Frances Ruffelle, Toshi Reagon, NY Comedy Fest and More Coming Up at Joe's Pub
By: BWW News Desk Nov. 01, 2016
Joe's Pub at The Public has announced its nightly performances from November 2 - November 13. Scroll down for details, or visit www.joespub.com for a complete list of shows!
Guests: Janelle James, Bojana Novakovic, Ariel Levy, Kathryn Grody, Sandi Marx & Stephanie McKay
Wednesday, November 2 at 7:00PM
$20
Every month, New York's best and brightest women come together for Women of Letters - a celebration of the lost art of letter writing. Expect laughter, tears, and camaraderie as host Sofija Stefanovic welcomes guests reading "A letter to my unrequited." Together on stage for the first time ever will be the beloved writer and standup comedian Janelle James, esteemed actress and photographer Bojana Novakovic, Moth storytelling champ Sandi Marx, staff writer for The New Yorker Ariel Levy, iconic actress and writer Kathryn Grody and acclaimed soul singer and songwriter Stephanie McKay.
LYDIA LUNCH & UMAR BIN HASSAN: NO WAVE OUT
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH SOME SERIOUS BUSINESS
Wednesday & Thursday, November 2 & 3 at 9:30PM
$20
No Wave Out is a brazen, unprecedented live performance uniting No Wave icon Lydia Lunch and legendary Last Poet Umar Bin Hassan. Disparate styles, cultures and generations of intellectual revolt are woven into a unified tapestry of spoken word and sound. Weasel Walter (guitar), Tim Dahl (bass guitar), Last Poets percussionist Don Babatunde and drummer Shaun Kelly create a freely improvised foundation of funk, jazz, avant-garde noise and No Wave Skronk to this trailblazing sonic adventure of agitprop verbiage and daring musical spontaneity.
DANCE NOW'S FALL 2016 DANCE-MOPOLITAN SERIES: NATIONAL INTIMACY MONTH
Friday & Saturday November 4 & 5 at 7:00PM
$15 Adv / $20 Door
Commissioned and produced by DANCE NOW, National Intimacy Month is a collaboration between performance duo Chelsea and Magda, choreographer/dancers Bryan Strimpel and Shaina Branfman of B.S. Movement, and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly and his troupe, the feath3r theory. Combining choreography, improvisation, text, live podcasting, and sketch comedy, the work explores the role of intimacy in the creative process and in performance. The cute and aggressive, the familiar and unknown, the popular and underrated all come into play in dynamic, surprising, and humorous ways-complete with commercial breaks and apple pie.
Friday, November 4 at 9:30PM
$15
The unexpected sounds of Sandaraa show how Eastern Europe, the Indus Civilization and Central Asia connect. The myriad elements - melismatic might of modal music, the ringing grit of mountain songs, the rollicking trance beats and restrained emotional intensity - have an eerie resonance, despite their seeming differences. A magical world of global sounds comes alive when superstar Pakistani vocalist Zeb Bangash joins forces with a retinue of leading Brooklyn musicians led by Klezmer clarinet virtuoso Michael Winograd to unlock the musical secrets and history of their regions steeped in ecstatic mysticism, war, migrations and ancient cities lost to the sands of time.
HARRIET, FEATURING BLAIR SOCCI & FARAH BROOK
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL
Guests: Jo Firestone, Jacqueline Novak, Three Busy Debras and music by Free the Mind
Friday, November 4 at 11:30PM
$15 Adv / $20 Door
Best friends and New York comedians, Farah Brook and Blair Socci, started a comedy show called Harriet in the East Village in 2014. They named it after Farah's grandmother because they love her and her generous and loving spirit, but most importantly she makes them laugh. They are back for a special edition to spread the love and laughter to The New York Comedy Festival! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to The New York Women's Foundation. This evening will feature Jo Firestone (Just for Laughs 2016, WFMU), Jacqueline Novak (Comedy Central, Cakeshop Comedy), Three Busy Debras (VICE, Carnegie Hall) and music by Free the Mind.
CANTATA PROFANA: IN A DISTANT LAND
Saturday, November 5 at 9:30PM
$15
In its fifth season, Cantata Profana is "making a name for itself with intrepid and unexpected concerts," (The New Yorker). Bringing every century of music together in unique productions devoted to new music, old music, vocal music, the group is dedicated "to most anything, so long as the mixture is put together thoughtfully and put across persuasively," (The New York Times). In a Distant Land features vocalist John Taylor Ward, pianist Lee Dionne, percussionist Doug Perry, and guest guitarist Dan Lippel in a night of songs, poems, and instrumentals that stretch across centuries and continents. This show will span Romantic Lieder, classic Ranchero songs of Mexico, Baroque English songs, contemporary Chinese solo works, the world premiere of Daniel Schlosberg's arrangements of Charles Ives songs from New England, and American composer George Crumb's new song cycle Ghosts of Alhambra.
PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL
Saturday, November 5 at 11:30PM
$22
Dan Finnerty caught America's attention as the foul-mouthed wedding singer in the box-office smash Old School, performing his now-infamous rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart." He went wedding singer again in the record-breaking hit The Hangover. The Dan Band plays to sold out crowds from L.A. to New York and has appeared on numerous shows including The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ellen, The Late Late Show, Last Call with Carson Daly, Last Comic Standing, The Guys Choice Awards. He caught the attention of Steven Spielberg, who signed on to executive produce Finnerty's one-hour concert special The Dan Band: I Am Woman, directed by McG.
Toshi Reagon & BIGLOVELY: SACRED MUSIC SHOW - SPIRITUAL ELECTION EDITION
Sunday, November 6 at 7:00PM
$25
Toshi Reagon POST-ELECTION SHOW: TURNING THE CORNER. LOOKING ALL AROUND.
Wednesday, November 9 at 8:00PM
$35
Toshi Reagon is a singer, musician, composer, producer and curator, who has been described by Vibe magazine as "one helluva rock'n'roller-coaster ride" and by PopMatters.com as "a treasure waiting to be found, Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that is dynamic, progressive and uplifting in American music." These shows will make up Reagon's Sacred Election Series with a special lineup for each night. November 6 will feature Catherine Russell, Josette Newsam Marchak, Jason Walker, Fred Cash, Booby Burke and Adam Widoff. On November 9, the series will culminate as Reagon address the future of America with special guests Alsarah, Carl Hancock Rux, Jacqueline Woodson, J.Bob Alotta. Chitra Ganesh and Simone Leigh.
SONGS FROM ILLA! A HIP-HOP MUSICAL
Sunday, November 6 at 9:30PM
$15
Fresh off of his "Best of Show" win at this summer's New York Musical Festival, hip-hop composer-lyricist Ronvé O'Daniel and cast will perform hot selections from his groundbreaking new hip-hop musical, ILLA! A Hip-Hop Musical directed by J Kyle Manzay. Set against the challenges of the 2008 U.S. financial meltdown, we meet Prince, a classically trained dancer who dreams of becoming a rap star. After suffering a humiliating defeat at a leading open mic competition, Prince struggles to redeem himself in the eyes of his friends and family. He falls hard for a girl named Stacy but his family's prejudices threaten to tear them apart. Can Prince overcome his fears and troubled home life to achieve his Hip Hop dreams? It's a journey of struggle, swagger, and search for self.
Frances Ruffelle: I SAY YEH-YEH
Monday, November 7 at 9:30PM
Advance $20 / Door $25
Frances Ruffelle is bringing her critically acclaimed solo show I Say Yeh-Yeh to New York for the first time. Ruffelle, known in New York for creating the iconic waif 'Eponine' in the original cast of Les Miserables, has won numerous awards for her stunning performance including the Tony Award. I Say Yeh-Yeh offers a comic insight to Ruffelle's own true life story from heartbreak to empowerment and brings a certain "je ne sais quoi" to songs you thought you knew. The show includes a brand new version of Ruffelle's "On My Own" arranged by award-winning Gwyneth Herbert plus a song written for 'Eponine' that was cut from the original show.
Thursday, November 10 at 7:30PM
$20
Born in Mexico City and currently based out of New York City, Magos Herrera is a dazzling jazz singer-songwriter. Herrera is regarded as one of the most expressive, beautiful voices and most active vocalists in the contemporary Latin American jazz scene. She is best known for her eloquent vocal improvisation and her singular bold style. Herrera embraces elements of contemporary jazz with Latin American melodies and rhythms singing in Spanish, English, and Portuguese, in a style that elegantly blends and surpasses language boundaries. Throughout her career, Magos has garnered important awards and recognitions, including a Grammy short-list nomination in the Best Jazz Vocal Album category for her album Distancia (2009), and is the only female artist to have received the Berklee College of Music's Master of Latin Music Award.
Josh Sharp SINGS! LIVE!
Thursday, November 10 at 9:30PM
$15
Josh Sharp Sings! Live! is an hour of stories and stand-up all inside of one long D'Angelo song. The night will feature a full set from Josh, a few special guests and a sick band of str8 white men. Josh Sharp is a NYC-based comedian, who was included on Vulture's 2015 "Comics You Should Know", named a "Comic to Watch" by TimeOut NY, and featured in NY Comedy Festival's "Best of Sketch" in 2013-2015. He recently optioned his lewd and crude queer musical F--king Identical Twins to 20th Century Fox. You can see him in How S--t Works on IFC.com or in the upcoming Go90 series Thanksgiving with Amy Sedaris.
Friday, November 11 at 9:30PM
$25 Adv / $30 Door
Nicole Henry is an internationally acclaimed jazz/soul recording artist who possesses a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. Her passion, soulfulness and heart-felt charisma have earned her three Top-10 U.S. Billboard and HMV Japan jazz albums as well as a Soul Train Award for "Best Traditional Jazz Performance." In this return to Joe's Pub, after sold-out engagements, Henry previews new material from her upcoming Nancy Wilson Project which will celebrate the vast repertoire of this classic living legend. She will revisit hallmarks like "Save Your Love for Me" and lesser known jewels like "Music That Makes Me Dance" and "The Real Me."
2SCOOPS: LADY BIZNESS iOS UPDATE
Saturday, November 12 at 7:30PM
$20
2Scoops, the legendary, chart-topping, entirely fictional 90's R&B girl group is back! Long after cassingles, beepers and neon colors have gone out of style, these two girls from around the way still cling tight to everything about the music and style of the early 90's. Holding the world record for the most breakups of any group in history they have recently Re-U-Nited at Joe's Pub. Don't Miss Dana and Deena for a night of phat beats, smooth moves and probably somebody getting their feelings hurt. 2Scoops is written and performed by Adam Enright and Aaron Fuksa.
JOJO ABOT, PRESENTED IN ASSOCIATION WITH SUMMERSTAGE
Saturday, November 12 at 9:30PM
$15
Creating across continents and dividing her time between Accra, Copenhagen and New York City, Jojo Abot's emergence onto the global music scene marks the genesis of an exciting new talent and sound. Presenting the best of multiple worlds, Abot's music is a cultural and musical sonic fusion, a perfect and growing melting pot - hypnotic, sultry, vulnerable and empowering. The Ghanaian singer-songwriter is poised to capture the ears of discerning listeners worldwide with her experimental blend of electronica, Afrobeat, jazz, neo-soul, house and reggae. For her first and forthcoming EP Fyfya Woto, Abot found inspiration in the music of Thandiswa Mazwai, Savage Rose, Seeed, Lucky Dube and Simphiwe Dana. The raw emotion at the heart of the four-track project, which centers on a woman's right to choose, comes from the generational ties that bind the women in her family together.
Sunday, November 13 at 7:00PM
$15
Butzi (aka Peter Kiesewalter) is the Grammy-nominated mastermind behind East Village Opera Company (EVOC) and the Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata's (BRO) song for song adaptation of The Sound of Music. This piece was an arranging tour-de-force of American music idioms and the first project of its kind to receive the blessing and support of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization. Beyond his music director duties for singers Jane Siberry and Jackie Evancho, Kiesewalter is half of the electro duo LuxRd (with singer David Driver) and produces remixes and Elektrospank tracks from his Wildboar Production Studios in Brooklyn.
Tori Scott: SEEING DOUBLE
Sunday, November 13 at 9:30PM
$20
Tori Scott, belter and bad decision expert, returns with her new solo show, Seeing Double - a celebration of poor life choices mixed with a hint of lingering regret and too much tequila. Don't miss this "soul-baring singer and sharp comedian" (Huffington Post) as she takes you on a shameless journey of slurred autobiographical stories filled with songs by other people. Seeing Double is co-written by Scott and her longtime collaborator and enabler Adam Hetrick, directed by Seth Sklar-Heyn and musical direction by Jesse Kissel.
For tickets, go online at joespub.com, call 10AM-7:00PM daily at 212-967-7555, or visit in person at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC (Opens daily at 2PM). There is a $12 food / two (2) drink minimum per person per show, unless otherwise noted.
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