january3–16, 2022 | newyork 71firstdates.Singlepeople,preparetobeseen—and
heard. nicholasquah
CLASSICALMUSIC
12.Hear Ne w York
Philharmonic
WithBranfordMarsalis.
CarnegieHall,January 6.
Thetemporarilywanderingorchestrapaysits
annualvisittoitsancestralhome,performing
AdolphusHailstork’saptlytitledAnAmerican
PortofCall.MarsalisperformsJohnAdams’s
SaxophoneConcerto,andthewholeconcert
(includingSibelius’FifthSymphony) isledby
SusannaMälkki. justindavidson
BOOKS
13.ReadYou D on’t
KnowUs Negroesand
OtherEssays
A lovelettertoBlackculture.
Amistad,January 18.
ZoraNealeHurston’snewestposthumouscollec-
tionshowcasesherrangeanddepth,touchingon
topicsfromBlackgirlhoodtotheHarlemRenais-
sancetothepoliticalramificationsofintegration.
Boldlyhonest andprovocative,Hurston’sprose
shinesbothlyricallyandinheruncompromising
politicalvalues. maryretta
TV
14.Watch Cheer
Rah,rah!
Netflix,January 12.
Thepop-culturephenomenonis backwitha sea-
sontracingtheissuestheNavarroCollege cheer
squadinCorsicana,Texas,dealtwithduringthe
pandemic,includingtonsofmediaattention,
allegationsofsexualmisconduct surroundingfan
faveJerryHarris,and,ohyeah,COVID. j.c.
POPMUSIC
15.Li stentoHellon
ChurchStreet
Anhomage toTonyRice’s
ChurchStreet Blues.
NonesuchRecords,January 14.
ChrisThilefrontsGrammy-winningprogressive
bluegrassquintetPunchBrothers,whoseturn-
on-a-dimeprecisionis feltintrackslike “My Oh
My.” Thiscoversalbum,dedicatedtothelate Tony
Rice,putsa uniquespinonsongsbyBobDylan,
JimmieRodgers,BillMonroe,andothers. c.j.
THEATER
16.SeeTheExponential
Festival
Raiseyoureveningtoa higherpower.
VariousvenuesandYouTube,
January6 toFebruary5.
Brooklyn-basedExponentialis alwaysthewildest
andwooliest fest. Thisyear, thefest bringsYeujia
Low’s dance-workaboutanAustralianemucull;
RawyaElChabandKellyLamannaperforming
TheGambler,a “clownshowforadults”;and
KedianKeohan’sPanicEncyclopedia. h.s.
OPERA- (^) See The Garden
of the Finzi-Continis
Presented with the New York City Opera.
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene,
opens January 19.
Giorgio Bassani’s book about Italian Jewishlife in
the ’30s, which yielded Vittorio De Sica’s 1970
film, now gets the full operatic treatment.Com-
poser Ricky Ian Gordon and librettistMichael
Korie coax the insular, privileged, blinkeredsib-
lingsMicòlandAlbertoontotheopenstage.j.d.
TV - (^) Wat ch Somebody,
Somewhere
A starring role for Bridget.
HBO, January 16.
Comedian Bridget Everett (Trainwreck,Lady
Dynamite, and Unbelievable) producesandstars
in her own series about a Kansas womanwho
finds her sense of self through singing. j.c.
ART - (^) See Chando Ao
A Chinese multimedia artist.
Postmasters, 54 Franklin Street, throughJanuary 22.
Chando Ao’s simple-looking, sometimescute,
other times formalist works explore theMatrix-
like realm where the digital, physical, psychologi-
cal, and spiritual fuse and art becomessomething
like a cross between a prosthetic limb forknowing
the world and a toy for loving. j.s.
MOVIES - (^) See Directed by
Li na Wertmüller
A thrilling collection.
The Criterion Channel.
THE 60-SECOND BOOK EXCERPT
Br own Girls
By Daphne Palasi Andreades
johnnie walker on ice! A double
shot! shout our swaggering fathersand
uncles, red-faced, brimming. Bursting.
How we love them. We must tryhard
not to bust out laughing whenthey
belt out national anthems to countries
that aren’t the U.S. of A. Our fathers
and uncles, who are as familiar asthey
are mysterious to us, mix Absolutand
orange juice,crushBudweisercans,
pourhomemadewineintochipped
mugs,concoctedfromrecipeshailing
fromlandswe’veneverbeentoorcan
onlydimlyrecall.We sneakintoback-
yardswithflimsyfenceswhereour
fathersandunclestoast Jamesonand
smokec es,hookah,andganja
ona nig n winterisbeginning
toloosenitsgripandlet springbloom.
(RandomHouse,January4)
The first woman nominated for a Best Director
Oscar (for Seven Beauties) died last month at 93.
Wertmüller savaged bourgeois mores and gender
roles through scathing comedies that often
offended everybody. Curious? Luckily, a selection
of her greatest works is available. bilge ebiri
BOOKS - (^) Read Harlem
Shadows
First published in 1922.
Modern Library, January 11
Thisneweditionof ClaudeMcKay’smost cele-
bratedpoetrycollectionfeaturesa new introduc-
tion by Pulitzer-winning poet Jericho Brown,
who reads the volume as the expressionof a pro-
found love for the Black community’svibrancy
and diversity. omariweekes
OPERA/THEATER - (^) See Prototype
Festival
A night at the opera.
prototypefestival.org, January 7 to 16.
Among the wide-ranging offerings: Taylor Mac’s
The Hang, a queer and roguish reinterpretation
of Socrates’ last moments; Grace Galu and Baba
Israel’s music-laced Cannabis! A Viper Vaude-
ville; and Huang Ruo’s Book of Mountains & Seas
with puppeteer Basil Twist. h.s.
TV - (^) Wat ch Peacemaker
Played by wrestler turned actor John Cena.
HBO Max, January 13.
Do we need more superhero shows? No. Will a
show set after the events of The Suicide Squad
and starring an alarmingly charismatic John
Cena (and also Danielle Brooks!) be funto watch
anyhow? Probably. k.v.a.
POP MUSIC - (^) See Stephanie Mills
and the Whispers
Something in the way you make me feel.
Kings Theatre, January 16.
Brooklyn vocalist Stephanie Mills inspired a gen-
eration of R&B and hip-hop fans. Catch Mills’s
January hometown show with Los Angeles’s
Whispers, whose hits (“Rock Steady,” “And the
Beat Goes On,” “It’s a Love Thing”) are just as
illustrious as their mustaches. c.j.
CLASSICAL MUSIC - (^) Hear Chamber
Music Society
of Lincoln Center
One more string.
Alice Tully Hall, January 18.
There’s something about beefing up a string quar-
tet with an extra viola or cello, or both, that gives
an intimate ensemble an almost orchestral depth
of sound. Beethoven transformed his own early
piano trio into a string quintet, amplifying its
expressivity, and Dvorák and Schulhoff wrote sex-
tets as compressed symphonies. j.d.