BY SCOTT STIFFLER | RUBIN MUSEUM OF ART: BRAINWAVE FESTIVAL Good art makes you think, but great art changes the way you think. It happens all the time at the Rubin Museum of Art. Through April, their Brainwave Festival explores Buddhist notions of attachment and happiness. Pairing artists with scientists, the “Conversation” series includes “Bouquet in a Bottle” on April 1, with sommelier Aldo Sohm and olfaction expert Terry Acree. On April 8, Shaolin Master Shi Yan Ming and neuropsychologist Tracy Dennis ponder “Discipline as an Art.” A Friday night film series exploring fixation includes Hal Ashby’s deathly dry 1971 romp between a youthful Bud Cort and a pushing-80 Ruth Gordon (“Harold and Maude” on April 17).
On view through Feb. 2016, RMA’s “Becoming Another: The Power of Masks” features a collection of masks and costumes from the 15th-20th centuries. Intricate and stunning creations from Siberia, the Himalayas, Mongolia, Japan and the Northwest Coast of America highlight culturally diverse (and similar) approaches to shamanism, communal ritual, and theatrical performance. RMA Director of Public Programs Tim McHenry says the exhibit’s connection to their Brainwave Festival theme is “tangential, admittedly, but the reference is nonetheless there.” Donning a mask in ritual or theatrical form, he notes, can represent the desire to obtain “a different role, and assume all of its powers and responsibilities.”
At the Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th St. at Seventh Ave.). Brainwave Ticket prices vary. Hours: Mon. & Thurs., 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Wed., 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Fri., 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sat. Sun., 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Call 212-620-5000 or visit RubinMuseum.org.
STEPHEN PETRONIO CO. PRESENTS “BLOODLINES”
This upcoming run at The Joyce Theater finds Stephen Petronio Company celebrating its 30th anniversary by making a five-year commitment to present iconic works of postmodern American dance alongside world premiere pieces by the troupe’s founder and namesake. Season One of “Bloodlines” will feature two works.
A contemplation on animal abstract motion and sound, Merce Cunningham’s “RainForest” (1968) is set to an electronic score by David Tudor, with visual design by Andy Warhol. Stephen Petronio’s two-part work “Locomotor/Non Locomotor” has the company’s dancers shifting through time and space, in an exploration of “movement deep within a torquing center.” Its electronic score, by Clams Casino (Michael Volpe), has vocal elements by the Young People’s Chorus of New York City.
April 7–12. Tues./Wed. at 7:30 p.m. Thurs.–Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 2 & 7:30 p.m. At The Joyce Theater (175 Eighth Ave. at 19 St.). Post-performance discussion on April 9. For tickets ($10-$59), call 212-242-0800 or visit joyce.org.
CAMP KAPPAWANNA
New friends, an acoustic guitar and an emerging gift for saying what she means through song will ease fears and up the excitement factor — when 12-year-old Jennifer Jenkins finds herself away from home for the first time and forced to navigate a long summer stay at “Camp Kappawanna.” This new musical is based on the jitters and joys of singer/songwriter Lisa Loeb’s own youthful sleepaway camp experiences. Full of silly tunes with occasionally tart observations, Grammy-nominated Loeb’s collaborators include Dan Petty (who pens the songs for Disney’s “Club Penguin”) and husband/wife team Cusi Cram and Peter Hirsch (writers for “Arthur” on PBS). It’s sweet nostalgia for adults and no-tech fun for kids.
Through April 12. Sat. & Sun. at 10:30 a.m. Also Wed. & Fri., April 8 & 10 at 10:30a.m. At the Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater (336 W. 20th St. btw. 8th & 9th Aves.). For tickets ($20, $15 for kids), call 866-811-4111 or visit atlantictheater.org.
NYC FIRE MUSEUM LECTURE SERIES
They’ve been braving the heat, taking heat and saving lives for 150 years — and this lecture series speaks to all of those facets of the FDNY. On April 8, Glenn P. Corbett (Associate Professor of Fire Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice) reveals new information surrounding the accusation that Black Joke Engine Company 33 set fires during the 1863 Draft Riots. On April 22, FDNY Honorary Deputy Chief Gary R. Urbanowicz tells the life stories of firefighters buried at Greenwood Cemetery (including those from the pre-1865 volunteer era). The series concludes on April 29, when Paul Hashagen (FDNY, retired) traces the history of Rescue Company 1 — a hand-picked group tasked with dangling from ropes, performing underwater dives, handling dangerous chemicals and controlling toxic leaks (the talk is based on his book, “100 Years of Valor”).
Lectures begin at 6 p.m. At the FDNY Fire Museum (278 Spring St. btw. Hudson & Varick Sts.). For tickets ($10), visit nycfiremuseum.org/shop.
In “Washeteria,” Tribeca-based Soho Rep transforms a Brooklyn laundromat into a fantastical, kid-friendly space.
WASHETERIA
Tribeca’s Soho Rep goes off-site and into another borough, with its first-ever theatrical experience created for “children and their adults.” This two-episode event (each the length of a single wash cycle) transforms a Brooklyn storefront into a fantastical laundromat where very different people have the same goal in mind.
Through April 5 at 321 Broadway in the South Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Subways: J, M, Z to Marcy Avenue, L to Lorimer St. or G to Broadway or Metropolitan Ave. For tickets ($10), call 212-352-3101 or visit sohorep.org (where you can access the full schedule of 11 a.m., 3:30 p.m. & 4 p.m. performances).
Watch it, sucker: Trav S.D. as P.T. Barnum is part of the mad goings-on at “Money Lab.”
MONEY LAB
Art! Finance! Morality! They collide with unpredictable results, in Untitled Theater Company #61’s “Money Lab” — where the audience is required to purchase tokens whose value fluctuates during performances based on various fiscal scenarios. A rotating cast of four puppeteers, dancers, economists, musicians, and other creative types are on hand during any given installment. They include Patrice Miller and cohorts dancing to jargon about the 2008 banking collapse, and skilled conjurer Magic Brian, who frames his classic Monte hustle with questions about gambling and the stock market. Suckers beware! Downtown performer Trav S.D. will portray P.T. Barnum, who reveals “The Art of Money-Getting.” Also making a grab for your precious tokens, Tatiana Baccari and Hannah Allen’s fleshy dance theater piece parks itself at the intersection of money and stripping.
Through April 11. Performance schedule varies. At HERE (145 Sixth Ave.; enter on Dominick, one block south of Spring St.). For tickets $20 (plus a required $5-$10 buy-in), call 212-352-3101 or visit here.org. Also visit untitledtheater.com.
