july 8–21, 2019 | new york 71TV
- & 12. (^) Wat ch Suits,
then Pearson
Spinning off.
USA Network, July 17.
The zippy legal thriller Suits has been on TV for
eight years, longer than most lawyers stay at a firm
as formidable as Zane Specter Litt Wheeler Wil-
liams. The final season picks up with borderline
chaos. The USA Network’s mode is something like
“stylish, hardbitten, yet secretly idealistic fun
machine,” and the template gets tweaked again in
the new series Pearson, about a disbarred attorney
(Gina Torres) who gets a job working as a fixer for
Chicago mayor Bobby Novak (Morgan Spector). If
this sounds familiar, it’s because the character was
introduced in the first season of Suits. m.z.s.
MOVIES - (^) See Marianne &
Leonard: Words of Love
From Sundance.
In theaters.
A nice change of pace for the scabrous muckraking
doc director Nick Broomfield is this affectionate
look at Leonard Cohen’s onetime muse Marianne
Ihlen, to whom he bid a famous so long but with
whom he stayed in touch for 60 years until they
died within months of each other in 2016. You
might find yourself humming and crying at the
same time. d.e.
TV - (^) Wat ch Shangri-La
From Malibu with love.
Showtime, July 12.
This docuseries takes viewers inside the mind and
creative process of legendary producer Rick
Rubin, with commentary by LL Cool J, Tyler, the
Creator, and many other musical artists. j.c.
THEATER - (^) See Promenade
A very short run.
New York City Center, July 10 and 11.
For two nights only, the Encores! Off-Center series
revives this sly, zany musical by “the mother of
avant-garde theater,” Maria Irene Fornes, with
music by Judson Church Reverend Al Carmines.
Laurie Woolery directs a bang-up cast in Fornes’s
absurdist romp about a pair of fugitives—known
as 105 and 106—ducking and weaving through a
world of fiercely funny social archetypes. s.h.
POP MUSIC - (^) See Elvis Costello & the
Imposters and Blondie
Just trust.
Forest Hills Stadium, July 24.
Elvis Costello and Debbie Harry are generational
voices who broke through in killer New Wave
bands and remain vibrant years after the genre
faded as a dominant commercial force. Catch
Costello with his Imposters, which pairs two of his
original Attractions with alt-rock vet Davey Fara-
gher on bass, and Harry with Blondie in Queens
in July for a chance to hear “Pump It Up” and
“Heart of Glass” in the same night. c.j.
TV - (^) Wat ch Comedians
in Cars Getting Coffee
Eavesdropping on our friends.
Netflix, July 19.
Jerry Seinfeld is back for another round of driving,
chatting, and caffeine-sipping. Guests for the new
season include Eddie Murphy, Melissa Villaseñor,
Seth Rogen, and Jamie Foxx. j.c.
OPERA - (^) See The Magic Flute
Mozart’s comedic opera.
Koch Theater, July 17 to 20.
Barrie Kosky’s madcap production, inspired by the
silent-film era, has been zipping around the world
to plaudits since its 2012 opening at the Komische
Oper Berlin, and now it arrives at the Mostly
Mozart Festival. A Buster Keaton–esque Papageno,
wide-eyed expressions of shock, herky-jerky gaits,
and an explosion of projected animations accentu-
ate the opera’s air of archaic fantasy. j.d.
THEATER - (^) See In the Green
Propulsive and haunting musical theater.
Lincoln Center, through August 4.
Grace McLean’s sonically arresting new musical
expands upon the story of Hildegard von Bingen,
one of the most powerful and creative women in
medieval Europe—a healer, composer, exorcist,
and saint, who spent much of her life essentially
locked in a cell and finally emerged to leave an
indelible stamp on the world. s.h.
MOVIES - (^) See Intimate Epics
Go to the movies, again.
BAM, July 19 to 23.
The New York Times recently had a big blah-blah
about no one going to the movies anymore, which
is a good time for BAM to present Intimate Epics,
a series of global masterpieces, all over three hours
long. You don’t want to watch these on TV or
broken up or with a mechanism of control (the
remote). Just surrender to the uncompromising
visions of Paul Thomas Anderson (in the daft mul-
tiple-family epic Magnolia), Spike Lee (Malcolm
X), Edward Yang (A Brighter Summer Day), Akira
Kurosawa (Seven Samurai) and Chantal Aker-
man’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce,
1080 Bruxelles, featuring three hours of vegetable
peeling and an abrupt change of pace. d.e.
THEATER - (^) See Broadway
Bounty Hunter
There she goes.
Greenwich House Theater, through September 15.
If you’re sad to see Joe Iconis’s savvy Be More Chill
closing on Broadway in August, you can take com-
fort downtown in his newest venture: an action-
comedy-musical about a down-on-her-luck middle-
aged actress who somehow becomes a bounty
hunter. From Cats to Kung Fu, a star is born in
what’s sure to be a gleefully irreverent ride. s.h.
POP MUSIC - (^) Listen to Hasta el Cielo
Reborn in dub.
Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories, July 12.
Texas psych-funk trio Khruangbin follows last
year’s Con Todo el Mundo with dub reworkings of
its songs. Cielo is perfect cookout music, hazy and
airy, like an afternoon spent in the summer sun.
As a bonus, the band tapped dub pioneer Scien-
tist for a pair of remixes. c.j.
ART - (^) See Beyond the Streets
The new contemporary art.
25 Kent Avenue, Williamsburg, through August 31.
Graffiti historian Roger Gastman follows up his
2011 record-breaking “Art in the Streets” graffiti
and street-art retrospective at MoCA L.A. with a
massive show in an office building on the Brook-
lyn waterfront. The exhibition features more than
150 artists from around the world and works by
boldface names including Jenny Holzer, Takashi
Murakami, and Todd James—even an installa-
tion of Beastie Boys artifacts.
TV - (^) See Big Little Lies
Season Finale
What will happen to the Monterey Five?
HBO, July 21.
The second season comes to an end, hopefully with
Meryl Streep insulting Reese Witherspoon’s height
one last time and Laura Dern’s Renata overreact-
ing about, well, everything. j.c.
POP MUSIC - (^) Listen to No. 6
Collaborations Project
Ft. Billboard chart-toppers.
Asylum Records/Atlantic Records, July 12.
Ed Sheeran has gone all Big Pop since 2011’s No. 5
Collaborations Project, which means the guest list
for its sequel is considerably more VIP. The 15-song
album includes Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper,
Khalid, Cardi B, Travis Scott, and Eminem.
WHAT’S THE
SONG OF SUMMER?
Craig Jenkins’s top-five contenders,
in alphabetical order by artist.
“Suge (Yea Yea),” DaBaby
The Charlotte, North Carolina, rapper’s nom de plume
might throw you off, but his commanding raps, jokes,
and hooks will reel you in.
“Panini,” Lil Nas X
The “Old Town Road” singer follows his country-rap
haymaker with an airy trap banger dedicated
to a cartoon character.
“Truth Hurts,” Lizzo
The midwestern rapper, singer, and flautist sorts through
her boy problems on this infectious empowerment jam.
“You Need to Calm Down,” Taylor Swift
If you’ve ever had a bad interaction with a stranger
online, this is your anthem.
“Higher Love,” Whitney Houston & Kygo
Houston’s cover of the ’80s Steve Winwood hit was
originally recorded in 1990. Here, Norwegian producer
Kygo adds a fresh coat of paint.