Arts in New York City: Baruch College, Fall 2008, Professor Roslyn Bernstein

Who says that a good Broadway show must incorporate a cast of dozens of talented performers with extensive experience, or be performed on a grand stage with the latest and greatest lighting and sound equipment? At the Duke on 42nd street, viewers can enjoy one of the best Broadway shows playing today: “Clay”, a one-man hip-hop performance by the extremely talented Matt Sax. While attending Northwestern University, Sax began to write this musical and performed versions of it at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Lookingglass Theatres/ About Face Theatre in Chicago before bringing it to The Duke in Times Square itself. A combination of heart-pumping music, a creative and emotional story, and spectacular acting make “Clay” a worthy Tony Award candidate. [Read more →]

As one can imagine, I expected the hip-hop musical Clay to be like nothing I had ever seen before.  Not only was it anything but ordinary, it also went above and beyond my expectations.  With a song about sleeping with his stepmother, the main man Clifford certainly has a few surprises up his hoodie sleeves.  This one-man musical was intensely entertaining.  [Read more →]

I had always looked down upon Hip Hop culture, partially because the gibberish language was too much of a distraction. I carried that thought with me when I arrived at the Duke on 42nd street, with a free ticket in my hand. It wasn’t until Clay, Hip Hop musical, started that I began to understand why Professor Bernstein chose this piece. It was different. Watching theatrical plays for the whole semester, I have always wanted to explore other form of art. Clay not only altered my view of Hip Hop culture but also exposed the audiences to Clifford’s World of broken promises and internal struggles. [Read more →]

What is the best approach to shoot street photographs? While some street photographers considered that the techniques of photographing are the most crucial parts of their work, Jeff Mermelstein emphasized simplicity and “perpetual hard work.” Taking the time out of his schedule, Mermelstein not only delivered his interpretation of street photography during the slideshow presentation but also gave the students an insight into creating their own themes for their street photography project. [Read more →]

In very, very short, Dr. Atomic was a letdown.  It was so built up in my mind, with all the talk of its radical libretto and dramatic background story.  I was ready for a mind-blowing first opera, both in the message that it would convey and the majesty of the actual performance.  I was shockingly underwhelmed.  As the brilliant stage lit up in stark light and growling music I stiffened my self in anticipation that there would be chills slipping up and down my spine from first note to last.  Fifteen minutes in and I was slumped, devoid of emotion and almost developing a headache. [Read more →]

The lights dim and the orchestra strikes a chord, pulling the audience into their seats.  As the overture concludes the stage silently creeps over the musicians’ heads, pushing the world of South Pacific into the world of the audience.  As the play progresses a giant airplane is brought on stage, setting it for the SeaBees to belt out their raucous rendition of “There Ain’t Nothing like a Dame”.  Their antics and underdog bromance keep the play glued together throughout the night, with the many plot lines separated by the different styles each actor will take with their role.  [Read more →]

Francine Prose as a writer is an exact one.  She makes every word count and tells us to do he same.  As a speaker she is sure of her words and herself, not giving a speech, more having a conversation.  Her humor holds a key to her being: dry, well placed comments that could be mistaken for passing thoughts if not for her perfect sense of timing. [Read more →]

francesrichey.com

Intimate. It is the best word available in the English language to describe Frances Richey. It describes everything about her – from her demeanor to her stories, and especially to her presence in a room. Her intimacy was recently put on display at a recent reading at the Macaulay Honor College. She read several selections from her new collection of poems, entitled The Warrior. These poems chronicle the ever-changing emotions that she felt when her son, Ben, was deployed to fight in Iraq. [Read more →]

International Center of Photography

His photographs spanned a continent, yet his message was heard worldwide. Inspired by the work of his brother Robert Capa, a prominent photojournalist, Cornell Capa set out on a journey at the young age of 18 to become a “concerned photographer.” Brian Wallis, the curator of the current exhibit of Capa’s work at the International Center of Photography, described a “concerned photographer” as a photographer who “demonstrated in their work a humanitarian impulse to use pictures to educate and change the world, not just to record it.” This exhibit entitled “Cornell Capa: Concerned Photographer” is a presentation of Capa journey to reveal the conditions of the human spirit around the world. [Read more →]

www.aboutfacetheater.com

     The set up is rather simple – one man, a small stage, a small audience. Even the theater, located between the huge luminescent attractions of 42nd street, is so small that it is difficult to find. Yet what happens in The Duke Theater night after night can only be described as grand. Adopting the unusual genre of a hip-hop musical, Clay is able to exhilarate its audiences with its dramatic lighting effects and thunderous music. [Read more →]