OHNY 2016 (2) - My plan

You can find me volunteering at the Open House New York Info Hub at Union Square Greenmarket from 10 AM-1PM. After that, I will check on the line at Jefferson Market Library and might go to Westbeth before heading Uptown. I need to be at the Museum of Art and Origin by 5. There might be time to stop in to see my 101.5 year old friend Marie. Afterward, I'll check the line at Hamilton Grange. I've never seen it at night.

Sunday, I am off to the tour of Freshkills Park  in Staten Island. Before leaving the Island, I want to eat brunch at Lakruwana, a Sri Lankan restaurant on Bay Street. Then I'll check on the progress of the Lighthouse Museum. I haven't been there in over a year. (OR I'll rush off of SI immediately and try to get to The Little Red Lighthouse! Oh the possibilities.)

 

I'll end this year's Open House New York by heading way Uptown to the United Palace to see Mary Poppins introduced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. I can't wait! (You can see the interior of the United Palace as part of OHNY for free on Saturday but it's no fun without a movie). (I have yet to see Hamilton but the book HAMILTON the REVOLUTION is a wonderful read).

NOTE: If you are new to OHNY, be sane. Pick sites that are near each other and have a GREAT time. There are way too many great sites. See what interests you! There's always next year.

Open House New York 2016 (1)

At first, when I saw my OHNY volunteer assignment, I was a bit disappointed. I have volunteered every year since the beginning of OHNY and they gave me a shift at my favorite greenmarket: Union Square. I thought, oh I can shop after my shift and go home before continuing. Then I read my assignment. I will be working the Info Hub and helping people find their OHNY. Can't think of a better way to start the weekend and use my experience volunteering and participating in every OHNY since the start. Come say HI between 10 and 1 on Saturday (I will shop Friday).

Some of my prior year assignments are on the Open for all list. Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation is a must see. It was fun to see people who lived in the neighborhood discover the place for the first time. Welling Court Mural Project was/is my favorite surprising place (photo is one of this year's murals). City Hall was my volunteer slot the first year. It was combined with the Tweed Courthouse (sure wish that would be Open again). We broke up and moved 1200 people through both places in 3 or 4 hours.

My prior year volunteer sites that require(d) reservations are Central Park tour with Bob Gelber (bus woman's holiday), the Masonic Hall, Modulator, Red Hook walking tour (which was actually cancelled that year so I spent my time directing people to other sites and exploring Red Hook).

The other 6 volunteer assignments were: Tear Drop Park, an architect's home and renovated carriage house in the village, the library of the NY Horticultural Society, House of the Redeemer, the lectures in the lobby of the Chrysler building, and the private garden between the I M Pei buildings between 1st and 2nd Ave in the 30's. All interesting places and spaces. You can find my plans for the weekend here.

Alzheimers CaringKindNYC walk SI

A Guide Named Sue did this cause related fitness walk in Staten Island this morning.  It was a mellow walk. We were all walking in memory or in honor of someone. We raised money for Alzheimers Care in NYC. You can still donate at my personal page. I actually did a 3 mile walk because the bus driver dropped us off a the boardwalk and not the walk start. Great day for it.

South Beach, in the shadow of the Verrazano Bridge was new territory for me. I'd run across the bridge three times during the marathons of 84,86, and 91 and I biked the bridge one year during the 5 boro volunteer's ride. 

Will write a Beyond the Blue Line Staten Island tour soon. The S51 bus from the ferry is a great way to start. A mile boardwalk walk followed by a bus ride to explore Fort Wadsworth, start of the NYC Marathon comes next. The Park looks very different without 50,000 runners. Other possible stops before returning to Manhattan: The Alice Austen House, The Sri Lanken restaurant, The Lighthouse Museum, The Sept 11th memorial. These are a few of the many reasons to explore Staten Island.

   

Sept 11, 2016

Not much to say on this 15th Anniversary except I could never imagine what downtown looks like today on Sept 12, 2001. I'll be doing some volunteer work packing food this year.  Actually there's more to say.

I saw Sully yesterday and one of the best lines was something like New Yorkers could use some good news about a plane.

And speaking of good news...While standing in the Shakespeare in the Park line, I heard about a musical now playing in DC called Come From Away. It is about the major good news story that never broke in the US during the aftermath of Sept 11th. I first read about it in an email months later and the PBS documentary came many months after that.  The show deals with one of the communities outside of Gander that took in passengers when all planes were barred from landing in US airspace. I'm heading to DC later in the month to see friends, visit the Newseum, and see the show. I've never seen an out-of-town pre-Broadway run of a show. 

More 9/11 perspective from an older post.

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc/2012/09/sept-11-2012.html

The Keeper - New Museum - on until 9/28/2016

My last stop on Jury Duty day was pay what you wish night at the New Museum. I wasn't a great fan of the museum but I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see the exhibition. I will return this month with anyone who wishes to join me.

There was a vocal (not verbal) baby who was entranced by the Teddy Bears. (Reminded me of my niece who couldn't stop staring at Roman busts at the Met when she was still traveling in a back pack. My niece recently completed her PHD in Classics. I wonder how the bears will affect this baby's future life)

The exhibition could also be called The Fine Art of Hoarding. My pictures do not do this place justice. You must see for yourself (Start from the TOP floor and work down!).

 

   

Sept 8, 2016 Ming Cho Lee - MOCA

After jury duty, I headed to the Museum of the Chinese in America to see a special exhibit about set designer Ming Cho Lee.  I loved seeing sets for Delacorte Theater productions that were "before my time". When I was 16, my family had a subscription for the first season at the Public Theater so it was also fun to see the set for the premiere of Hair that season. (I am waiting for a revival of that season's Hamlet).

The highlight was meeting Mr Lee in person. I told him that his sets for other productions made me want to visit other regional theaters. I also realized why my special time in the theater (the magic time) starts when the lights go down and ends when I get the first glance of the set that will be my home away from home for the next couple of hours.

Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the Public Theater. I hope Mr Lee and his sets are part of the festivities and I hope Mr Lee gets to see next year's pageant play whatever it is.  

(Can you arrange that Oskar Eustis ?)

     

NYC Fringe Festival 2016 - 20th Anniversary

Fringe Ambassador Sue is at it again. My role is different. Change happens. So this year let's focus on how to pick a few plays to see as inexpensively as possible. Basic price for a Fringe ticket is still 18 dollars (plus a convenience charge if you order by credit card). Cash can only be used at Fringe Lounges. Seniors (65 plus) can buy 13 dollar seats at Fringe Lounges or at performance venues 15 minutes before performances. Children under 12 can buy 13 dollar tickets for Fringe Junior shows at performances, Fringe Lounges or On line. Passes and group tickets (for same performance) provide additional discounts.  Details here.

Discounts. The first way is to take the Find Your Fringe Quiz. This will give you a subset of plays that you might like and a 10 percent discount on passes. Last year each Ambassador was assigned meet ups based on Quiz results lists. None of my selections were on my top ten list but you know, they all turned out to interesting if not great shows. The second discount comes if you go to a show's post show meet up. A Fringe Ambassador like me can give you a discount to the next show of your choice if you surrender the coupon from your program. If your performance does not have a meet up , just score your show at Show Score  for a discount for your next show.

How do you figure out what to see? This year, the descriptions are better than ever. If you need hard copy in advance, pick up the Aug 10th Time Out New York. The Quiz gives you an interesting subset of shows. Show Score has come up with their own categories. You can use the Slice O Matic on the show listings in a variety of ways.  My favorite way is to start with a date and time range that I have available and see what shows are performing during that time. For a busy New Yorker, this is a great way to focus on what is possible.

More posts to come (including where to find me) .... in the comments section...

June 2016 is...(part 1)

busy says A Guide Named Sue! On the Shakespeare front, Something Rotten  has some new stars.  Taming of the Shrew in Central Park is gender bending to say the least. Get on line EARLY and enjoy the experience. Contact me for an early morning Central Park tour..

Sunday June 5th is the Israel Day Parade. I used to get stuck in traffic on detoured HO HO  buses. Now I march in it.

Monday June 6th is Taste of Times Square. You can buy tickets here. If you want some exercise before eating, come along for a special late afternoon tour to the festival.

Saturday June 11th is the celebration of new mural art at Welling Court. Would happily do an early morning custom tour as long as it ends before I start heading to Queens around 11.

If you wish to join me on the 11th at 11, let me know in advance. This will be a meet up or FAM visit. You can see where we might go here.

Sunday June 12th 11 AM is the Mount Morris Open House Tours. I already have my book reserved. This is a great day in Harlem for those who want to skip the Puerto Rican Day parade. OOOPS Mt Morris was canceled 6/2.

June 14th is Museum Mile. Join me for a tour to the top here.  More to come.....

 

   

Brush Up Your Shakespeare 2016

You'd think Shakespeare was a New Yorker by the way we are celebrating the 400th Anniversary of his death this year!  The Royal Shakespeare Company recently visited BAM and the Globe Shakespeare company and the National Ballet of Canada are coming to the Lincoln Center festival to perform Shakespeare.

It is not too late to see the Shakespeare Binge performance 1599 at Irondale. It is superb.

NYC-ARTS has a list of Shakespeare related events around town past and future.

My favorite...Shakespeare in (the) Central Park starts previews of  The Taming of the Shrew  on May 24th . As always, A Guide Named Sue is offering early public Central Park walks  that end at the Shakespeare in the Park line for the first two previews of each show via AnyGuide. If I see the show the first night, I will still lead the 2nd day tour.

The Drilling Company will be doing Shakespeare "in the Parking Lot" and at Bryant Park this summer as well.

New York Classical Theatre has another great season of FREE Shakespeare in the great NYC outdoors.

A Guide Named Sue will happily arrange custom private tours  that end at any Shakespeare performance or event this season.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare  by Cole Porter for the musical Kiss Me Kate based on The Taming of the Shrew by (see above).

Tribeca Film Festival 2016 reviews

After years of standing in line on the first day single tickets were available to AMEX cardholders, last year I began ordering the weekday matinee package. It really works well. When I did go to the box office to buy senior tickets, only 1 of 4 additional films I wanted were available.

I gave my first ticket to a client who joined me on my walking tour to the Regal Cinemas. I went to the rush line to buy a second ticket. The system works if you are near the head of the line. Use it if there is something you really want to see.

Films I saw:

All This Panic: A great effort by reality TV wanna be film makers, students, and parents. It was interesting to see everyone in the audience after the show. A really depressing look at being a teenager in NYC.

The Tenth Man: Fabulous. I hope this shows up on every Jewish Film Festival's play list and at the JCC, Lincoln Center, Symphony Space and independents around town. This would also be a great film for the United Palace. It is already in Spanish and would also be of interest to the Jewish Community in the neighborhood. Why Tribeca chose to schedule this movie about a Jewish Community in Argentina on a Friday night is beyond me.

For the Love of Spock:  What can I say, the production started 4 months before Leonard Nimoy passed away. His son Adam did a helluva job. This is a joy to see for Star Trek fans.

Betting on Zero: More than you ever wanted to know about Wall Street, Government regulation and the Herbalife pyramid scheme. See the link for more info.

Bugs: A basic introduction to the "next big" food trend. I am intrigued if not convinced.

Untouchable: All about the man who created the worst (and most ineffectual) sex offender laws in the country (in Florida) and the victims on all sides.The laws would never have stopped the situation that inspired him to do this. They have destroyed the lives of countless individuals. Even his daughter has realized they solved nothing. This movie should be shown in Florida and all over the country and law makers should rethink these issues.

My last day of the Tribeca Film Festival was spent with film adventures - Way Uptown.

I recently saw the opening film First Monday in May at the Paris Theatre. Everyone should see this before or after seeing Manus x Machina at The Met!