Distract yourself from the inexorable approach of Valentine’s Day with some soul, some goo, some cinema, and some sparkles.
WEDNESDAY
(Photo via Lady Rizo / Facebook)
Lady Rizo: 5th Annual Nina Simone Tribute
Continues through February 11 at Joe’s Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village. 7pm; tickets are $30 and can be purchased here.
For the fifth time, comedienne and cabaret songstress (as well as “entertainer, dream maker, chanteuse, [and] superstar“) Lady Rizo will enchant your Hump Day with her unique renditions of the great soul singer’s work. She’ll be joined by a live band and some choice special guests, including TV On The Radio’s Kyp Malone, The Wiz‘s Mykal Kilgore, and Carol Lipnik. Rizo has been acclaimed for both her vocal prowess and her comedic quirks, so expect a hearty serving of both.
THURSDAY
(photo: Maria Baranova)
Radiohole’s Tarzana
Continues through February 14 at The Performing Garage, 33 Wooster Street, Soho. 8pm (Sunday at 7pm); tickets are $15-25 and can be purchased here. More info here.
Notorious experimental theater company Radiohole takes over the Wooster Group’s Performing Garage for a few nights to present Tarzana, their madcap (and messy) interpretation of text by Mad Men writer Jason Grote. Influences at work include superheroes, the New York punk scene, and David Lynch. Also, there are “splash zone” seats. Get ready for some goo.
FRIDAY
(photo: On the Rocks)
The White Stag Quadrilogy
Continues Fridays and Saturdays through February 27 at Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, Lower East Side. 7:30pm. Tickets are $15 advance, $18 at the door, $12 for students and seniors, and can be purchased here. More info here.
On the Rocks Theater Company presents the untold (and fictional) story behind the cinematic output of Jerry Wolfert, the “most hated man in Hollywood.” It’s a continuation of sorts of last year’s Wolfert, also shown at Dixon Place, and if it’s anything like the one before it, there will be plenty of weirdness set to choreography. Sounds alright with us.
SATURDAY
(photo via La MaMa)
To the left of the pantry and under the sugar shack
Continues Friday-Sunday at The Club at La MaMa, 74a East 4th Street, East Village. 10pm (Sundays at 6pm); tickets are $18 ($13 for students/seniors) and can be purchased here. More info here.
This show is a curious one, as it’s a bit different every night. Kristine Haruna Lee’s creative and visually-compelling Harunalee Theater Company has constructed a wonderland that’s part installation, part guest performance series. Inspired by the notion of a Memory Palace (an imagined space where you mentally place images associated with things you are trying to memorize), a collection of artists who practice magic, music, dance, neuroscience, and more will create and show pieces within their own Palace inspired by memories that have been submitted to them.
SUNDAY
(photo via The Love Show / Facebook)
The Love Show
At The Slipper Room, 167 Orchard Street, Lower East Side. 8pm; tickets are $10 and can be purchased here. More info here.
What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than feasting your eyes on a bunch of scantily-clad bodies? Look no further than burlesque favorite The Slipper Room, where theatrical dance company The Love Show will be doing their plainly-titled V-Day show, “Go F*ck Yourself.” Well, if you ask nicely. Not only will you get to see glittering clothing being removed onstage, but this evening also includes a magician, vocalist, contortionist, and probably other types of performers with titles ending in “-ist.” The possibilities are endless. Just don’t expect any of them to go home with you.