BY SCOTT STIFFLER
COMEDY
Poised to satirize contemporary songs
OUR HIT PARADE
Inspired by the 1935-1959 radio and TV musical sketch show “Your Hit Parade,” this new version is designed for a very different generation. Structured as a satirical live top-ten countdown show, “Our” reimagining of that solid comedic premise sees downtown stars performing their own original renditions of current popular songs. Kennny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb fame) and Neal Medlyn are two of the brains behind the curtain. Special guests include Myles Kane, Molly Pope, Kalup Linzy and the always-popular “many others.” August 26, 9:30 p.m. at Joe’s Pub (425 Lafayette St.). For reservations and information, call 212-539-8777 or visit joespub.com.
INSTALLATION
Photo by Lois Greenfield
Maureen Fleming: “The Immortal Rose”
DANCES FROM HOME
Born in Japan, choreographer and performance artist Maureen Fleming is an American master of Butoh (an avant-garde movement developed in post-war Japan). This gallery installation/performance celebrates her 25 years as a NYC artist with a retrospective of her photography, video and live work. By the time you exit, Fleming hopes you’ll have reconsidered the notion of home as the crossroads between place of origin and that ultimate dimension beyond death which we’ve all got an appointment with. Plus, the dancing is nice. On view daily from August 22 through September 4 (with live installation presentations Saturday through Monday, August 22 – 24, at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. & 9 p.m.). At La MaMa La Galleria (6 East 1st Street, between Bowery & 2nd Avenue). Admission is free; donations encouraged. For more information, visit maureenfleming.com.
MUSIC
Photo by Milton Fletcher
Andrew Bolotowsky, in a 2008 concert
12 FLUTE SOLOS
Lower East Side Performing Arts, which creates free cultural programs in neighborhood libraries and community spaces, presents “Where are the Women? 12 Flute Solos by Women Composers.” Renowned flutist Andrew Bolotowsky will perform the works of, among others, Jennifer Post, Joyce Hope Suskind, Tui St. George Tucker, Beth Anderson, Elodie Lauten, Lynn Wilson and Judith Sainte Croix. Not familiar with their work? Ten minutes on Google will leave you appropriately impressed. August 22, 2 p.m., at the Hamilton Fish Park Branch of the New York Public Library (415 Houston Street, near Ave D). Free. For information, visit lesperformingarts.org.
EXHIBIT
Photo courtesy of Bjorn Wallander
“System Patterns in Housing” by the Institute without Boundaries
INTERACTIVE INFRASTRUCTURES
Curious about things to come in the world of 21st century urban infrastructure? “Global Polis: Interactive Infrastructures” looks at approaching city planning as a complex social, political, and ecological matrix. Policy wanks will drool over the exhibition’s series of workshops and public programs — and the general public will swoon over the forward-thinking drawings and diagrams. Free. Through August 29 at The Center for Architecture (536 LaGuardia Place, between Bleecker and West 3rd Streets). For exhibit information and CFA hours, call 212-683-0023 or visit cfa.aiany.org.
ART
Image courtesy of Rubin Museum of Art
The Enlightened One, Jewel Born (Tibet; 14th century; pigments on cloth)
MANDALA: THE PERFECT CIRCLE
Buddhist Cosmic Diagrams come to life in this exhibit which thoroughly transports the viewer from the 8th to the 21st century — by displaying some of the oldest known mandalas (large paintings found in the Dunhuang caves in northwestern China) alongside virtual, computer-generated varieties. This exhibition is the first of three in “The Cosmologies Series” — RMA’s continuing investigation of how different cultures visually represented the universe. Come for the mandalas and your own search for meaning; stay for the wide array of Himalayan art! Through January 2010; at The Rubin Museum of Art, 150 West 17th Street (between 6th and 7th Avenues). $10 admission (special rates for students, seniors, artists, neighbors). Call 212-620-5000 or visit rmanyc.org.
