LATEST NEW YORK TRIP: WTC, WAR HORSE, SPIDER-MAN,

Charles Amara
Linc: Exploring Museums of New York
Dr. Baxter
10/30/2011

On Saturday 29, 2011 the Exploring Museums of New York class travelled to New York City for a very interesting day of learning and entertainment by attending the Twin Towers and the City exhibition, as well as two Broadway musical features War Horse and Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. From the start both the weather and climate did nothing but bring a damper on the fun. The ungainly wind evolved into cold rain and snow that caused students to put on their gloves and take out their umbrellas. However the positives of the trip proved to outmatch Mother Nature. The first stop of the trip was made at the Museum of the City of New York, where the works of Camilo Jose Vergara transformed from extraordinary photos to a time vault. The photo exhibit was very grabbing because it was a distinctive look at the twin Towers of New York City. Shots of the towers through the years made the exhibit stand out from the fact that the pictures were not murals or canvas creations but ordinary pictures taken from the same locations at different points of time. An example of Vergara’s work included the history behind the Twin Towers, and their creation by a designer none other than Minoru Yamasaki. The third floor of 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street was filled with photos of hard to reach angles and beautiful perfection of locations and good use of space. Some of the photos range from the early 1960’s through September 11, 2001 when the towers fell. Some of the photos create an emotional connection with those who have lived in the city and gone through the social changes that New York brings, meaning the towers represent more than just buildings. The towers represent a social identity, an identity known as the big apple.

After the first swing at the Museum of the City of New York, the class had a great opportunity to get their imaginations rubbed with the help of War Horse. The musical, which took place at the grand locations known as the Lincoln Center Theatre at 150 West 65th Street, was a very surreal yet live performance. Presented with horses, war and the turmoil of friendship, War Horse was a spectacular way for people to look at the issues of conflict among humans and animals. The idea is that no live horses are used in the musical, only actors, props, and puppets.. At first speculations were made about the reality of the horses and how they would interrupt the thinking process of the viewers. However the originative designs created such a close connection because they were not simply puppets. The animals were breathing and making sounds. The animals, not puppets, were cleaver and very different from the average string puppets. Not only did the performance of the animals superb, but the story itself was something one could get very close with. The connection between the audiences and the story line made War Horse a must see musical.

After the beautiful message of friendship and ideality in War Horse took place, the class attended the Broadway sensation Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. Logically one thinks of comics and classic television shows when hearing Spider-Man. Although the musical stuck to some of the original Spidey foundations, it was mostly judge based on the music created by Bono of the music group U2. A lot of the students complained that the music was not up to par with what they were expecting. In some ways the fact that Bono created the score greatly elevates the expectations of what one could expect, and the truth is that the music is important but the overall experience is more important. The play brought great interactivity with the audience, mostly children and teens who found joy in seeing a man swinging from the balcony section. The musical focused on great design and accuracy for all the action events. Anything could have happened to the actors at any time, so it is very important to look at the aspect of art that deals with precision and mastery of one’s environment. The sets were of course very vibrant and very comic bookish, but this was all a part of the plan. The stage was rotating at different scenes, and a great deal of ropes and heights were used for the creation. All together the musical was exciting because of its buzz and attention making it a must see. But overall it was a simple musical and just another Broadway sensation. In conclusion, Wicked would have had a greater chance of “casting a spell” on the audience.

Warhorse and The Attack of the evil Chuckie Cheese!

October 29, 2011, the trip to the City steps off into some strange day. At the Museum of The City of New York we have a tour of an exhibit on the World Trade Center and Twin Towers through photography, it was very interesting, but strange as our tour guide, the Manhattan borough historian, disappeared after having us watch a very interesting film on the history of New York City. After the museum we head to Lincoln Center for Warhorse. The day gets strange as snow starts falling, in the middle of autumn really? Yes snow in NYC. After walking around for a little before the show, we get to the theater and see a great performance of Warhorse. The use of the life size puppets was amazing. After Warhorse we were off to Times Square, once again I wonder around a little, not the best weather for it, but I don't mind. I ended up having dinner at my favorite restaurant Virgil's once again. Then onto Spiderman Turn Off The Dark. In my opinion it was not the greatest at all. As one cast member said that it is the most famous show on Broadway, I agree for the idea that its the most famous worst show on Broadway. To me the costumes appeared as it was a Chuckie Cheese that attempted to be scary but ended up being extremely funny. In the end the only positive thing about the show was the set design. The intricate layout of items of the set coming from the floor and the ceiling and sides of the stage made up for the awful soundtrack and off key singing of the majority of the lead role actors.

The Met

Saturday’s trip to New York City proved itself to be full of surprises. Having been to both the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art myself, I had jumped to assumptions about our itinerary. I knew that though the Cloisters Museum was owned by the Met, and that the experience at each Museum is quite different. However, I did not fully understand that several visits to the same museum could provide a viewer with differing experiences.
The first time I walked up the undulating cobblestones to the Medieval Museum a couple of years ago I was excited. I had an interest in the overlapping of history and art, but I had contently viewed every artifact in the museum within forty-five minutes.
As you may imagine, I was overwhelmed with my most recent timeframe at the Cloisters. Three hours was more than enough time to revisit an exhibition. I decided that the first piece that I found intriguing I would sketch in my journal. I found a Beautiful sculpture of Saint Anthony Abbot in the first room. Surprisingly it was his face that caught my eye, but the devil





at his feet that ignited my curiosity. This 15th century walnut sculpture portrayed the hermit heroically resisting the devil’s viciousness, impaling its mouth with his staff.
I continued to sketch what amazed me. I had become so absorbed in the art that I almost missed the tour –which had proved to be far more interesting than I could have imagined thanks to our connoisseur. I was fascinated by the symbols that classified the saints, the physics of the gothic windows, and the history of the construction of the Cloister’s. My second visit to the museum had been drastically more pleasurable than my first experience.
Contrary, I was a little disappointed with our brief experience in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Being there several times, I knew what I wanted to see more of and what had already lost my interest. I never have enough time in the gargantuan museum to further explore the European Art –which is what truly captivates me. I could simply sit and admire the brushstrokes in some of the paintings for hours.
I envied the art classes held in the Met, and even the people that are free to sketch the Greek sculptures at their will. For a moment when our class was amongst all of the white, beautifully carved human figures, I thought I would finally have my opportunity to full on sketch. To my dismay we hurried on to see the Pompeii room before I could finish.
For a museum as large as the Met, we were not given enough time to explore on our own. Yes, it is an overwhelming floor plan that prevents any human from viewing everything in one day; it is also a building that contains such a considerable variety of art, that everyone finds something that interests them.
I would not object to another visit to both the Cloisters Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I am curious to see if yet another experience is possible.

Tours,Shows, and Protests...O MY!!!

This adventure in New York City was by far the most interesting. From an amazing tour to discontent in the streets, it certainly was a day to remember. We started our trip like any other, unaware of the events to come, on a bus heading into the strange metal jungle known as NYC. We arrived at Lincoln Center with plenty of time to spare before our minds would be inundated with new theater information. As always the males separated in their own group at the females found their way into Starbucks! After what seemed like ages our tour started. Gina, Bryanna, Kayla, and I, along with Dr.Shosh and co, were lead into the most beautiful theater I have ever seen, The Koch Theater, commonly known as, The Jewel Box Theater. It was magnificent, from gold leaf ceilings to watch band elevators; no part of the theater was left out of the glitz and glamor. Soon after we were honored enough to see the stage and horses used for the show Warhorse, which is the next show we will see. The set was amazing and it is not common for viewers to get a back stage view like that. Sadly the tour ended, to soon in my opinion, and we were off to the Booth Theater to see our first show of the day Other Desert Cities. The show is about a family on the brink of destruction due to the secrets that stem from the death of the oldest son and the veil of secrets surrounding the event. I felt the cast was extremely powerful and as an audience member I could feel the emotion they portrayed, nothing was done without meaning. As the show progressed I was truly shocked by the events. After this show we had a massive amount of free time, which we all planned to fill with shopping. However fate had other plans, A protest of epic proportions sprung up in Times Square while we were eating lunch. I’m still unsure exactly what they thought they were going to accomplish. We spent Hours just trying to cross the street, only to be forced back to the other side. Angrily we made our way to The Friedman Theater to await the “90 Minuet’s of good Kinky Fun” Venus in Fur promised us. Venus in Fur was by far my favorite production of the day, from mishaps to Greek Goddess revenge, the show kept me guessing the inter time.

A Day of Family Drama, Protesting and Kinky Fun

Our day in NYC was a blast, like usual, although the protests in Times Square made it a bit more difficult this time! We started off the day with a tour of the Lincoln Center, where we got to see theater that War Horse is performing in. The most exciting part of the tour for me was when we got to see the "Jewel Box" theater where the dance productions are performed, and also where Black Swan was filmed.

Our first show of the day was Other Desert Cities, which was about the struggle a family has when their daughter decides to write a book about her dead brother. The show was captivating, and it definitely sucked the audience into the family's drama. It did seem to drag on at some points, but the ending was a shocking twist that I definitely didn't see coming. Since Other Desert Cities was moved from its original home, the Lincoln Center theater (to make room for War Horse), the set wasn't altered at all and was still in a circular shape. It didn't matter too much, but sometimes the actors' backs would be facing the audience because of the layout of the set. My only complaint was that it was tough to be sympathetic for Brooke or any of the other family members, especially once the truth about her brother is revealed. Nevertheless it was a great show, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to see it.

After Other Desert Cities we had a great deal of free time, so we all headed over to Junior's and stuffed ourselves full of great food. Afterwards, we decided to check out some stores in Times Square, but little did we know that it would be no easy feat! Many of the sidewalks were lined with metal barricades, making it nearly impossible to even cross the street. We stood outside and took videos and pictures while people (and... zombies?!) chanted and paraded around with signs. After we'd had enough of the action, we headed over to the Samuel J. Friedman theater for the final performance of the day, Venus in Fur.

Venus in Fur is a play full of "kinky fun," and is about a director looking for the perfect actress for his play, and the seemingly klutzy young actress that comes to audition for the part. While there was some "technical difficulty" in the beginning of the show that resulted in a temporary delay, but this was quickly forgiven by the audience once the play got into full swing. Both actors were phenomenal, switching between the "script" the director has written and their own characters, it's constantly a surprise of what will happen next, especially at the end. The fun wasn't as "kinky" as the show described, but it switched between funny and serious flawlessly.

Both shows of the day were extraordinary, thanks to their shocking and unpredictable endings, and I'm glad to have seen both shows. We had a wonderful (although hectic) day in NYC, and I can't wait to see what our next trip will bring!

Family Disputes, Goddesses in Disguise, and History in the Making: Yet Another Broadway Adventure

To call our latest trip into New York City a small adventure would be a small understatement. Not only did we have the pleasure of watching two brilliant straight plays on Broadway, but we also had the questionably privilege of seeing the freedom of speech in action. The day started out early, as usual, and we arrived at Lincoln Center at around 9:30 in the morning. Now, I've personally been to Lincoln Center mire times than I can count. As I live only a few miles from the city, my high school Humanities class frequently utilized the nearby arts center as a means of allowing us to experience various professional arts, including the NYC Philharmonic orchestra, the Metropolitan Opera, and a performance of the Nutcracker at the NYC Ballet. As this was not my first time at Lincoln Center, I was able to point our group to all the best places to stay warm while waiting for our tour.

Our tour of Lincoln Center was really amazing and highly interesting. While most of the tour consisted of going into the various theaters and looking at the performance spaces, there was still a lot of insightful information given to us by the tour guide which helped to recreate the theaters themselves to be another form of art. One of the most interesting moments of the tour was went we were able to view the backstage for one of the shows which we will be seeing next weekend called War Horse. Our tour guide also provided amazing insight into the world of the performers, particularly the dancers, as her own daughter has been a serious dancer from a very young age.

After the tour we traveled down to Broadway in order to see the first of our two shows, Other Desert Cities. This play was about a family which had become broken over political differences and their unspoken past in which the eldest son rebelled against his parents' strongly conservative and Republican ideals and became involved with a horrible bombing which ended in his supposed suicide. The characters were incredibly written and the actors brought them to life in a way which made them seem as if the audience was simply looking in on their family through some sort of secret camera. The only thing about the show which I didn't find to my liking was the emotion. While the emotion of the show was vivid and realistic, it was this realism which make me feel as if I were watching a video of my own family on rerun. Even though my family has never had the exact same problems as the family in Other Desert Cities, the emotions portrayed on stage felt all too familiar and make me feel like I was back home. While the realist emotion was the result of incredible acting, I felt as if it was something which I've experienced too much in real life and wasn't unique to theater.

The second show which we say, entitled Venus in Fur, was certainly a surprise. As the show was described as "90 minutes of kinky fun," all of us were kind of dreading the impending awkward experience. The actual show, however, was not nearly as awkward as we had all expected. In fact, it was a very interesting modern take on the classic Greek legend of a goddess in disguise. While it was not on the same level as Other Desert Cities, Venus in Fur was certainly an interesting show within a show that referenced back to the more Greek and Roman origins of theater with its mythological plot.

While both of these shows were wonderful, perhaps the high-light of my day in the city was the protest which took up all of Times Square. On the very day that we once more journeyed into the city jungle, the Occupy Wall St. protesters decided that it would a good idea to take their message across Manhattan Island. The insanity began about mid-day. As we walked the streets of the Times Square area, we were met with police barriers, zombies, and random individuals with signs. As we neared the heart of Times Square, we found ourselves looking into the heart of a sea of protesters. Shouts rang through the air and the streets crawled with zombies and police officers. As our group took shelter within the nearest clothing store, I couldn't take my eyes off of the protests that had taken over the theater district. As I watched the protest grew. A river of individuals came down 47th St and 7th Ave and pooled into the center of Times Square. Strangely dressed individuals walked about as the protesters climbed on statues and light posts. Police cars and vans lined the side streets and the protests continued to flood Times Square. While I may not agree with everything that the protesters were saying, there is the undeniable fact that the protests themselves were strangely beautiful to watch. As a history buff, there is a certain trend I've noticed when it comes to change. Change has a way of no simply just occurring, but rather it needs some sort of spark. The people need to speak out and say that change is needed, for better or worse, in order for change to happen on any level. So whether you agree or not with the Occupy Wall St. protesters, the fact remains that they are demanding change. And for better or worse, change is needed. So even though I didn't agree fully with several of their messages, I found the protest fascinating simply because I was able to witness and experience the very heart of social change. And whether I agree or not doesn't matter so much as the fact that individuals have stopped simply sitting around and complaining to their t.v.'s about what they think needs to be done and are actually out there shouting to the world that they believe that time for change has arrived.

Endings With A Punch!

On this past journey into the city, I experienced my first two straight, Broadway plays. But before I get into that, I got to tour the Lincoln Center. The Lincoln Center is the home of the Met Opera, the NY Philharmonic, and the NYC Ballet. We got to tour every theatre, but the Met which was disappointing because they were getting ready to film a live performance.

The first show we saw was Other Desert Cities and it was a very emotional ride. It was a play with five actors, but within each actor there was such power and presence on the stage. The set was made to look like a realistic house, in fact it was so realistic the fireplace had real fire coming from it! The most powerful part about the show was that every character's movement, body language and action had a purpose to it. The actors were outstanding and the work they did made the story that more enticing and powerful.

The second play we saw was Venus in Fur where there were only two actors performing. This proved to be even more of a challenge than the five people in Other Desert Cities because they had to keep our attention and keep us entertained for and hour and thirty minutes. It was one man and one woman and they pulled it off. The woman was so highly energized the whole show, I really do not know how she kept it up- it was a demanding role that constantly had to be on top of its feet. The core of their success in this show was the actors ability to keep their energy up and sustain it throughout the entirety of the performance.

What I loved about seeing these two plays were the endings of the shows. During the last few seconds of the ending scene, there was a beautiful moment where everything clicked in my mind and it brought the show to a complete ending. It may not have answered all the key questions, but rather, it was left open for the audience members own interpretation and reaction. That is what made me say, "Wow, this play was really amazing". The ending in Venus in Fur made me realize what was really happening the entire time and I was so excited when I figured it out. Other Desert Cities left me in an emotional state that was satisfactory to the events that occurred in the show. I will always remember these two plays because they were my first, and the endings packed a punch!