Looking back on the 2015–2016 season
With my first season at Symphony Space under my belt, I thought I’d put together a slideshow of some highlights. Maybe you were lucky enough to be at some of these events. If not, don’t despair — there will be plenty of new, exciting events in the upcoming season!
Thalia Book Club: Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels
The season opened with a bang! We gathered a powerhouse panel to celebrate the publication of the fourth and final installment of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels. A packed house was on hand to hear John Waters, Elizabeth Strout, Parul Sehgal, Judith Thurman, and Sonali Deraniyagala discuss this publishing phenomenon. Unsurprisingly, the reclusive author was not in the audience. Here I am backstage with John Waters and actress Zoe Kazan. John Waters made a quip onstage that only women and gay men had read all four books of Ferrante’s Neapolitan series. I told him that I am living proof that at least some straight men had read it — although going from the audience at the event, we were in the minority!
Thalia Kids Book Club: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard
Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, has a rabid following in the tween demographic, and they came out in force for a Thalia Book Club to hear Rick talk about his new series Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard. My son Sebastiano is still dazzled from having met one of his favorite authors.
Project Fifteen: Sinatra at 100
The first music concert of the season and opening event of our Project Fifteen was a marathon Sinatra show curated by WNYC radio host Jonathan Schwartz — an expert on all things Sinatra. In celebration of Sinatra’s 100th birthday, more than 50 artists performed 100 songs made famous by the legendary singer over nine hours. One of the many highlights was an appearance by actor and singer Tony Danza. He even wowed the crowd with some tap dancing. Who knew?
Project Fifteen: Arthur Miller Centennial Event
Also part of Project Fifteen was a special event exploring the legacy of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Tony Kushner, Brian Dennehy, Rebecca Miller, and Laurie Kennedy participated in a panel moderated by Jack Doulin. Here are the participants backstage in the Thalia. Brian said he appeared as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman 750 times in the 1990s!
Selected Shorts: Humans of New York
Humans of New York — a project featuring a blog and bestselling book of street portraits and interviews from the streets of New York — came to Symphony Space for a special Selected Shorts in November. The creator and photographer Brandon Stanton was on hand to introduce the event. Humans of New York’s Facebook page has over 16 million followers, and, not surprisingly, this Selected Shorts event sold out in a flash!
Selected Shorts: Alice in Wonderland
This year Alice in Wonderland had its 150th anniversary. On its very merry un-birthday, Joyce Carol Oates put together a program of readings from, and stories inspired by, Lewis Carroll’s curious classic in this special Selected Shorts. Readers included Dan Stevens, Kaneza Schaal, Sonia Manzano, and Ari Graynor, all pictured here backstage before the event.
Just Kidding: BAM Percussion
The anarchic comedic troupe from Quebec came to New York for the first time as part of Just Kidding in January. Director of Performing Arts Darren Critz saw BAM while in Austin, Texas, and knew they would be a great fit for our family programming series.
Uptown Showdown: Kids vs. Pets
For those of you who have attended Uptown Showdown, our comedy debate series, you know that the shows are hilarious, unpredictable, and have often veered into R-rated territory. As the only kid in the audience, my son Sebastiano was asked (I was going to say dragged… but he really didn’t need much encouragement) on to the stage by Jo Firestone to support her argument that pets are superior to children. Can you tell what side he was on?
Donnacha Dennehy’s Tessellatum
Nadia Sirota, the Peabody Award-winning host of Q2 Music’s Meet the Composer podcast, was in residence here as part of the Fuse Project. The capstone of Nadia’s residency was the world premiere of Tessellatum, a piece we commissioned from Irish composer Donnacha Dennehy. Tessellatum is written for viola, viol consort, and electronics. Donnacha remarked to me that for him, this piece gradually unfolds in a way that depicts the changing light in the Irish landscape. Here is Nadia Sirota (center) on viola, with a viol consort led by Liam Byrne (seated on the left).
Too Hot for Radio Live
Also, as part of the Fuse Project, we launched a brand-new literature series called Too Hot for Radio. This Selected Shorts spin-off features amazing stories which, due to language issues or content advisories are, well, too hot for radio. To be frank, some of the racy reads made me blush, but, as you can see from this photo after the event, the performers were having a ball. I particularly enjoyed Denis O’Hare’s reading of “Helpless Little Things” by Jess Walter. For those of you who missed the event, the podcast of Too Hot for Radio will be available later in the summer.
Broadway Premieres
Our first installment of Project B-Way/95 was a great success with film screenings, panel discussions, and lots and lots and lots of performances. A particular focus was on new work and emerging performers as we wanted to celebrate Broadway as a living, breathing dynamic art form. The opening event, Broadway Premieres, featured more than 20 performers including Jason Robert Brown, who performed his song “Wait ’Til You See What’s Next,” which was cut from Prince of Broadway. Love those socks!
All in the Family
In my opinion (and I’m not sure the only one), the star of the All in the Family show was Lena, the two-year-old daughter of Nikki Renée Daniels and Jeff Kready. She was a surprise guest for a performance of “Love Is an Open Door” from Frozen. Look at her belting out it out. She’s a natural!
Patti LuPone: Don’t Monkey with Broadway
No words needed here! This Broadway legend set the place on fire with her new show Don’t Monkey with Broadway, which was the final event in Project B-Way/95. The crowd went absolutely bananas for her!
Wall to Wall Stephen Schwartz
This year’s Wall to Wall celebrated the work of Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz, of Godspell, Pippin, Wicked fame, and so much more. The incredible Patina Miller reprised her role as Leading Player for a Pippin medley. I, as so many others, was in a high school production of Pippin, and was singing along. “I’ve got magic to do …” Here she is with the great man himself.
Boleros and Mojitos
In May, our inaugural Source Project explored Afro-Cuban culture. We invited Cuban diva Xiomara Laugart to host an evening of Boleros and Mojitos in Bar Thalia. Xiomara’s set ranged from classic songs like “El manisero” (“The Peanut Vendor”) to contemporary songs, and the full house couldn’t get enough of them. This photo captures the intimate atmosphere and includes some artwork by Cuban artist Carlos Mateu.
The Pedrito Martinez Group
To close The Source Project, Pedrito Martinez brought down the house with an incredible, high-energy salsa show. He turned the Peter Jay Sharp theatre into a dance hall with a special album pre-release party. Here is the conguero virtuoso himself and the rest of the band in action on stage in May.
Global Arts: Capoeira from Latin America
Students get to work with world class performers in their classroom and sometimes on stage here at Symphony Space through our Global Arts program. Our photographer Rahav “Iggy” Segev beautifully captured the incredible acrobatics of Brazilian capoeira performers in this shot. You can imagine the reaction of the students to this performance! As they have for over 30 years, our education staff continue to open New York city students’ eyes and ears to cultures from around the world.
