John Pizzarelli Pays Tribute to Tony Bennett; NYC's Indie Music Decade; Golden Age Magicians at NYPL; Siblings, MMA Fighting & Recovery in New Play 'Monsters'
This year is the centennial birthday of the late Tony Bennett, who passed away at the age of 96 in 2023. Guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli has recorded a tribute album of Bennett's music, Dear Mr. Bennett, from which Pizzarelli performs live in our studio. He also discusses his family connection to Tony Bennett, and preview his residency at Birdland in support of the album through March 7.
Indie music has a long history in New York. Author Ronen Givony has written a new book, Us v. Them: The Age of Indie Music and a Decade in New York (2004-2014), reflecting on a decade of the indie scene in Brooklyn in the 2000s under the Bloomberg administration, the artists who made up the bands, and fans who created the community. Givony, who also is an artistic director at Le Poisson Rouge, discusses writing the book and his memories of the music from that time. Ronen Givony will be in conversation with Nabil Ayers about the book at Greenlight bookstore Thursday night at 7:30.
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were a special time for magic in New York, coinciding with the rise of vaudevilles, circuses, and mainstream theaters, as well as innovations in publishing and science. A new exhibit at the New York Public Library, "Mystery and Wonder: A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York City," presents rare items from the NYPL's Library for the Performing Arts. Annemarie van Roessel, assistant curator of the Billy Rose Theatre Division, discusses what's on view, and the long history of magicians in New York.
The new play 'Monsters,' from Manhattan Theater Club, follows a sister looking for mentorship from her estranged brother, a successful Mixed Martial Arts fighter and recovering alcoholic, as they reconnect and uncover what they both inherited from their shared father. Actors Aigner Mizzelle and Okieriete Onaodowan talk about the show, which is running at City Center through March 22.
