december9–22, 2019 | newyork 131an evening-length piece for piano and sevendanc-
ers, premiered in 2017, but you can seeit anew at
the Joyce Theater with Dinnerstein atthekeys.
THEATER
- (^) See Get on Your Knees
Don’t blow it.
Lucille Lortel Theatre, December 14 to January26.
Jacqueline Novak’s hilarious and oddlyphilo-
sophical one-woman show about fellatioseems
like it would ... peter out after 30 minutes.Yet
Novak bestrides the stage as a comedycolossus,
hermicrophonecordslungoveroneshoulderlike
a bandolier, and tells us about her longquest to
performtheperfectblowjob.In meditatingon
schlongs and their moods, she shares agreatdeal
about herself and feminism, as well asthevocab-
ularies used to shield men from theirvulnerabil-
ity. It’s raunchy and thoughtful. helenshaw
TV - (^) Wat ch Live in Frontof
a Studio Audience
More ’70s sitcoms performed in real time.
ABC, December 18.
In May, ABC recruited all-star casts (KerryWash-
ington, Jamie Foxx, Woody Harrelson,Marisa
Tomei) to stage live performances of episodesofAll
in the Family and The Jeffersons, a pairof Norman
Lear classics. The concept was such a successthat
they’re doing it again with holiday-inspiredepi-
sodes of All in the Family and Good Times.I can’t
help it, I have to say it: Dyn-o-mite! j.c.
OPERA
- (^) See Der Rosenkavalier
A revival.
Metropolitan Opera, opens December 13.
Strauss’s intoxicating concoction of viennoiserie
never gets stale, and Robert Carsen’s 2017 pro-
duction scrapes away some of the whipped-cream
décor and focuses attention where it belongs:on
the characters. Simon Rattle conductsa cast that
includes Camilla Nylund as the “aging” (i.e.,
32-year-old) Marschallin and MagdalenaKozená
as her boy lover Octavian. justindavidson
BOOKS - (^) Read The Yellow House
Her childhood home.
Grove Press.
Sarah M. Broom’s National Book Awardwinneris
as much memoir as historical nonfiction.Broom,
the youngest of 12 children, grew up ina shotgun
house in Louisiana and weaves togethera hun-
dred years of family history with the development
of New Orleans from the mid-century.
POP MUSIC - (^) Listen to
The Free Nationals
Good clean fun.
OBE, LLC/Empire, December 13.
You might know the Free Nationalsfromtheir
tenure as the backing band of West Coast soul
singer, rapper, and drummer Anderson .Paak.
This group of gifted DJs, producers, and multi-
instrumentalists helped sculpt .Paak’s airtight
grooves on Malibu and Oxnard. This winter, the
quartet takes center stage on its self-titled debut,
comprising 13 killer funk and soul platters, fea-
turing .Paak, Syd, T.I., and Mac Miller. c.j.
CLASSICAL MUSIC - (^) See Winterreise
Natürlich.
92nd Street Y, December 13.
Schubert’s song cycle of snow drifts, cracking ice,
and fond memories of spring keeps challenging
singers to great feats of sensitivity. Along with
pianist Jeremy Denk, Eric Owens, a veteran of
blockbuster opera productions (Wagner’s Ring
and, more recently, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess),
keeps it small, simple, and sublime. j.d.
THEATER - (^) See Fiddler on the Roof
Or A Fidler Afn Dakh.
Stage 42, through January 5.
The city’s unlikeliest hit—a transfer from the
Museum of Jewish Heritage—is hora-ing its way
to January 5; after that, the fiddler comes off the
roof. A lot has been written about Joel Grey’s won-
derful direction; the sup Tevye, Steven Skybell;
and the musical’s sturdy inestock, which blos-
soms in Shraga Friedm adaptation. But also
notice the way the production teaches you as you
watch it. I didn’t speak a word of Yiddish going in;
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Do something that
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