What I saw in May + what I’m looking forward to in June

 

May saw a record-breaking number of reviews (10!) in a month, which is all the more surprising since I took a week off to fully enjoy Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. This is typical for this time of year when the city speeds up only to slow down. It will be quiet in summer, when the ‘money people’ head out and droves of tourists arrive to take their place. Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere. This Sunday, I’ve got my fingers crossed for all our faves at the Tony Awards. You already know who I’m rooting for: everybody Black.   

 

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Here’s a list of all of the posts from this month (sorted by the date I attended), click the links to check out the ones you may have missed!

 

May 3 – Black Zine Fair 🎉 

May 3 – Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole at New York Theatre Workshop 🎭 [closes June 29th]

May 4 – Fly Meet Swag Meet Drip 🎨

May 7 – Wonderful Town at New York City Center 🎭

May 8 – Guanahani at TheaterLab 🎭

May 9 – 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair 🎨

May 9 – Toyin Ojih Odutola: Ilé Oriaku 🎨 [closes July 18th]

May 10 – ‘Superfine’ at the Met Museum 🏛️ [closes October 26th]

May 17 – Sophia Victor: Ekklesia 🎨 [closes June 14th]

May 17 – Goddess at the Public Theater 🎭 [EXTENDED to June 15th]

 

Here’s what I’m looking forward to in June! Grab a ticket so you can tell me what you think and check back for the reviews.

 

Theatre 🎭

National Black Theatre: Chiaroscuro and Bowl EP

NBT, whose new building is still under construction, is producing two shows in two different theaters that will play through the month. Chiaroscuro at The Flea in Tribeca was written by Aishah Rahman, a Howard grad who was active in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s. In the play, six “chocolate singles” are aboard the Chiaroscuro and cruising for love. Bowl EP at the Vineyard Theatre in Flatiron features live skateboarding as a smoking-skating-rapping duo “grow increasingly closer”. Both shows close on June 22nd.  

 

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men at the Peccadillo Theatre

Theater legend Norm Lewis — who you might also recognize as a hot Senator from Scandal — is on stage! This limited engagement is a revival of a 1969 Negro Theater Ensemble play by Lonnie Elder III. It’s about manhood, finding your footing after loss, and figuring out what you stand for. The show will close on June 29th. [I saw it this week and will write my review toot suite — subscribe to get notified!]

 

(Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Annual Shakespeare in the Park starts July 5!)

 

Museums 🏛️

Centennial Celebration at NYPL Schomburg Center

In addition to ongoing exhibitions and special events, the Schomburg Center in Harlem will host a festival to celebrate its 100 year anniversary. The center is “one of the world’s leading cultural institutions devoted to the preservation and study of materials focused on African American, African Diasporic, and African experiences” and I’ve never been disappointed by a single program of theirs. 

 

Lorna Simpson: Source Notes at the Met

Ms. Simpson joins Ms. Sherald and Mr. Johnson in the honor of a major survey this season. The show is entitled “Source Notes” and “is the first exhibition to consider the entirety of her painting practice to date.” It opened at the Met on May 19th. [This a repeat from the May watchlist because I still haven’t visited!]

 

Jack Whitten: The Messenger at the MoMA

A exhibition of work by Jack Whitten, the Alabama-born abstractionist, is on view at the MoMA through August 2nd. Jack Whitten: The Messenger “presents a revelatory history of the artist’s exploration of race, technology, jazz, love, and war.” 

 

Galleries 🎨

Thomas J. Price: Resilience of Scale at Hauser & Wirth, SoHo

Mr. Price has created “towering bronze figures that amplify traditionally marginalized bodies” at Hauser & Wirth. In other words, these are really big sculptures of everyday Black people. There are five figures at the gallery and one has been installed in Times Square. On view until June 14th. 

 

Dennis Osadebe: Forcing Connections at Ceysson & Bénétière, Upper East Side

Mr. Osadebe combines themes of past and present in brightly colored paintings that are not quite as simple as they appear. On view until July 11th.    

 

UPDATED: Music 🎵

Karen Bernod at City Winery, Chelsea Piers

Karen Bernod, acclaimed background singer for Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, and Luther Vandross, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album Some Othaness For U with a live performance at City Winery. One night only on Monday, June 30 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $35.  

 

blacklove 🖤 and starlight 🌟