Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A roundup of recent in-person performances: Derek Fordjour’s FLY AWAY, Brookfield Place’s ENCOUNTERS, and ELLEN’S STARDUST DINER

• By drediman
• November 21, 2020
• No Comments

When it comes to live, in-person performances, New York continues to exhibit — albeit minimally — signs of life. Here’s a roundup of my thoughts on some recent, pandemic-friendly experiences.

FLY AWAY
Petzel Gallery

By far the most affecting of the bunch is Derek Fordjour’s Fly Away (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), a piece of puppet theater that the artist has co-created with puppeteer Nick Lehane. The show – which is performed twice a day – is a companion piece to Self Must Die, Mr. Fordjour’s new exhibition at the Petzel Gallery (which is on-view until December 19). Both the exhibit and the performance (which I recommend that you experience together) meditate on the bittersweet contradictions of hard-won success for Black men, particularly in the realms of sports, the arts, and entertainment. On one hand, they’re idolized for their strength, vivacity, and prowess. But on the other hand, their success comes at a price – in playing by the rules of systems that have been historically controlled by White men, these men are essentially commoditized. Ultimately, Mr. Fordjour seems to be saying that there’s a cheap hollowness to any kind of achievement in a society that only tolerates the Black artist/entertainer/sportsman for the sake of capitalizing on and perhaps appropriating their talents. One of the reasons that both the show and the exhibit are so powerful is that they’re inherently personal. Indeed, the autobiographical aspect of the experiences bring these difficult contradictions into sharper, rawer focus. A profound moment in Fly Away comes when the puppet itself becomes aware of its puppeteers, who are all White, of course. Only the sole live musician (oboist Hassan Anderson, excellent), who remains undercover and ostracized for most of the 30-minute performance, is revealed to be Black.

ENCOUNTERS
Brookfield Place

I applaud Brookfield Place for its adventurously curated performing arts programming during the pandemic. Over the summer, I found its virtual Theater for One series (basically short plays performed live over the Internet for an audience of one) to be a soulful antidote to the pandemic blues. Now we have Encounters (thankfully, I was able to claim a coveted spot on its final evening) (RECOMMENDED), which again banks on the uncanny impact of brief but intimate meetings between performers and small groups of culture-starved civilians. In this case, the “encounter” is in person – you’ll find your small party (of up to six people) being serenaded in person by an agreeable classical string trio. For me, the experience started before the performance, when my host asked me to choose one of three projected images: wind, mountain, and water. Having chosen the water image, I was then whisked away into a secret antechamber just off Brookfield Place’s magnificent glass-encased Winter Garden. The performance, which lasted approximately 20 minutes, was comprised of pieces that were inspired by water (as manifested by segments from Bach’s Largo and Handel’s Water Music). After not having heard classical music live and in person for what seemed like ages, I admit that I got a bit misty-eyed; I had almost forgotten how visceral the experience could be (it also didn’t hurt that the acoustics of the room were ideal).

ELLEN’S STARDUST DINER

To be candid, I’ve long stayed away from Ellen’s Stardust Diner (RECOMMENDED), thinking it was a tourist trap for out-of-towners seeking a “cultural” experience in the big city. But when the pandemic turned the theater district into a ghost town, one of the first institutions to claw itself back to life (after being rumored to shutter permanently this past August) was this bubbly diner with its famous singing waitstaff. And with New York’s live cabaret scene pretty much dormant, Ellen’s is one of the very few places you can currently experience some semblance of the much-missed genre, as well as get a whiff of the Great White Way. Truth be told, I had a really fun time during my recent visit to Ellen’s. At this juncture, there’s something reassuring about eating comfort food and downing a couple of cocktails while watching upbeat, aspiring musical theater performers crank out Broadway show tunes and selections form the current pop catalogue. Although the delivery of the songs invariably didn’t veer too far from karaoke-style blasts, some of the song choices were inspired (I practically wet my pants when I heard the opening chords of “Anthem” from the cult musical Chess) and the service was genuinely friendly and attentive. I deeply appreciate the longstanding establishment’s tenacious determination to keep its doors open to provide uncomplicated, exuberant escapism (as well as an outlet for performers) during these trying times.