Highlights this weekend include a Las Vegas-meets-Broadway style spectacle starring celebrated escape artist Lord Nil, an M. Night Shyamalan retrospective and Kel Mitchell‘s nostalgia-driven food festival.
There’s also free events including a Bob Mackie exhibit in SoHo and Troy Anthony’s music-centered adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Pericles” in Morningside Heights.
Theater
“Lord Nil: 7 Deadly Sins”
Stage 42 — 422 West 42nd St., Manhattan (Hell’s Kitchen)
Through Aug. 31, Various showtimes.
Times Square may be inching closer to getting its controversial casino plans approved thanks to this new stunt-magic spectacle that has taken theater audiences by storm during its limited engagement. Not the typical theater fare, the 70-minute show is not a play or musical but more of an immersive theatrical act playing Off-Broadway with live music (Erik Ventrice) and tight-knit choreography (Stefano Alessandrino).
Directed by Alberto Oliva, the edgy fun centers on a modern-day version of Harry Houdini, named Lord Nil, attempting high-risk escape feats and death-defying acts set to the seven deadly sins — pride, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, sloth and wrath.
The Italian illusionist and “extreme escape artist,” who competed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” sets out to conquer his fears live on stage in this limited engagement described as “a theatrical escape experience rooted in ancient symbolism, raw physical danger, and psychological suspense.”
Las Vegas star Steph Payne serves as the emcee and takes on the role of Vice, who entices Lord Nil into the sinful traps, which include a water tank, a rotating glass-covered maze filled with smoke and a scorching hot hibachi-like cooking surface only inches from his exposed skin (while others cook bacon and toast to prove its real).
Tickets start at $39.
Art
“Bob Mackie: From Sketches To Spotlight”
The Gallery at Soho Grand— 310 West Broadway, Manhattan (SoHo)
Through Aug. 31, 12 – 6 p.m.
The exclusive exhibition presented at a gallery tucked inside the sleek Soho Grand offers an up-close and personal look at Bob Mackie‘s strokes of genius.
Sketches, drawings and paintings from the archives of the fashion designer — nicknamed “The Sultan of Sequins” for the emblematic looks he created for the likes of Diana Ross, Cher, Marilyn Monroe and RuPaul (to name a few) — are on view to the public, some for the very first time.
The 9-time Emmy winner‘s bejeweled works represent early television costume concepts for The Supremes, Carol Burnett and Bette Midler, haute couture visions for Madonna and Tina Turner, and custom creations for stage and screen for Elton John, Liza Minnelli and Pink.
Free.
Film
“Night at the Movies: An M. Night Shyamalan Retrospective”
Walter Reade Theater — 165 West 65th St., Manhattan (Upper West Side)
Through Sept. 4, Various showtimes.
Director M. Night Shyamalan is the next filmmaker to get the Film at Lincoln Center retrospective treatment with a series celebrating his body of work.
Beloved movies such as his 1999 breakthrough “The Sixth Sense” and more recent fare like “Old” are being screened in 35mm when possible and presented in 2-for-1 double bills with films of his own choosing like Martin Scorsese’s “Cape Fear,” Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” and Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.”
“It’s truly a thrill and honor to present this double-feature twist on his retrospective, with the man himself,” senior programmer Tyler Wilson said of Shyamalan, who will be present for an in-person Q&A after the 5:30 screening of “Unbreakable” on Aug. 31.
Tickets are are $17, discounts and packages available.
Music
“PERICLES: A Public Works Concert Experience”
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine — 1047 Amsterdam Ave., Manhattan (Morningside Heights)
Through Sept. 2, 8 p.m.
Though she’s become a breakout star on HBO’s “The Gilded Age,” Denée Benton came to fame with her Tony Award nominated turn in 2016’s “Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812” on Broadway. We’re excited to hear her sing again — this time in this historic Gothic cathedral. She joins “Slave Play” star Ato Blankson-Wood and over 100 New Yorkers from all five boroughs in Troy Anthony’s newly reconceived adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Pericles, Prince of Tyre.”
Tony Award-winning non-binary trailblazer Alex Newell is also on the bill of the immersive musical experience directed by Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Carl Cofield and featuring choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher.
Free.
Food
“Kel’s Burger Fest”
Bk Backyard Bar —151 Banker St., Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Sat. Aug. 30, 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
If anyone is fit to be the face of a brand new ’90s-themed food festival devoted to celebrating burgers, it has to be Kel Mitchell.
The actor and comedian, known for the ’90s Nickelodeon variety series “All That” and its spinoff “Good Burger” movies, has teamed up again with Bucket Listers to kick off what he calls “a full-on burger bonanza” featuring throwback DJ sets, a ’90s dance battle, vintage flea market, carnival rides, a video arcade game lounge and special surprises.
“We’re bringing the energy, the flavor and the fun together for a truly unforgettable day,” he said. “Whether you grew up watching my shows or just love a good burger, this is the fest is for you. Can I take your order?”
Mitchell hand-picked local eateries — such as Next Stop Vegan, Oh Boy, Lacey Burgers and Bear Burgers — to serve up their most over-the-top, must-try creations for the “nostalgia fueled food summit,” Bucket Listers President of Experiences Derek Berry said.
Tickets are $33.
Outdoors
ImageNation OUTDOORS Film & Music Festival
Richard Rodgers Amphitheatre — 18 Mount Morris Park — Manhattan (Harlem)
Sat. Aug. 30, 8 p.m.
Emmy winner Nicole London’s acclaimed Hazel Scott documentary, “The Disappearance of Miss Scott” will close out the final night of this year’s event, celebrating its 23rd year with the theme of “Community, Culture & Connection.”
The pioneering entertainer, who died in 1981, famously resisted social and political oppression years before the civil rights movement. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, she was a child prodigy who broke ground as a jazz virtuoso and classical pianist in New York City during the 1930s and 1940s and would become the first Black woman to host her own regularly scheduled network TV show in 1950.
The film, co-presented with Black Public Media, is a fascinating and overdue chronicle of a woman who achieved the heights of fame and fortune before being blacklisted during the McCarthy Era.
Free.
Celebrate
“JAWS 50th Anniversary”
Select AMC Theaters throughout the city
Through Sept. 4. Various showtimes.
Just as summer winds down, the very first summer blockbuster is back on the big screen. In celebration of the 50th anniversary of “JAWS,” movie chains are bringing it back to the theaters this Labor Day weekend.
More than 400 AMC locations nationwide will show Steven Spielberg‘s killer-shark thriller in IMAX and RealD 3D. Limited edition “JAWS”-themed movie-themed collectible vessels for popcorn and soft drinks will also be available for purchase.
Based on Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel of the same name, the movie — filmed on Martha’s Vineyard — scared people out of the water and into the cinemas. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw play the men on the hunt for a man-eating great white shark wreaking havoc on a New England summer resort town. “JAWS” raked in close to $500 million worldwide and spawned three sequels.
Tickets are $30.18, discounts available.
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.
Originally Published:
