Lucky me! I’m vaccinated! Unfortunately, not enough of my people are vaccinated along with me, so there aren’t too many things we can do together. Just still waiting it out.
I am so sick of watching screens all day, every day, for over a year. That doesn’t mean I haven’t seen some great stuff. I just wish I could be doing something else. I can’t even remember the last time I went to the city.
But there is hope! City Winery has opened a brand new flagship location at Pier 57 in Hudson River Park. Concerts start in April, and they are limited to 100 people with socially distanced tables and a brand new ventilation system. The Shed in Hudson Yards will also begin having shows and concerts. Other venues will begin opening around NYC in mid-late April, such as Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club, but until then, they are holding virtual performances.
The main problem is that all these shows are already sold out. So here’s the thing, we have to start planning ahead if we want to partake in cultural events this year. Buy tickets as soon as they become available because limited seating means that not only the vaccinated will get tickets, but only 25% of them will.
Although I have not yet been able to take advantage of it, all the museums are open by appointment only. A friend said she went to the Met last week with her friend and she felt like she had the whole place to herself. MoMA PS1 will be having some great exhibits this spring including mammoth Saint Phalle sculptures (look it up- you’ve seen her work).
When the weather gets better, we can get back to the NY Botanical Garden and the Zoo and Central Park. Speaking of Central Park…Shakespeare in The Park will be back this summer at the Delacourt Theatre. A version of the Merry Wives of Windsor is in production! I just found out that Marie’s Crisis – the Greenwich Village famous piano bar - although closed, has been livestreaming on Facebook under the name Maries Group. (Frankly, that sounds like it beats reruns of Blue Bloods and Swamp People.)
All of these things sound great, but if you don’t get to enjoy them with your friends, are they still fun? So, if you are still quarantining, I can definitely recommend some things on Amazon Prime: One Night in Miami was excellent, so was Hillbilly Elegy. I loved Coming 2 America if only for the nostalgia factor, and I haven’t gotten around to it yet, but, I think I have to watch Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. One of my students has been nagging me to watch it.
Netflix hasn’t been so exciting, but at least we can catch up on things friends recommend. I hear the thing to try is the Turkish Netflix shows, supposedly, subtitles notwithstanding, the stories are really great. But maybe it’s time to drop some streaming services in lieu of some others. The kids and grandkids have been diving into Disney+ and some other friends love Hulu. Paramount’s new streaming service sounds like a great resource, just a huge back catalog of movies. But, like I said, I’m sick of screens!
I hope you are all well, all recovered, vaccinated and immune, with prospects for arts consumption and fresh air with friends and family in your near future. Stay positive!