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This weekend promises a vibrant lineup of events, with LaChanze’s rendition of Ari’el Stachel’s deeply moving solo performance taking center stage. Meanwhile, the Lehman Center hosts “Ladies Night,” and the Feast of the Seven Fishes brings a festive touch to SoHo.
The holiday spirit is in full swing, marked by a delightful double-decker carousel stationed near Macy’s. Hudson Yards adds to the merriment with an array of complimentary events, featuring appearances by Santa Claus himself.
Theater
Greenwich House Theater — 27 Barrow St., Manhattan (Greenwich Village)
Running through December 6, with shows at various times.
At the heart of the season’s theatrical offerings is Ari’el Stachel’s critically acclaimed one-man show. In this introspective performance, the Tony Award-winning actor and playwright invites audiences into his world, sharing the challenges of his identity as an Arab Jew grappling with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Known for his role in the Tony-winning “The Band’s Visit,” Stachel masterfully portrays a range of characters and voices, each shedding light on his personal journey of self-discovery filled with intense and often humorous moments.
The Tony-winning “The Band’s Visit” star takes on myriad characters (and voices) to illustrate his coming-of-age journey and all of its sweat-drenched highs and lows.
“Other,” a 90-minute production directed by Tony Taccone, marks LaChanze‘s first foray as a lead producer. The Emmy and Tony-winning actress, singer and director has co-produced Broadway hits such as “Buena Vista Social Club,” “Purpose,” “The Outsiders” and “Kimberly Akimbo,” but Stachel’s powerful story was the perfect opportunity for her to take the reins.
“I felt that this project had the ability to create a conversation that would take the shame out of mental health… and his story is so universal,” she told the Daily News. “Yes, it is set on a young Israeli man, but it really is a play that everyone can see themselves in, whether you … align with his ability to feel like he’s othered, where he has so many different parts of himself that make up who he is, or if you go into the sadness of the fact that this young man had to hide who he was most of his life and took on other personas: He was white, he was Black, he was Middle Eastern, he was everything except who he was in terms of his lineage and his ethnicity.”
The story also “speaks to the moment and it speaks to the time,” which makes it relatable, LaChanze said.
“That’s the other part of it that I love: It’s so timely. I mean, he talks about anxiety. I don’t know anyone who’s not anxious these days… So I’m hoping people will walk away remembering what this is, feeling a little bit more confident and having empathy for those around them.”
Tickets start at $77.
Music
“Ladies Night”
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts — 250 Bedford Park Blvd. W., The Bronx (Kingsbridge Heights)
Sat. Nov. 29, 8 p.m.
R&B, pop and dance music fans will get a chance to enjoy three of the best female voices of their era when Deborah Cox, Estelle and Vivian Green take center stage on the Lehman College campus.
With chart-topping hits “Who Do U Love,” “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here” and “We Can’t Be Friends,” Cox will headline a night of songs about love, loss and everything in between. Grammy Award-winning “American Boy” chanteuse Estelle and “Get Right Back to My Baby” singer Vivian Green also plan to bring the crowd to their feet with a walk down memory lane.
Tickets start at $35.
Dance
Austin Richey
Complexions Contemporary Ballet. (Austin Richey)
Complexions Contemporary Ballet
The Joyce Theater — 175 8th Ave., Manhattan (Chelsea)
Through Nov. 30. Various times.
Award-winning dancers Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson‘s lauded dance company has returned for its annual two-week engagement — with three world premieres.
New works included in the program are Rhoden’s “Imagine Joy” set to Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” and “Young Lovers” by choreographer Houston Thomas, using the music of Jeff Buckley, Tarika Blue and MAW India as his soundtrack.
Complexions’ Co-Associate Artistic Director Joe González has also created “I Got U,” described in the program notes as “an emotional movement to remember the importance of community, connection and having someone to lean on.”
Rounding out the engagement is Rhoden’s “Love Rocks” from 2020, set to the music of Lenny Kravitz, along with other selections from Complexions’ iconic repertory.
Tickets start at $17.
Film
“Aftershock: The Nicole P Bell Story”
AMC Empire — 234 W. 42nd St., Manhattan (Times Square)
Opens Nov. 28. Various showtimes.
The brave and tragic story of Nicole Paultre-Bell, the former fiancée of Sean Bell — a 23-year-old unarmed Black man fatally shot in a hail of 50 bullets fired by undercover NYPD officers just hours before his wedding in 2006 — hits the big screen this weekend.
Directed and co-written by Alesia “Z” Glidewell, the Roc Nation-produced film stars Rayven Ferrell in the titular role, alongside Bentley Green, Kevin Jackson, Iyana Halley, Richard T. Jones and Richard Lawson as Rev. Al Sharpton.
“With this movie, I am pleased to share my journey — a journey of resilience, hope and the pursuit of justice,” said Bell, who serves as an executive producer. “It’s a story of the strength that resides within each one of us, a strength that propels us forward even in the darkest of times. The support my family has received over the years has been a constant source of motivation. It is my hope that this project will honor Sean’s memory and serve as a testament to the power of community.”
Tickets are $22.68.
Holiday
34th St. Partnership
The Christmas Carousel at Greeley Square. (34th St. Partnership)
Christmas Carousel
Greeley Square Park — 33rd St. and Broadway, Manhattan (Midtown)
Through Jan. 6. 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.
After Santa officially ushers in the Christmas season at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, there’s a major holiday attraction just steps away — New York City’s only two-story carousel, operated by the 34th Street Partnership.
Visitors of all ages can enjoy a memorable merry-go-round ride with 360-degree views of holiday cheer at the Urbanspace open-air market.
Tickets are $7.
Eats
Noah Fecks; FX
Visitors to the Feast of the Seven Fishes at Soho’s Piccola Cucina Estiatorio (main photo) won’t have to put up with the chaos on the infamous “The Fishes” episode of “The Bear” (inset). (Noah Fecks; FX)
“Feast of the Seven Fishes”
Piccola Cucina Estiatorio — 75 Thompson St., Manhattan (SoHo)
Ongoing for a limited time.
Diners who immerse themselves in the Feast of the Seven Fishes at SoHo’s Piccola Cucina Estiatorio won’t have to put up with the chaos that exploded amongst Carmy Berzatto’s family in that infamous episode of “The Bear,” aptly titled “Fishes.”
Etna-born chef Philip Guardione is serving up his Sicilian interpretation of the beloved Christmas Eve tradition with a prix fixe menu featuring a smorgasbord of seafood-themed dishes, like eggplant caponata topped with tuna; fried calamari, shrimp and zucchini; rolled swordfish cutlets with breadcrumbs and herbs; busiate pasta tossed with tuna, lemon and spinach; pasta with fresh sardines, fennel, pine nuts and raisins; sea bass with grilled vegetables and Sicily’s quintessential Christmas dessert, Buccellato.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes traces back to southern Italy, where families historically abstained from eating meat on Christmas Eve.
$150 per person.
Free
“Shine Bright at Hudson Yards”
Hudson Yards — 20 Hudson Yards, Manhattan (Hudson Yards)
Through Dec. 23. Various times.
The weekend after Thanksgiving is the perfect time to make way for some Christmas cheer.
For its sixth consecutive year, Hudson Yards will kick off the yuletide season with live performances, extended shopping hours and free photo ops with Santa — all set to the backdrop of over 2 million twinkling holiday lights, 725 evergreen trees, a 32-foot suspended hot air balloon and eight new 11-foot-tall toy soldiers.
Free.
If you have an upcoming weekend event you’d like to submit for consideration in an upcoming roundup, please email: nycevents@nydailynews.com with the full listing details. Consideration does not guarantee inclusion.
