Hola, Havana!

By Meredith Deliso

Cuban culture is taking over the Brooklyn Academy of Music this spring, from films to dance to music. But some of the best can be found right in the lobby.

As part of Si Cuba! — a city-wide celebration of art and culture from the controversial island — the Brooklyn Academy of Music is hosting “Hola Havana,” an exhibition of contemporary Cuban artists.

“We wanted to ensure that people visiting BAM during the festival were immediately encountering Cuban culture,” said BAMart curator David Harper. “When you come in [throughout the festival], whether to see a film or the National Ballet of Cuba, you immediately will be encountering Cuban culture.”

Nearly a dozen Cuban artists will be featured from April 20 to May 20, including Alexandre Arrechea, whose playful painting currently graces the cover of BAM’s playbill and will be showing his watercolors and large sculptures, and Douglas Perez, who makes “beautiful painterly paintings,” said Harper. All pieces have been created in the past five years, with threads of social commentary throughout some pieces (it’s not “Viva, Fidel” stuff, mind you) and others remarking on Havana’s architecture and landscape.

“I really wanted to bring a broad sample of artists here so that there was a glimpse into what is being created in Cuba contemporarily by Cuban artists,” said Harper.

“Hola Havana” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music [651 Fulton St. near between Rockwell and Ashland places in Fort Greene, (718) 636-4100], April 20-May 20. Free. For info, visit www.bam.org.

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The Weekend: 4.22-4.24

Friday, April 15

Carroll Gardens: Company XI's latest sexy show, "Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore.," features dancer Laura Careless exploring the women of Charles Bukowski.

Saturday, April 16

DUMBO: The National Theatre of Scotland's much heralded play, "Black Watch," returns to St. Ann's Warehouse, running tonight through May 8.

Manhattan Beach: Borough President Marty Markowitz lends his powerful voice to the "Thalia Follies: A Political Cabaret," tonight at the Kingsborough Performing Arts Center.

Sunday, April 17

Flatbush: "Black Swan" fans can see the real thing — ballet-wise, we mean — when "Swan Lake" comes to Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts.

Fort Greene: It's the last day to see Cheek by Jowl's sparse but effective production of "Macbeth" at BAM.

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Company XI's new sexy show

By Meredith Deliso

Austin McCormick and Charles Bukowski may come from two completely different artistic backgrounds, but they have at least one thing in common — women are their muse.

And this month, the choreographer turns to the iconic poet for his own inspiration in the provocative “Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore,” a one-woman show starring Laura Careless (check out the trailer below).

Using movement, video, music, including pieces by Brahms and Tchaikovsky, and recordings of Bukowski reading his poems, the show explores the female archetypes present in the famous womanizer’s work (lover, muse, etc.), as well as tackling themes of voyeurism, sexuality and objectification.

Typically, the Carroll Gardens-based dance troupe has a strong baroque influence and over-the-top flair, so things should get interesting when it strips down — in more ways than one — to explore the women in Bukowski’s poetry. And with Careless, whom we loved in the company’s last production, “Nutcracker Rouge,” at the helm, you can’t go wrong.

“Lover. Muse. Mockingbird. Whore.” at 303 Bond Street Theatre (303 Bond St. between Union and Sackett streets in Carroll Gardens, no phone), April 15-May 8, Fridays-Sundays at 8 pm. Tickets $30 for adults, $25 for students and seniors. For info, visit www.companyXIV.com.

LOVER. MUSE. MOCKINGBIRD. WHORE. from Austin McCormick on Vimeo.

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A must-'Watch' returns

By Meredith Deliso

Talk about theater of war.

“Black Watch” -— the National Theatre of Scotland’s searing look at soldiers in Iraq — is back at St. Ann’s Warehouse for a third run.

The play is based on interviews playwright Gregory Burke conducted with soldiers who served in a Scottish Army regiment, telling their story via video sequences, bagpipes, intense acrobatics, panoramic historical sequences, and breathtaking battlefield sequences.

We called it a “must see” when it last ran at the DUMBO theater in 2008, a year after its New York premiere. In this new production, running from April 16 to May 8, there’s a fresh, younger cast, but with director John Tiffany still at the helm of Burke’s expertly crafted script, it’s still a must-see.

“It is important to remember the soldiers just as our troops are returning home in July, and ‘Black Watch’ paints their emotional landscape with deep empathy,” said Susan Feldman, St. Ann’s artistic director. “The youthfulness of the new recruits, like the real soldiers the actors are portraying, lends a heart breaking, fresh realism to the show, which, six years after its premiere in Edinburgh, has become a modern classic.”

“Black Watch” at St. Ann’s Warehouse [38 Water St. between Dock and Main streets in DUMBO, (718) 834-8794], April 16-May 8. Tickets $55-$90. For info, visit www.stannswarehouse.org.

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Calling all rejected New Yorker writers

By Meredith Deliso

Roald Dahl. James Salter. J.D. Salinger.

What do these writers all have in common? At one point, they were all rejected by the New Yorker.

And if you were, too, then Halyards has the event for you.

The Gowanus bar is launching “The New Yorker Rejects,” a reading series comprised of stories rejected by the hoity-toity magazine.

“Misery loves company,” said Beth Kuster (pictured, with a New Yorker), a freelance writer who runs the series with Halyards owner Edward Colley (and yes, for the record, has been rejected by the New Yorker). “Creation is a very solitary thing, so Edward wanted to create a bar where people who create can have a community.”

Halyards certainly hopes to cater to such a crowd, what with the obscure whiskies and the manual typewriter. But a literary bar needs a literary series.

Kuster wants to begin on April 27, but first, she needs submissions. Any story officially rejected from the New Yorker will be considered — but please, nothing too depressing.

“We don’t want anything that’s a downer or a buzz kill,” said Kuster. “Only light-hearted stories. I’m sure there are tons in this area. It’s such a writerly neighborhood.”

Halyards [406 Third Ave. between Fifth and Sixth streets in Gowanus, (718) 532-8787]. To be considered for the series, email your story to beth.halyards@gmail.com with the subject line, “My New Yorker Reject is attached.”

Photo by Tom Callan

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A political cabaret that features the Beep!

By Alex Rush

Borough President Markowitz is taking his anti-bike lane stance to the musical stage!

The Beep (left, at his State of the Borough address earlier this year), who famously opposed the Prospect Park West bike lane on the grounds that it is anti-car, will perform his “Borough of Lanes” song parody as part of a political satire cabaret at the Kingsborough Performing Arts Center.

“When I’m done singing, I expect that the audience will rise to their feet and tell me to keep my day job,” said Markowitz, who first sang his bike-centric version of “My Favorite Things” at a City Council hearing in December and later used the lyrics on his annual holiday greeting card.

Markowitz will likely bring down the house at “Thalia Follies: A Political Cabaret,” but the April 16 showcase features professional performers, including Broadway vets, riffing on current events such as health care reform and overly touchy security agents at airports.

“One of the most fun songs in the piece is, ‘Don’t Touch My Junk,’ which is about the Transportation Security Administration’s pat-downs,” said Isaiah Sheffer, show host and creator.

There are also more New York-centric scenes that focus on reckless cabbies, inconsiderate subway riders and what would happen if Schools Chancellor Cathie Black and “Tiger Mom” Amy Chua visited a city public school.

On a slate like that, bikes lanes were an obvious choice.

“We really wanted to connect to the political world of Brooklyn and appeal to a wider audience,” Sheffer said. “And people feel so strongly about bike lanes, so we knew we had to feature them.”

“Thalia Follies: A Political Cabaret” at the Kingsborough Performing Arts Center at Kingsborough Community College [2001 Oriental Blvd. at Decatur Avenue in Manhattan Beach, (718) 368-5596], April 16 at 8 pm. Tickets $25. For info, visit www.kcckpac.org.

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

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'Swan Lake' like it oughta be

By Meredith Deliso

“Black Swan” this is not.

“Swan Lake” was one of the most popular ballets ever to be performed before Darren Aronofsky based his much-acclaimed film, which won Natalie Portman an Oscar, on it and creating newfound fans of the enduring Russian ballet’s challenging choreography and beautiful, swelling score.

So whether you’re longtime fan of the classic or curious to see the real thing, it’ll be a real treat when the ballet comes to Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts in Flatbush on April 17, especially since the Russian National Ballet Theatre, known for its high levels of passion and technical skill, will be performing the fairy tale story about a princess, a prince, and the evil spell that threatens their happiness together.

Surprisingly, tickets are still available — a run by the New York City Ballet easily sold out earlier this year — so get yours now to relive the haunting ballet. Just don’t expect anything akin to Portman sprouting feathers on stage.

Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts at Brooklyn College [2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place in Flatbush, (718) 951-4500], April 17 at 2 pm. Tickets $27-$50. For info, visit www.brooklyncenter.com.

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