Filed under: Do, Go, Laugh, Listen, Watch | Tags: cheap, deals, Emmanuel Chabrier, French, L'Etoile, Lincoln Center, Madama Butterfly, NYC Opera, opera, Opera for All, Partenope, Puccini
Madcap kings! Mistaken identities! Fortune tellers! And it’s in French!
Thanks to the generosity of the good folks at the NYC Opera running the Opera for All program, I scored $25 orchestra seats (normally priced at $75 to $145) to see Emmanuel Chabrier’s L’Etoile tonight at the Lincoln Center. It’s a NYMag critic’s pick, and it sounds like it’s going to be a rollicking good time (or as rollicking as possible for opera).
Photo credit: Sara Krulwich for The New York Times
I’m so excited!
To score your own $25 orchestra seat tickets to upcoming shows of Madama Butterfly or Partenope, visit the Opera for All website and enter promo code OFA1 or call 212.721.6500. Tickets for same-week performances go on sale at 10 am. $6.50 service and handling charge per ticket if you purchase by phone or online. Performances for this season run through April 18th before going on hiatus until the 2010-2011 season begins, so get on it.
A professed logophile, I am partial to online games like Text Twist, crosswords, and of course, Scrabble. Luckily for me, with the advent of gadgets and widgets on iGoogle and Facebook and the like, I can play Scrabble whenever I want, even if no one I know wants to play with me in person. I can play online with people I know, as well as with fellow Scrabble lovers I don’t know.
If you have iGoogle, add the Scrabble widget by clicking here.
To add Scrabble to your Facebook, add the app here.
If you have an iPhone, you can download the app for $4.99.
Filed under: Do, Eat, Go, Shop, Watch | Tags: Foursquare, How to Make it in America, restaurants, shopping
This Sunday at 10 pm, you can watch episode two of the new HBO series How To Make It In America. The first episode reminded me of a toned-down Entourage, which is not that surprising considering Mark Walhberg is an exec producer. They’ve teamed up with the folks at Foursquare to create a Foursquare badge that you can unlock at the following NYC restaurants and retailers, which I guess may be set to appear in future episodes of the show or simply exude the attitude of the show’s characters. Make HTMIIA your Foursquare friend, then check into any 3 of 20 possible New York nightlife or dining destinations. List courtesy of Eater.com.
If you’ve found yourself here wondering what Japanese restaurant Rachel told Ben he needed to move on with his life at in Episode 2, my best guess is Shima Japanese Restaurant, a 2nd Ave mainstay. The only clue I have besides the vague description “that sake place on 2nd Ave” and my understanding of the HTMIIA as a downtown kind of crew are the interior shots of the restaurant, and while I haven’t been to Shima, it seems the most likely fit since none of the Japanese restos below are actually on 2nd Ave.
If you’re looking for the Mexican restaurant where Rachel had her birthday party, it was La Esquina in SoHo.
| Restaurants | Shopping |
| Diner | A.P.C. |
| Momofuku Ssam Bar | Apple Store |
| Momofuku Milk Bar | Barney’s |
| Little Owl | Beacon’s Closet |
| Spotted Pig | Bird |
| Aldea | Built By Wendy |
| Minetta Tavern | Fred Flare |
| Public | John Varvatos |
| Cosmo’s Diner | Muji |
| Peasant | Oak |
| La Esquina | Odin |
| Blue Ribbon | Opening Ceremony |
| Locanda Verde | Prada |
| Roberta’s | Scoop |
| Fette Sau | Steven Alan |
| Balthazar | Tokio 7 |
| Freeman’s Restaurant | Top Shop |
| Motorino | Uniqlo |
| Al Di La | |
| Frankie’s 457 | |
| Marea | |
| Vinegar Hill House |
BlackBookMag has also teamed up with the aspirationally driven folks at HBO’s How to Make It in America, and they are proud to offer you the chance to achieve a personal gold standard by unlocking the exclusive BlackBook Nightlife badge on Foursquare. Make HTMIIA your Foursquare friend, then check into any 3 of 20 possible New York nightlife or dining destinations (restaurants are the new nightlife, you know), and you’ll get the shiny new Foursquare badge pictured here. Frankly, eating or having a drink at the impressive list of venues is reward enough! But playas play on.
Eligible Check-ins:
Filed under: Do, Drink, Listen, Love | Tags: free, karaoke, LES, Mondays, music
Karaoke is in my blood. Maybe it’s the Korean in me. Maybe it’s because when my dad sings, the skies open up and sunlight floods out as angels bust out harps and trumpets and whatever other angelic instruments there are. Or maybe it’s just plain awesome, period.
I wandered over to Arlene’s Grocery (it is NOT a grocery, by the way) on Monday night for rock and roll karaoke at the request of a very good friend. It’s free, it’s in my neighborhood, and let’s be frank, I had nothing better to do on a Monday night. By the time I arrived around 11 or so, the basement was packed with people wiggling as best they could in the dark, dank, and shwetty space in front of the stage, where thankfully, there is a bar. ($6 will get you a Blue Moon.) There is a LIVE BAND backing you up when you sing, so you can pretend that you are really a rock star and maybe even stage dive after your song (though I suspect that is frowned upon, and you probably won’t be allowed back).
Some things I’ve learned about rock and roll karaoke:
Some things I’ve learned about rock and roll karaoke:- Get there early. The place is open until 3 or 4 am, but dibs on when you sing is first come first serve. You don’t want to end up singing to the four piss drunk people left at the bar at 3 am. Or maybe you do. I suppose that’s up to you.
- Have your song of choice ready. The set list is available here. They only allow each song to be performed once in an evening, so have your song all picked out (plus alternates in case it gets taken), and (1) get there early so you don’t end up scrambling at the last minute.
- Be prepared to bring it, or at least be aware that some of the other people who are going to sing will make you look bad. NYC is full of talented performers. There are a lot of them at Arlene’s, and some of the regulars will blow your mind. My personal favorite is the little man who sang Pretty Woman wearing a sombrero (which he threw off for dramatic effect) and a green shirt that read, “Single and ready to JINGLE.”
- It’s okay if you forget the words or when you’re supposed to start singing. There is a guy in the back who sings backup in case you get caught up in the moment and blank.
- If you are really good, everyone screams, “HOLY SHIT!” at the end of your song. You want that.
Arlene’s Grocery, Lower East Side, 95 Stanton Street, NYC. Map it! Live rock and roll karaoke every Monday night form 10 pm till the band gets sick of hearing you sing.
I had an absolutely smashing Fashion’s Night Out, despite the fact that Sara and I were technically working until 10:30 pm or so, handing out flyers for Videofashion Daily, asking store managers to leave said flyers in their boutiques, and targeting anyone with a shopping bag and telling them to watch Videofashion Daily on NYC TV. Anna Wintour’s brainchild was a rip roaring success for me… and I can say that I definitely spent money I had not planned to spend, so I guess it was a success for some retailers, as well.
Award for boutique with the cutest giveaway goes to Anya Hindmarch, where eager ladies were served Pimm’s Cups with cucumbers and strawberries, told to pick out their favorite fall Anya purse, and line up for a photo op. Designer Anya was in the house, amicably chatting up customers in line, suggesting props, and commenting on the photos… ( though we didn’t even know it was her at the time!) She will choose a winner, who will get to keep the purse with which she was photographed. I chose the 3 pocket clutch in a lovely dove gray, as shown here, and picked a large, furry Russian style hat with ear flaps as my prop. It was fun to be a pretend model, and let’s be honest, everyone looks better in black & white photos!
Best celebrity sighting: Rihanna outside the Intermix store. Wearing a draped black hood, sunglasses, and looking fierce.
Deal of the evening at Jill Stuart: Party All the Time live DJ, Arizona tea and vodka cocktails, 50% all vintage. I bought a knockout black silk cocktail dress with deep sweetheart neckline and front draping for $150 marked down from $650 (77% off)! Sara got perfume.
Designer photo op of the night at 3.1 Phillip Lim: Champagne and photo-ops with the designer himself. Apparently, they did $30k in sales in the 1st 2 hrs of FNO. It helps when the world-famous designer is on hand to help customers… how can you say no to Phillip frickin’ Lim?
First stop of the night and greatest store discovery: Kisan Concept Store. I’d never seen this shop on Greene before, and I’m sorry for it! The shop is beautifully curated with a quirky French Japanese aesthetic with houseware, women’s and children’s clothing, stationary, jewelry, and random housewares and knickknacks. The staff is mostly French, and all of them supremely friendly. Served Mango Cointreau martinis and Sparkling Pear martinis, both delicious. If I were rich and could afford to spend $190 on a scarf, I would buy the Sonia Rykiel wool and feather scarf in a grayish taupe so I could feel beautiful and glamourous and rich every time I put it on.
Replay: deep fried veal meatballs, seasoned giant olives, firm Italian cheese, champagne
Penguin: live window models, beer
SPACE.NK apothecary: free makeovers and rose wine (I bought a Nars lipstick in Heat Wave here)
Y-3: Prosecco and margaritas, live DJ
Cotelac: wine, cheese, grapes, and crackers, fancy postcards, live music
Rag & Bone: Irish beers (Guinness & more), Irish band (fiddles + guitars), tables to sit at
MAC: pulled pork mini sliders, deep fried mac n’ cheese, chocolate truffles, Cokes in mini classic bottles, live DJ
Longchamp: white wine and champagne, live DJ
Chanel: free manis and bubblies, live DJ
Trend alert: girl DJs were rockin’ it everywhere!
Filed under: Do, Listen, Watch | Tags: concert, Jamie Lidell, music, Poisson Rouge, WVill
And I’m going! When I saw the Jamie Lidell show last summer, I was completely blown away by his spirited, jazzy, funky, high energy R&B electronica. It was seriously the most fun I’ve ever had at a show, what with all the crazy lighting and deejay tricks, and I can’t wait to see him again at Le Poisson Rouge at 158 Bleecker Street (West Village) tomorrow night (Saturday, Sept. 5). Click the image on the right for more info.
$20 advance purchase Click here to buy tickets
$22 at the door and same day
He’ll be performing a solo show, and Born Ruffians and Hundred in the Hands will also be playing at other times during the night.
Tonight, I’m going to the Met’s first-ever Summer HD Festival to see La Boheme starring Angela Gheorghiu (one of my favorite Carmens) and Ramon Vargas. The screening is absolutely free with no tickets required; 2800 seats on a first-come, first serve.
Special three-course takeout boxed “Pique-Niques” dinners are available from 5 to 8pm during the Summer HD Festival at Bar Boulud for $19, cash only, across the street from the Met. Click here for more information.
On Monday, I might even go to see Madama Butterfly, make it a Puccini long weekend.
La Bohème – Friday, September 4 at 8 pm
Franco Zeffirelli’s production of Puccini’s La Bohème features Angela Gheorghiu as Mimì, Ramón Vargas as Rodolfo Ainhoa Arteta as Musetta, Ludovic Tézier as Marcello, Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard, Oren Gradus as Colline, and Paul Plishka in the dual roles of Benoit and Alcindoro. Nicola Luisotti conducts. Approximate running time: 130 minutes.
Madama Butterfly – Monday, September 7 at 8:00 pm
Academy Award-winning film director Anthony Minghella’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly stars Patricia Racette as Cio-Cio-San, Marcello Giordani as Pinkerton, Dwayne Croft as Sharpless, and Maria Zifchak as Suzuki. Patrick Summers conducts. Approximate running time: 145 minutes
For the full Summer HD Festival schedule, visit the official Met Opera site.
It’s not going to be the same as actually seeing the performance live, but it’s free, it’s outdoors, and it’s the Met in HD! I’m excited.
I can’t say I’ve ever really felt a burning desire to watch a Greek tragedy enacted by players (not the yo whatup kind of players but the acting kind). The names Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides just don’t come up in my everyday conversations the way that Shakespeare does.
Accordingly, I was super excited when Jill scored two tickets to Shakespeare in the Park this week. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (a longtime favorite — I played Hermia in my 5th grade class production) with Anne Hathaway! Wait… nope, that’s over now. Instead, it turned out I’d be watching Bacchae. Hmm… I’ve never heard of that particular Shakespearean piece. This should be enlightening.
And enlightening it was. I thought I was going to be watching a Shakespearean rendition of some tale from Greek mythology, but it turns out that Euripedes, not Shakespeare, wrote Bacchae. Don’t you judge me. It’s called Shakespeare in the Park. Is it so preposterous that I assumed Bacchae was a lesser-known Shakespearean play? (more…)
