Take a look.

Their latest album, based off of the live recording of two sold out shows at the Union Chapel in London, covers the songs of Antony & The Johnsons and the legendary Robert Wyatt. It’s set to be released on February 7^th by Rough Trade.

On the topic of Robert Wyatt and Antony & the Johnsons’ music, pianist and producer Adrian McNally comments: “Maybe it’s not possible to perform without ego…there is never a spare note played or one struck to impress. We’ve got a bit of a nerve associating ourselves with such beautiful men, but it’s the music and words we want to learn from and share with other people.”

The voices of the Unthank sisters are haunting, in the nicest interpretation possible. The entire album flows smoothly, the harmony lulls you to sleep. The fact that this album is a live recording just amplifies the gift that the Unthanks possess; it’s reassuring that wholesome talent still exists. Everything the Unthanks touches instantly purifies, providing the listener with the upmost gratification. Even if you don’t like folk, the Unthanks will convert you, and you won’t regret it.

Purchase here.

Born in 1926 to a Jewish family in Kalisz, Poland, Szapocznikow and her mother were concentration camp survivors.  Her first unfortunate camp was Auschwitz before a longer stay in Bergen during World War II.

After the war, Szapocznikow forged a Czech citizenship to avoid having to return to Poland and to provide an opportunity to study in Praque. Although a master of acclaimed art, Szapocznikow’s work failed to reach international attention but was known throughout Poland for its artistic contemporary feeling which incorporates surrealism and a strong connection to the human body.

The upcoming exhibition will present the range and scope of Szapocznikow’s work from 1955 up until her untimely death in 1979.  The loosely chronological exhibition contains approximately 60 sculptures and 50 pieces of paper art.  Szapocznikow’s work reveals an intimate look into the beauty and art of the human body expressed also politically and historically throughout the world.

Szapocznikow innovatingly used translucent materials to portray her vision for contemporary art forms well before it became popular throughout the world of art.

With the exhibition set to open February 5^th at the Hammer Museum this is a long overdue event to showcase the high anticipated work of Szapocnikow allowing the museum to present a showcase capable of connecting people from various backgrounds to unite in the awe of Szapocznikow’s mind.

As a woman not afraid to shift her talent of sculpting and visions into contemporary surrealism in Szapocznikow’s message, take advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to view outstanding art with a passionate worldly message.

Russian Transport’s smoldering and dark comedic tale of economic woe takes place in the tidy but downtrodden Brooklyn home of Diana (Garafalo) and Misha (Daniel Oreskes), immigrant parents whose family-run car service has hit the skids.  Kudos and extra shots are due to director Scott Elliott for his precise pacing and set designer Derek McLane for a split-level set design that adds variety to the show’s focal points and makes you want to grab a spot on the couch to share shots and cigarettes, at least until the yelling starts.

Already strained relationships and cramped living space takes a turn for the worse when Misha’s buff, badass brother Boris (Morgan Spector) comes from Russia, with Stoli and Marlboros in hand, displacing angst-ridden (aren’t they all) teenage daughter Mira (Sara Steele) from her room and filling gangster wannabe (aren’t they all) son Alex (Raviv Ullman) with breadwinning dreams beyond driving for the family business, picking up shifts at a local cell phone store and whatever bags of weed he can move in between.

Storm warnings are quickly upgraded in Sheepshead Bay when Boris offers to cut Alex in on the real business that brought him to America (it isn’t a dream of working for the city, though the benefits are good).  Mira too, is caught under Boris’ sway and his stories of exotic travel “I only go to beautiful places,” which only fan her fantasies of going to Florence for a semester, despite her mother’s unwavering objections and insistence that the only vacation she’s going on is to her posterior (only she doesn’t say posterior).

Indeed, Diana is determined to keep the family together, in one house, her house.  She is the HBIC (Head Bolshevik In Charge) wears the jeans in the family and is accountant of the secret envelope where her cut of Alex’s earnings, both on and off the books are kept.  When not stashing cash or kicking teenage ass, Diana delivers darkly comedic quips with Uzi-like speed. When Mira complains that giving up her room for Boris isn’t fair, Diana’s casual response “Fair? Nazi’s raped your grandmother,” sums up her opinion of justice in a world where having to sleep on an air mattress isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a person.

All of which adds up to an intriguing, intense and gripping first act, leading up to everyone’s favorite part of theater night, intermission!  Time for a quick cocktail and energized talk of what is to come when the borscht hits the fan in this all too believable and flawlessly acted family melodrama with accents, both authentic and unwavering as each characters’ determination to either survive, get rich, or get to Florence trying.

Slowly the plot simmers and the true, two-legged nature of Boris’ transport work is revealed and Alex has second thoughts about continuing their arrangement.  The bedroom chat following a missed airport pickup shows the boy was in way over his head the moment he tested the shark infested waters and the only lifeguard on duty is too busy making out with his sister to throw him a lifeline.

That said, what happens after Alex again fails to deliver his giggly doe-eyed cargo in a “gratis” make-up job for people with a nasty reputation for not liking to be disappointed, should be a high caliber curtain closer.  Alas, the lackluster resolution instead would make a better third act lead in (and perfect excuse for another intermission) than a head scratching “that’s it?” conclusion.  Alex may have put his gun down, but it’s doubtful Boris and friends are as eager to have a Marlboro and let it be White Russians under the bridge.

As this is Russian Transport’s world premiere, hopefully before its next production, the promising playwright Ms. Steffan will write a dessert course that would add the missing 4^th star to her otherwise tangy and tasty Russian-American prixe fixe.  Otherwise, without a definitive final act, the show is the exception to the rule about it being best to “leave ‘em wanting more.”

www.thenewgroup.org

In addition to Tony and Emmy winner Cynthia Nixon, WIT employs Pun Bandhu (Technician), Olivier Award winner Suzanne Bertish (E.M. Ashford), Michael Countryman (Harvey Kelekian/Mr. Bearing), Jessica Dickey(Technician), Chiké Johnson (Technician), Greg Keller (Jason Posner), Carra Patterson (Susie Monahan), and Zachary Spicer (Technician).

WIT is not the only one making its Broadway debut. Recent NYU graduate Carra Patterson—who plays the role of Nurse Susie Monahan—will be celebrating her Broadway initiation as well. “Susie is an angel in disguise. She’s the nurse, the one who takes care of the patients while making sure that Vivian doesn’t get lost in the medical machine.”

“While I’ve been a part of WIT I’ve learned about the power of listening — you can’t help but reflect on your own life. This play definitely stays with you; you leave with so many powerful messages of grace and an overall connection to life. I’m still learning from this play, and it’s just the beginning,” comments Patterson.

You can view WIT starting Wednesday, January 26^th at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47^th St.) Prices range from $57- $116, you can either purchase your tickets at Telecharge or at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Box Office.  For the full schedule of WIT show times, visit www.ManhattanTheathreClub.com

Composer -Stefan Weisman

Libretto - Anna Rabinowitz

Performers – Maeve Höglund (soprano), Hai-Ting Chinn (mezzo-soprano), Jon Garrison (tenor), Mark Uhlemann (bass-baritone), Tom Chiu (violin), Philip Patyon (violin), Kenji Bunch (viola), Raman Ramakrishnan (cello), + Brian DeMaris (conductor).

www.albanyrecords.com

Take a look.

First up, is super chef Kurt Gutenbrunner‘s quaint wine bar in the West Village, The Upholstry Store, to taste their infamous gluhwein.

Leo, the restaurant’s Beverage Director and gluhwein specialist takes us through the paces on how to make the perfect glass of gluhwein.

Gutenbrunner has intentionally kept this place low key and simple, with the focus on the neighborhood clientele. But certainly come one, come all. The wine list is almost exclusively Austrian and while you’re there select from the bar menu, which includes Gutenbrunner’s Austrian-inspired bar snacks as well.

Take a look.

Next up we travel down to Tribeca and have a taste of …..stay tuned.

The 2011 edition of GYPSY OF THE YEAR, which was presented in two shows on December 5 and 6, is the culmination of six weeks of intensive fundraising by Broadway, Off-Broadway and national touring companies. The entire theatre community gathers for the competitive variety show, put on by the most talented singers and dancers in the ensemble of shows, known as “gypsies.”

Since 1989, the 23 editions of GYPSY OF THE YEAR have raised a total of $49,031,973 to benefit Broadway Cares. The previous fundraising record was $4.6 million in 2009. Last year’s event raised $3.7 million.

Hugh Jackman also was honored with a special award for raising $857,740 in just three weeks of fundraising for Broadway Cares during his run in Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway.

This year’s fundraising competition ended with the following shows landing on top:

Broadway (Musical)
Top Fundraiser            How to Succeed in Business… $325,935
1st Runner-Up            The Book of Mormon $315,968
2nd Runner-Up            Wicked $240,809
3rd Runner-Up            Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark $197,285
4th Runner-Up            Follies $186,405

Broadway (Play)
Top Fundraiser            Other Desert Cities $77,712

Off-Broadway (Play or Musical)
Top Fundraiser            Rent $43,300

National Tours
Top Fundraiser            Wicked – Munchkinland                    $326,902
1st Runner-Up            Wicked – Emerald City                      $316,299
2nd Runner-Up            Mary Poppins $169,709
3rd Runner-Up            Jersey Boys $157,831
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theatre community, since 1988 BC/EFA has raised more than $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States. http://www.broadwaycares.org/

Pop-folk singer and songwriter Dar Williams will return for her second performance at The Bell House in Brooklyn on Monday, Dec. 26, and is already looking ahead to the New Year.

“There’s a kind of Christmas exhaustion that people experience at this time of the year, and there’s something about this concert that just celebrates the beginning of the New Year a few days early,” she says.

Williams will sing some of her seasonal songs, as well as pieces from past albums.  In addition, she will perform selections from her newest CD, “In the Time of Gods,” to be released in April 2012.

Over the course of her career, Williams has transitioned from her first appearances in coffeehouses in the Northeast to performances and recordings with famed artists including Patty Griffin and Ani DiFranco.  Her most recent album, “Many Great Companions,” released in 2010, features collaborations with notable musical talents such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Sean and Sara Watkins of “Nickel Creek.”

Williams has been lauded for using “a reporter’s keen eye and a fiction writer’s feel for nuance” to describe “the big picture of how people approach life.”  Her songs contain themes of religion, family, sexuality and politics – concepts that many listeners can relate to on one level or another – and convey her stories through a mix of fiction and her own personal memories.

The theme that emerged for her upcoming album “In the Time of Gods” was power, Williams says.  She drew inspiration from stories she’s read or people she’s known personally who have taken risks in their lives, saved lives or transformed their communities – people who “experience what it is to have power and to do something about it,” she says.

Williams’ talents are not limited to just music.  She has written two children’s books, and community service is also an important part of her life.  She supports eco-friendly initiatives, local food movements and children’s arts outreach programs.

“I was raised to believe that if you take everything good in your life and funnel it into … your own material excesses, something very bad would happen to you,” she explains. “So the question is if you’re happy, and you’re solvent and you have a microphone, why not do a fundraiser or two for people who are not solvent, and who don’t have a chance to amplify their voices?”

For ticket information, visit: http://www.thebellhouseny.com/calendar.php

Guy Ritchie is back with “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows,” and it’s refreshing to see a sequel that not only lives up to the first film, but by far exceeds it.  The sequel once again pits Holmes against his nemesis, Professor James Moriarty, in a “shadowy game of cat and mouse” that combines a battle of wits and a resounding match of fighting skill.

“A Game of Shadows” exchanges the more supernatural, mystical elements of the first Sherlock Holmes movie for political intrigue and anarchy on an international spectrum.  Holmes and his entourage work their way through England, France and Switzerland, leaving plenty of explosions in their wake, as they attempt to stop Moriarty’s evil scheme that includes an arms monopoly, the potential outbreak of a world war and Victorian England’s version of plastic surgery.  There’s even a 19^th century stag party for dear Dr. Watson that erupts into chaos, which only Holmes can create.

While it is enjoyable to see Holmes’ uncanny intelligence at work on a grander scale, the plot’s complexity is daunting.  Key plot points are interspersed between bouts of rapid, witty banter, and the added political drama makes it anything but “elementary” to follow, particularly if seated next to noisy popcorn munchers.

But even if the plot is overwhelming, it’s a treat to see Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law reunited as detective and doctor, respectively.  Their rapport is even better and more amusing this time around, particularly as Holmes attempts to resign himself to the fact that Watson is now a married man with very different priorities.

“A Game of Shadows” also showcases the talents of Stephen Fry (“V for Vendetta”) as Mycroft, brother to Sherlock and just as eclectic in his own unique way.  Jared Harris (“Mad Men”) brings depth to the cold, conniving Professor Moriarty, while Noomi Rapace (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” Swedish version) portrays the new character of Madam Simza, an intriguing gypsy fortune-teller.

While the sequel can stand alone as its own film, viewers who have seen the first are also treated to the return of Rachel McAdams as the alluring Irene Adler, though her time on screen is regrettably short-lived.  There are also other familiar, recurring elements, such as Watson’s death-defying dog, Gladstone, and Holmes’ inclinations for disguises of all kinds.

Composer Hans Zimmer also returns to create the music, interspersing his original score with new variations, from ominous opera pieces to the rich tones used for the gypsy camp.

At a running time of a little over two hours, “A Game of Shadows” is long and intense, but never loses its focus.  Best of all, it leaves the story tantalizingly open for a possible third installment.