moscow Cats Theatre- TicketMaster, or by calling Ticketmaster at 212-307-7171
- Moscow Cats Theatre
Also see
- "Moscow Cats Theatre: But Can They Sing 'Memory'?" by Michael Dale, Broadway World, October 11, 2005
- "Moscow Cats Theatre," reviewed by Brian Scott Lipton, TheaterMania.com, September 30, 2005
- "Moscow Cats Theatre," A CurtainUp Review By Eric Beckson, based on September 17th performance
- "Feline Acrobats Are The Cat's Meow," CBS News, October 19, 2005
Open House NY - October 8 and 9, 2005
The 3rd annual openhousenewyork weekend will be held October 8 and 9, 2005.
This is a fantastic way to see some of New York City's buildings up close and in ways rarely possible.
This year’s event will highlight 150 sites throughout the city, allowing you to explore landmarks such as the Chrysler Building, major projects such as Fresh Kills, and sites open for the first time, such as the grounds of Ellis Island Hospital PLUS lighthouses, lookouts, monuments, mansions, fireboats, forts, farmhouses, penthouses and SO MUCH MORE!
They also need volunteers to work at the sites as well as professional photographers.
Coney Island - Classic Wooden Coaster & Circus Sideshow
Coney Island ... the birthplace of the hot dog ... has many attractions ... classic wooden coaster ... great minor league baseball ... the last 10-in-1 circus sideshow in America ... aquarium ... 150-foot tall Ferris wheel ...
Coaster
The Cyclone, at Astroland - THE classic wooden coaster ...Aquarium
New York Aquarium at Coney Island10-in-1 circus sideshow
Sideshows by the Seashore ... "the last place in the USA where you can experience the thrill of a traditional ten-in-one circus sideshow. They're here, they're real and they're alive!"Baseball
The Brooklyn Cyclones, a Mets affiliate, play in KeySpan Park ... fireworks at Friday night games ...Ferris Wheel
The Wonder Wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park ... has both swinging and stationary cars
1000 Surf Ave. (Corner of West 10th St), Brooklyn, NY
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop: D, Q, F train to Stillwell Avenue (last stop)
Brooklyn - Williamsburgh Bank photos
Thanks to The Tin Man for a link to a "Beautiful panoramic view from the top of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building, the tallest building in Brooklyn." ... 1 Hanson Place, Brooklyn
Here are some more photos of the Bank and the neighborhood around the bank from Satan's Laundromat: Williamsburgh Savings Bank 1 (with links to more photos from other sites), and Williamsburgh Savings Bank 2. He advises
the cathedral-like 63-foot-ceilinged banking hall on the ground floor, which is perhaps New York's greatest interior and certainly Brooklyn's, will be converted into a restaurant. (See it now, while you still can: the HSBC bank closes September 30th.)
forgotten ny has a story with photos
nyc-architecture.com has more photos and some architectural info
Old News - Conversion to Condos
the Wired New York Forum has a thread discussing the conversion of the building into condos.Crain's New York reported in May that
Williamsburgh Savings Bank Building has been bought by Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds, an investment concern started by “Magic” Johnson, and the Dermot Co., which plan to renovate the landmarked, 35-story tower into condominiums and ground-floor retail space.
Two short articles: the Daily News and Curbed.
The Boatyard Ruins - web site - Highly Recommended
The Boatyard (the elephants graveyard) is a photographic essay of the boatyard in Arthur Kill (Staten Island: Arthur Kill Road and Rossville Avenue - click on "Satellite" in the upper right corner of the map and zoom in) ... Shaun O'Boyle started photographing these old boats, which include ferries and tugs, in 1987 ... he went back in 2005 for another essay ....
... mesmerizing ...
The Boatyard is part of Mr. O'Boyle's larger web site, Modern Ruins - Photographic Essays.
The site is supported by sale of handmade Boatyard books with color photogpaphs and prints.
AGINY Highly Recommended
Gratuitous Gates pics
The Gates in Central Park (February 12-28, 2005).
Peter's 14-year old niece said, "It looks like a carwash."
Many more photos on the Christo and Jeanne-Claude web site.
Christie's summer House Sale
Christies is having The House Sale August 9-10, 2005 ... no reserve (means that there is no minimum bid price, i.e., you can find bargains if there are no other bidders) ... located at 49th Street and Rockefeller Centre (btwn 5th Ave. and Avenue of the Americas/6th Ave.) ... no charge for looking and browsing ... a very wonderful way to spend some time browsing in a very civilised enviroment ...
Wu Liang Ye is around the corner on 48th Street for lunch or dinner (36 West 48th) ... Le Maison du Chocolat is across the street (30 Rockefeller Center) ...
Wu Liang Ye
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop: B, D, F, V train to Rockefeller Center, 6 train to 51st and Lexington, 1 or 9 train to 50th and Broadway
Roller Coaster - Kingda Ka
OK, this is not in New York ... but some New Yorkers spend as much time commuting to work as they would driving ... to ride the Kingda Ka ... an amazing new roller coaster located at 6 Flags in New Jersey ... 456 feet tall ... it reaches a top speed of 128 mph ... going UP ... lines will be long ... if you're at all queasy, make sure you have a designated driver for the trip back to the City ...
Update: Kingda Ka reopened August 4th ... and you can use an optional reservation service at the park ($ fee) so you don't have to stand in line for hours ...
forgotten NY - web site - highly recommended
If you love New York, then you must visit, and bookmark, forgotten NY. Run by Kevin Walsh, forgotten NY includes text and photographs of all parts of the City, new and old ... he also conducts walking tours ... upcoming tours are announced on the home page ...
Some of our favorite pages include
- Journey Through the Past (a subway tour on IRT Low Voltage cars)
- Jamican Red (original red brick pavement in Jamica)
- A Walk on 53rd Street (from the Hudson to the East River)
- Who Are those Guys and Gals and Dogs (The Statues of Central Park)
- Where Brooklyn Began - Fulton Street at the waterfront
An incredibly rich site, forgotten NY will keep you occupied for hours ... I bet most of you don't make it to this sentence ...
For more about Kevin Walsh, see the gothamist interview. Thank you, Kevin Walsh, for a wonderful web site.
AGINY Highly Recommended and Top 10
More fun things for summer visitors to enjoy - with a three-course lunch for $20.12
"Summer Restaurant Week" isn't over yet ... extended through Labor Day, some of New York's finest restaurants will continue to offer three-course lunches for just $20.12 (beverages, tax and tip are extra).
For example:
On the Upper East Side, before or after visiting the Whitney Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, enjoy the fine French cuisine at Cafe Boulud, 20 East 76th Street, 212-772-2600 or at Dumonet at The Carlyle, 35 East 76th Street, 212-570-7192 ... classic French and delicious
On the Upper West Side, a visit to the New York Historical Society and the American Museum of Natural History must be combined with a lunch at Cafe des Artistes, 1 West 67 Street, 212-877-3500 ... Austrian-Hungarian and very cozy ...
On Columbus Circle, visit and shop at our own "Las Vegas" mall ... the new Time-Warner Center ... and lunch at Asiate in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 80 Columbus Circle at 60th Street, 212-805-8881 ... a very spectacular view of Central Park from the 35th floor!
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop
"Images of the Divine" at Asia Society
The Asia Society (725 Park Avenue, at 70th Street) has an excellent exhibition through September 18, 2005 ... "Images of the Divine" ...
A Friday evening Fine Arts education
Keep Friday evenings free because it is pay as you wish ...
(1) Start at the Guggenheim Museum, 6 pm. - 8 pm., 1071 5th Avenue (88th Street), take the elevator to the top floor and walk down the circular staircase ... so much fun ... to see the art-works ... people watching ... time required about 45 minutes ...
(2) Afterwards, walk out of the museum and head south and east to Sant Ambroeus, 1000 Madison Avenue (78th Street), treat your-self to two scoops of delicious ice-cream or fruit ice for $3 ...
(3) Then walk south to The Whitney Museum, 6 pm. - 9 pm., 945 Madison Avenue (75th Street) ... keep the Whitney for last because of the 9 pm closing time ... watch all the Lower East Side young and very hip folks trekking up-town for the 5 floors of American art ...
(4) Finally, walk to Via Quadronno, 25 East 73rd Street, for two more scoops of ice cream for $3, too!
In one evening, you get a very cool Fine Arts education with some exercise and lots of ice-cream ... I'm in heaven on earth ...
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop
AGINY Good Value
New Penn Station Approved
New York has approved the design for the new Penn Station, to be located in the Main Post Office on Eighth Avenue, which is across the street from its current location. NY Daily News has a story.
James Lileks describes the current Penn Station pretty well:
Aside from rush hour, it was empty, and had a sad battered quality that made you feel like a rude sack of meat slumped over a ration of intoxicants. ... The reality is a waiting room with insufficient signage, a great hall that isn’t, and a Hudson News thronged with balding guys, ties askew, furtively paging through battered porn mags.
Shakespeare in the Park
Sadly, July 17th was the last performance for As You Like It, Shakespeare in the Park. But, Two Gentlemen of Verona starts August 16 and runs through September 11.
Greater New York 2005 at PS1
Greater New York 2005 ... Currently the best museum exhibition in town ... PS1 (an exhibition of contemporary art) ... through September 26, 2006 ... 22-25 Jackson Ave, Long Island City... 718-784-2084 ... in Queens...I was there, last Sunday. Pay as you wish...suggested admission...a great bonus... directions
Subway maps | schedules | HopStop
Free jazz concerts - Jazzmobile
Jazzmobile.org...free live jazz concerts...I have been attending these concerts for the last five years ... a great experience ... a Harlem block party ... fried whiting dinner available for $5 ... best way to get there is to ride your bike with the freedom to roam the City at dusk
Wednesday, July 20, 2005, 7.00pm - 8.30pm: Wallace Roney...Grant's Tomb, 122nd Street & Riverside Drive...
Friday, July 22, 2005, 7.00pm - 8.30pm: Wycliff Gordon...Marcus Garvey Park, 122nd Street & 5th Avenue...
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop
Ha Jin at Summer Stage July 27
Ha Jin...National Book Award winner will read from his third full-length novel "War Trash" (Vintage). An interview with the author will follow the reading...Wednesday, July 27th, 7.30 pm ... Central Park, SummerStage, 69th Street & 5th Avenue ... eat watermelon, a pinic in the Park, stare up to the clouds and heaven ... relax... www.SummerStage.org
Central Park SummerStage is located at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side or at 72nd Street and Central Park West on the west side. MAP
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop
NY Philharmonic in Central Park - FREE
The NY Philharmonic is playing this evening ... Lorin Mazel is conducting... a program of Czech music composed by Antonin Dvorak ... on the Great Lawn, behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 81st Street & 5th Avenue or Central Park West....with fireworks after the music. Music starts at 8:00 pm - bring a picnic (and umbrella just in case) and enjoy a beautiful evening in Central Park ... bring a blanket for gazing at the stars and moon.
Subway interactive map | schedules | HopStop
