Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Basking in an eclectic array of joyous outdoor performances via DOWNTOWN LIVE & RESTART STAGES

• By drediman
• May 21, 2021
• No Comments

Coinciding with some spectacular spring weather this May are a pair of outdoor performing arts festivals, each of which have programmed an eclectic array of acts – all free of charge. Here are my thoughts immersion so far.

DOWNTOWN LIVE
En Garde Arts / The Tank
Through May 23

Last weekend way down in Lower Manhattan, I binged on the offerings of Downtown Live (RECOMMENDED), an outdoor festival co-presented by En Garde Arts and the Tank, in association with the Downtown Alliance. Despite spanning across a dizzying variety of performance genres and styles, the collective energy amongst the festival’s performers – most of whom have not been in front of a live audience in more than a year – was one of joy and celebration. Invariably, the excitement was infectious and palpable all weekend long. Although superbly curated all around, definite highlights that prospective attendees shouldn’t miss during the festival’s second and final weekend are the shows of the ecstatically talented Baba Israel & Grace Galu (beatbox, hip-hop, freestyle), the quirkily engaging James & Jerome (storytelling), the extravagantly theatrical David Greenspan (vintage cabaret), and the dynamic and playful Ellen Winter (alternative pop). Experiencing these performances all within a span of less than 48 hours was a potent reminder of the extraordinary breadth and depth of New York’s performing arts community.

RESTART STAGES
Lincoln Center (free tickets via TodayTix lottery)
Through the summer

Traveling north to the Upper West Side, you’ll find Restart Stages (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), Lincoln Center’s first step in presenting in-person shows since the pandemic halted performances last March. For the outdoor festival, the revered performing arts institution has activated its campus’s expansive plazas, transforming them into various performance, rehearsal, and community spaces. Most striking is the transformation – courtesy of ingenious and talented scenic designer Mimi Lien – of the main plaza into a garden of comfort and wonder (“The GREEN”).

In terms of performances, I’ve seen two so far. last Saturday, I witnessed Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center play a concert that included works by Gershwin and Dvořák, in addition to the world premiere of Bruce Adolphe’s vivid “Water Songs”, a song cycle written for exuberant soprano Angel Blue (Porgy & Bess). Allegedly, the event marked the first live classical music concert presented at Lincoln Center in more than a year – an occasion which the CMS rose to with gusto. Then this Wednesday, Broadway star Jose Llana (looking great and sounding even better) got in touch with his Filipino roots, giving an uplifting, heartfelt concert comprised of Broadway and pop standards to celebrate and commemorate the ongoing contributions of under-appreciated Philippine nurses working in the front lines of the Covid crisis.

These two festivals aren’t the only happenings in the city. Last week also saw New York Live Arts’ Altered-Worlds festival groove both in Chelsea and Times Square. Additionally, The Shed just released its upcoming lineup of up-and-comers for Open Call, as did the much-anticipated Little Island (both slated for early June). To boot, the indispensable supper club Feinstein’s/54 Below has also announced its long-awaited reopening (in June, as well). Things are beginning to stir at an accelerated pace at long last.