It’s been a terrible week for New York with Hurricane Sandy barreling through, leaving so much destruction. For some of us in the L.E.S. lucky enough to have only lost power and water, it all seems like a time warp—a mere, yet strange, interruption in our everyday lives. But many of our neighbors and friends lost their homes—some even loved ones, and for them the recovery continues. As I write this, thousands of people in the LES are still without heat or hot water. A lot of us have been helping out, volunteering to assist the elderly and the less fortunate. (Follow the Lo-Down for updates!)
As far as the arts downtown, everything below 34th Street was closed last week. You may have read about flooding in some of the Chelsea galleries in the NY Times. In our hood alone, the New Museum, the Museum at Eldridge Street and the Tenement Museum were shuttered. Abrons Arts Center, La Mama, Drom, The Public and Dixon Place, to name a few theater spaces, were dark and are just now slowly re-opening. Fortunately, my Arts Watch pick for last week (which wasn’t posted due to the hurricane), Yvonne Rainer and Group at Danspace Project, has been rescheduled for January 24, 25, and 26, 2013.
So, as they say, the show must go on. This week, according to the Off Broadway League, in the spirit of solidarity, a group of downtown theaters are offering $20 dollar tickets to some of the hottest shows in town, including the Public Theater’s Giant (my pick for October 22nd).
A bit closer to home, Paul Taylor’s Taylor 2 dance company is offering a free Sunday afternoon concert at 3pm, at Abrons Arts Center.
Hopefully, the sun will continue to shine for a few more days on the LES.
