The New York Times - USA (2020-11-09)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020 C1

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NEWS CRITICISM

3 MUSIC

Rapping about politics and

emotions. BY LINDSAY ZOLADZ

5 MUSIC

The perception of an artist

changes. BY ALEX MARSHALL

4 BOOKS

A writer likes the

freedom of the

short-story form.

BY JOUMANA KHATIB

A typical Saturday at the Harlem School of

the Arts would find families chatting with

each other as one child runs out of a dance

class in tights, or another lugs a viola. A

quick bite or check-in with parents, and

they would dash to a drawing or singing

class.

This happy noise occurred in what the

school’s founder, Dorothy Maynor, called

the Gathering Place, a two-story-high room

that also hosted performances and exhibi-

tions of student work, and where perform-

ers from the worlds of jazz, Broadway and

classical music would drop by so that chil-

dren could see and meet working artists up

close.

But the Gathering Place, which dates

from 1977, was enclosed by concrete-block

walls. Children and families came in

through a forbidding brick entrance.

Today, the school has completed a thor-

ough transformation inspired by an archi-

tect Celia Imrey, and a major patron: Herb

Alpert, the trumpeter and record company

executive, whose foundation has contribut-

ed a total of $17 million to the school, includ-

ing $9.7 million for the recent upgrade. A

glass facade floods the space with morning

sunlight, ready to unveil the students’ bee-

hive of activity at the school, on St. Nicholas

Avenue near 141st Street. An upper-level

corridor doubles as a wood-paneled bal-

cony, reached by a grand switchback stair-

case. The space has been equipped with so-

phisticated acoustics, and advanced the-

ater lighting and sound.

“I mourn the level of energy this place

had,” Eric Pryor, the school’s president,

said, looking forward to the school’s post-

pandemic future, when children and fam-

ELIAS WILLIAMS FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Harlem School for the Arts Rises Anew

With Herb Alpert’s help

and an architect’s vision, a

glowing space awaits the

return of ‘happy noise.’

By JAMES S. RUSSELL The Harlem School of the Arts at the Herb

Alpert Center has renamed its Gathering Place

in honor of its founder, Dorothy Maynor.

CONTINUED ON PAGE C2

LOOK TO YOUR LEFT.Look to your right. One

of us is watching a show that’s so uninter-

ested in originality that some character

trots out that speech you’ve heard so many

times before: One of you won’t finish this

prestigious, grueling program.

Often that spiel is delivered on doctor

shows or lawyer shows, but on “Industry,”

which premieres Monday on HBO, it hap-

pens in an elite investment bank in London.

And that’s how most of the four episodes

made available for review go: Familiar

stories and beats just set in the world of fi-

nance instead of elsewhere, which means

less emotional stakes but more scenes

where people aggressively chew gum.

If this was “Grey’s Anatomy” — it wishes

— our Meredith would be Harper (Myha’la

Herrold), a savvy and driven underdog,

with a few secrets. She’s part of a cadre of

“grads” gunning for jobs at the bank,

though it’s not clear what the jobs actually

MARGARET LYONS TELEVISION REVIEW

All in the Pursuit of Money

Myha’la Herrold, Harper in the first episode of “Industry,” plays one of a cadre of young recent graduates vying for a job.

AMANDA SEARLE/HBO

An HBO series follows young

adults in the world of finance.

Industry

Starts Monday on HBO

CONTINUED ON PAGE C4

Just over four years ago, “Saturday Night
Live” invited Dave Chappelle to host its
Nov. 12, 2016, broadcast — the show’s first
after that year’s presidential election. The
tacit assumption, at the time, was that he
would be the master of ceremonies for an
episode that would serve as both a satirical
farewell to the long-shot candidacy of the
Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, and
a victory lap for his Democratic rival, Hilla-
ry Clinton.
Needless to say, things didn’t work out
that way.
Even so, “S.N.L.” put together a memora-
ble episode that weekend, one that began —
for better or for worse — with Kate McKin-
non, as Clinton, seated at a piano and sing-
ing a somber rendition of Leonard Cohen’s
“Hallelujah.” (Cohen had died a few days
earlier.) Turning to the camera, McKinnon
said, “I’m not giving up and neither should
you.”
Chappelle, in his debut appearance as an
“S.N.L.” host, acknowledged in a lengthy
standup monologue that he had not ex-

‘S.N.L.’ Puts

A Blue Bow

On Election

By DAVE ITZKOFF

CONTINUED ON PAGE C6